The BEST episodes of The Rat Patrol
Every episode of The Rat Patrol ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Rat Patrol!
The Rat Patrol is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one Englishman — who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II. Staring Sergeant Sam Troy (Christopher George), Sergeant Jack Moffit (Gary Raymond), Private Mark T. Hitchcock (Lawrence Casey) and Private Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr). Their mission: to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps and to capture their enemy and nemesis, Hauptmann Dietrich (Eric Braeden).
#1 - The Blow Sky High Raid
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/7/1966
A very prized Germany radar station must be destroyed before a flight of bombers comes over. To do it, the Rat Patrol is given a new, special kind of explosives. Troy is apprehensive about carrying this dangerous cargo, which can explode with the slightest of bumps. Dietrich learns of the mission and tries to beat the Patrol to the area by utilizing an old Arabic legend of an unknown ""trigh"" (road) through the jebels (mountains). The Patrol is also in search of this trigh. But Moffitt gets them lost and Dietrich beats them there. Troy then manages to plant some explosives -- and bluffs Dietrich out of the radar station by telling him that he's willing to die himself rather than let the station do its work.
#2 - The Do or Die Raid
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/17/1966
A large Panzer unit has a map showing a strategic oasis occupied by the Eighth Armored. U.S. Intelligence wants the map exchanged for a phony one which would show the oasis as empty. Accompanied by a veteran map expert, Sgt. Griffin, Troy and his men start into the German HQ. At midnight, using bows and arrows for weapons, they go into the area but Griffin has a heart attack and the team is trapped in the commander's office. In the end, Troy bullies the ""expert"" into keeping up the effort until they are finally able to finish the mission, whereupon Troy ends up endangering his own life to get Griffin out of the town.
#4 - The Dare-Devil Rescue Raid
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/12/1966
German artillery traps 2000 Allied soldiers and their only chance of rescue is an Allied armored attack. The necessary equipment, though, can only reach them in time via an ancient road which is now hidden by sand, a road only Moffitt's father can find. On the way to the landing site, Moffitt's father's plane crashes. Moffitt wants to go find him but Troy insists their first priority is to find the road themselves. Moffitt breaks away and goes to find his father but finds only the burned-out plane. Troy thinks the elder Moffitt must be dead. Moffitt says he was captured. Again Moffitt escapes the team and goes after his father -- finally rescuing him.
#5 - The Gun Runner Raid
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/28/1966
An Arab convoy, disguised as Americans, traps and captures the Rat Patrol. The convoy's leader is Ned Cunningham, an ex-Yank hero turned gunrunner. He sells now to the highest bidder, no matter which side. He feels that the Rat Patrol is costing him too much business and so is going to eliminate them. But he then decides he likes the Patrol and will take them into the deal if they will cooperate. In the end, though, his duplicitious behavior causes his own death.
#6 - The Life Against Death Raid
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/19/1966
During a desert battle, Hitchcock is badly wounded. Troy decides to risk taking him to a nearby German field hospital as their own hospital is too far away. Upon arriving at the hospital he and Moffitt nearly pull off the masquerade, except for a paranoid patient -- Captain Friedrich -- who tells everyone they are American spies. No one believes him but during the delay the doctor notices a tattoo on Hitch's arm from Ft. Benning, Ga. Troy forces him, at gunpoint, to finish the operation. They escape in a hail of gunfire after the surgery.
#7 - The Moment of Truce Raid
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/14/1966
Fanatical Arabs -- wanting to end the war on their land -- attack both the Rat Patrol and the German convoy that Dietrich leads, trapping both in a small desert fortress. This forces the two teams into a truce. One of the Germans -- a liasion to the Arabs -- tries to talk Dietrich into betraying the Rat Patrol to the Arabs but he refuses. In the end the liasion tries to go over to the Arabs himself. He ends up killed, and Dietrich and Troy are able to construct a trap of their own -- killing most of the Arabs and escaping.
#8 - The Fatal Chase Raid
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/31/1966
The Patrol manages to ambush a German unit that is carrying US POWs. Three of these POWs are apparently out to kill each other. Sgt. Gribs -- whose cowardliness caused his men to become captured -- is fighting against Tex and Eddie -- who want revenge. Gribs bargains with Troy for protection, telling Troy that he has information vital to US Command. They start back to HQ, but one of the unit's jeeps breaks down. They continue to travel slowly across the desert until they can capture a German vehicle. Gribs parcels out small hints of his ""vital"" information to keep himself safe. It all ends in heroism -- or something close.
#9 - The Kill or Be Killed Raid
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/3/1966
Dietrich is presented with an old scrap of parchment which shows an ancient water source deep in the desert. Allied intelligence sends Moffitt to find the map before it can be translated; he must get it by masquerading as a German and Troy has orders to shoot him should he find the information (and destroy it) but then not be able to escape. Which is, of course, exactly what then happens. Troy must face the decision of killing his comrade -- and friend -- or finding someway to disobey the orders and rescue the mission.
#11 - The Last Harbor Raid (3)
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/2/1967
The plan is for the fishing fleet to bring out the prisoners, Dunkirk-fashion. However, a Nazi patrol boat has intercepted the boats. The fishermen believe that Marinanne is a collaborator. Sgt. Troy, though, disagrees and he's right. Marianne talks the fishermen into cooperating, and the prisoners make good their escape.
#14 - The Violent Truce Raid
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/27/1967
Lieutenant West is on his way to stop a medical supply convoy, when he's ambushed by an Afrika Korps patrol. Wounded and rescued by Moffatt and Pettigrew, before he dies he informs them that he's got to stop the medical supplies, as some are poisonous. When Moffatt destroys the deadly supplies he is put under arrest by a British Army Major.
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#15 - The Death Do Us Part Raid
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/30/1967
En route to a meeting with an Arab agent, the patrol is ambushed by Dietrich. With the exception of Troy, they're all captured and taken to Dietrich's desert base. Troy eventually meets up with the agent, who turns out to be a teenage boy, and a female Irish teacher, but will she allow the boy to help Troy?
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#16 - The Lighthouse Raid
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/5/1966
Tully and Moffitt transport a liberated French underground general to a rendezvous in a deserted lighthouse. Hitchcock stands lookout, disguised as a German guard. Troy, though, is held captive inside the lighthouse -- betrayed by Mathias. Moffitt tries to reach him but ends up unconscious. In the ensuing fight, Mathias is killed and Troy manages to signal the trawler into the area to take the general to safety.
#18 - The Truce at Aburah Raid
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/11/1967
Captain Dietrich monitors a broadcast sent to the Patrol from HQ and then intercepts them on their way to meet and escort a supply convoy. With the odds decidedly against the Rats, Troy takes refuge in an oasis. A child, playing nearby, runs away terrified of the noise and falls down an old well. The Allies and the Nazis agree to put the war on hold and work together to get the child (who is still alive) out. A second German unit appears and shoots Tully. In the end, they are able to rescue the child and, in the confusion, the Patrol escapes.
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#19 - The Double or Nothing Raid
Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/27/1967
Moffitt is about to be executed for "espionage against the Third Reich" when suddenly the Patrol comes to his rescue. A commandeered German truck unsuccessfully attempts to scoop up Moffitt, but manages to take a Nazi captain in his place--for exchange. Negotiations for a prisoner exchange are fruitful, but Troy doubts that the Germans will obey their own rules. Indeed, the Nazi's Colonel Voss wants to see the Patrol wiped out and uses the exchange as a trap. The captured captain tries to escape the Patrol and gets himself killed. Now Troy has no one to exchange for a seriously wounded Moffitt and must attempt to pass himself off as a German.
#20 - The David and Goliath Raid
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/18/1967
The Patrol ambushes a German courier and finds that his papers contain charts showing desert waterholes and some oases which are unknown to the Allies or the Germans. Suddenly a German patrol attacks, wounding Tully and destroying the Patrol's jeeps, water and weapons. Troy and crew strike out for a waterhole mentioned on the chart. Hours later, near their end, Troy and his men stagger toward an inviting waterhole to find it has been poisoned. On a distant dune they see Dietrich. Tully is near the end, because of his wound. It is up to Troy to negotiate with Dietrich.
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#21 - The Love Thine Enemy Raid
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/9/1967
When the patrol ambush an Afrika Korps supply column, Troy accidentally wounds a German nurse. Feeling guilty, Troy decides to take her to a German field hospital. The only problem is that on the way she overhears a piece of vital information.
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#22 - The Last Harbor Raid (2)
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/26/1966
Moffitt and Hitch (dressed as Germans) find Bertaine's daughter and tell her of her father's death. Then they take her home - after they tell her who they really are. They also tell her that they need to use the fishing fleet to accomplish their mission. Meanwhile, Troy secretly meets with American POW liaison officer Indrus. Troy then joins Moffitt at the house of El Gamil. Informed of the plan, El Gamil dispatches his men to the various harbor areas to alert the fishermen. Troy sets the action to begin at dawn.
#23 - The Wildest Raid of All
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/26/1966
As a prequel to capturing General Ernest von Helmreich, the Rat Patrol gets itself captured. They plan to use the general to stop an upcoming attack. However the general manages to attract the attention of a distant Nazi search party and the Rat Patrol ends up trapped in a ravine, cut off. To escape they construct a ""fake panzer unit"" of their own -- tricking the Germans into a retreat. They then make it to the largest of the Germans' ammo dumps which they proceed to blow up.
#24 - The Chase of Fire Raid
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/12/1966
The British 8th Army sends their desert expert -- Jack Moffitt -- to the Rat Patrol for one very special mission. But Sergeant Troy (the American head of the unit) is very uneasy about this new addition. Moffitt tells Troy that the Germans have buried ammunition and petrol at an abandoned oasis which only the Afrika Korps knows about. It's up to the Rat Patrol to find this oasis and destroy the cache before the Germans can reach it. Dietrich -- familiar with the Rat Patrol's tricks -- devises a trap wherein he will follow the Patrol to the oasis. The Rat Patrol gets delayed, though, by a broken axle and, in the end, it is a race between them and Dietrich to see who will reach the supplies first.
#25 - The Deadly Double Raid
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/21/1966
Moffitt and Tully allow themselves to be captured so that they can get information from Craig -- an American POW -- about Rommel's new battle plans. However, Marston, another POW, tells them that Craig died. Dr. Phillips -- the camp medic -- supposedly has some information about the plan, though. When the medic treats Moffitt's arm he puts the code name of the mission on the underside of the bandage : Operation Nachtigall. However, it soon becomes obvious that either Phillips or Marston is a traitor and it is up to the Patrol to figure out which, as they are both now giving the Patrol conflicting information.