- The Germans plot to send an impostor of a captured English officer to kill Winston Churchill. Hogan plots how to foil the plan and keep the real officer alive.
- Winston Chuchill's right-hand man Group Captain James "Robbie" Roberts (who also happens to be a close friend of Col. Hogan) is shot down, captured and brought to Stalag 13; however, it is all part of a Luftwaffe scheme to assassinate Churchill as Roberts is put in the cooler while a trained impostor is to escape and head to England to carry out the job. Hogan finds out what is going on and makes plans for the real Roberts to escape while the impostor stays in Luftwaffe custody.—Brian Washington <Sargebri@att.net>
- Klink enters the compound, asking Schultz if everything's ready. It is. Schultz asks if he should put the prisoners in their barracks. No, Klink wants them to see who's arriving, especially Hogan.
Hogan and his men note that when Klink drags out the welcome mat it's got to be something. Klink's smiling too, which means he's also being a sneak.
A staff car arrives bringing Maj. Hochstetter and a British POW. Newkirk sees it's an RAF officer, a group captain at least. Schultz escorts the man to special quarters, which is curious. Hogan's group heads for Hogan's private quarters where they can listen in on Klink's office from their bugging device hooked up through Hogan's coffee pot.
Hogan already knows the POW - Group Captain James Roberts - an important RAF officer and a good friend of Hogan's.
in Klink's office, Klink pours himself and Hochstetter drinks to celebrate their successful mission and the elimination of the Third Reich's No.1 enemy - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Hogan and men are stunned.
Himmler, says Hochstetter, will settle for nothing less than perfection itself. It's all clear to Klink because the plan is also simplicity itself. Hochstetter knew Klink would understand anything simple.
Hilda announces Hogan requesting an audience. By all means, say Klink, and asides to Hochstatter that the fish is nibbling at the bait.
Hogan goes into Klink's office and asks to see the new prisoner. He's sure, now that he's made this request, it'll be denied. Klink will? The Geneva Convention affords Hogan, as senior officer, to see any prisoner; not allowing him to see the prisoner violates it. Permission granted.
Hogan carries on but then stops to have Klink repeat himself. Klink is very happy to permit Hogan access to Roberts. Hochstetter, too. Hogan says they ought to give a little notice when they're going to do something decent, saying he faints very easily.
Hogan sees Roberts in Klink's quarters. Roberts tells Hogan he was on a recon mission over the French coast when he was shot down, captured, and sent to STALAG 9, where he was interrogated, photographed, and recorded. Sounds a little odd, so Hogan begins searching the room for bugs, finding one in the cap of a curtain cord and shows it to Roberts.
Listening in, Klink says their plan is going well. "OUR plan?" asks Hochstetter.
Saying goodbye, Hogan makes it sound as if he's left the room, only to cross over quietly to the curtain mic. With his thumb on the mic, Hogan asks Roberts what they talked about during his interrogation. Everything, including Roberts being on Air Marshall Titter's staff that attends meetings with Churchill. Hogan also wonders why the Germans fell all over themselves to allow Hogan to see Roberts alone. It's time they begin to find out.
In the compound, Hogan can't believe Roberts would have anything to do with killing Churchill. LeBeau thinks he sold out. Newkirk objects. And why the transfer to STALAG 13?
Having listened in, Kinchloe reports something going on in Klink's office.
Hochstetter and Klink talk delightedly with Roberts, revealing his mission: to assassinate Winston Churchill.
Listening in, LeBeau thinks him a sell out but Hogan and Newkirk disagree.
Robert's says he's honored.
Newkirk calls him a bleeding traitor.
Hochstetter basks in the fact that Group Captain Roberts has the highest security clearance and is frequently near Churchill when the war council meets. "On one of those occasions you will shoot him." Hochstetter says he will be flown to the Belgian coast where he will "escape" to England. How the Major leaves is most important and will need Hogan's help to work out an escape from camp.
Alarmed that his perfect record will be marred by permitting Roberts to escape, Klink objects. Hochstetter says he'll either allow it or get sent to the Russian front - his choice. Klink now glumly thinks Roberts will have a marvelous escape.
Hochstetter signals Klink to bring in their guest.
Roberts enters the office to see himself standing next to Hochstetter. Hochstetter introduces Roberts to Leutnant Baumann, a perfect Roberts replica thanks to plastic surgery and study of the STALAG 9 recordings. Roberts says that is why they took pictures and made the recordings.
A double! Hogan and his men are astonished, no less astonished than Roberts himself at how accurately the man before him is his exact copy. Hogan and group are at a loss as to how Baumann got smuggled into camp without their notice. After all, they're supposed to know everything that goes on around there.
Roberts has served his purpose and shall now be moved to more isolated and less comfortable quarters. Klink has the guard take Roberts to the cooler. Roberts promises that they won't succeed in whatever they're planning.
Hogan orders Carter to see where they take Roberts.
For the next stage, Baumann will move into Roberts previous quarters and see if he can fool Hogan. Hochstetter presents Baumann with an arm gun, worn under the sleeve and triggered by the muscular movements of a handshake. With this he will slay Churchill.
Hogan shakes hands with Newkirk to demonstrate how the arm gun works. The Krauts can't afford two Capt. Roberts running around for long so they'll kill the real Roberts shortly after Baumann gets away. Newkirk wants to shoot the phone Roberts. Newkirk says that the war would not be the same without Churchill. Hogan's dilemma: Stopping Baumann and saving Roberts without any Allies getting shot. They have a tunnel to the cooler, but then what?
The men play basketball in the compound. Carter and Newkirk report the tunnel to the cooler to be good. Carter suggests he and Hogan go into the tunnel-making business together after the war. Hogan suggests going from jail to jail and charging by the foot. Newkirk suggests Carter use the money to pay for his psychiatrist. Carter says he doesn't need a psychiatrist. Newkirk concedes it may be too late for that.
Schultz tells Hogan that Roberts (Baumann) wants to see him; he can have 10 minutes with Roberts. Hogan bribes Schultz with a chocolate bar to have twenty minutes with Roberts rather than the ten permitted by Klink. The chocolate bar gets him the 20 minutes.
Before Schultz leaves, LeBeau and Kinchloe ask him to try for a basket. They give him the basketball, and with the chocolate bar in his mouth, Schultz happily complies, but his shot sinks the basketball into the water tower on which the POW hoop hangs.
WIth Klink and Hochstetter listening in, Hogan discusses Robert's (Baumann's) escape idea. Baumann thinks the simple and direct way is best, using wire cutters he smuggled in from STALAG 9. Hogan reminds him he's dealing with the toughest kommandant in all of Germany, whose stupid expression masks a monster. Roberts wants to do it tonight; Hogan says 9:00, when they change the guards. The plan might work with a diversion on the other side of camp. Baumann agrees. Hogan leaves, saying that, if successful, to give his regards to Churchill. "Oh, yes, old Winnie," says Baumann.
Hochstetter calls to arrange a car to take Baumann to the air field, and arranges for a bomber at the airfield. Klink wants to do it but Hochstetter only trusts himself. Come to think of it, Klink prefers it that way, too.
Carter comes out of the tree stump tunnel and finds the car waiting to take Roberts/Baumann to the air field.
Carter reports back through the underground tunnels. Hogan tells Kinch and Newkirk to move out. LeBeau decries missing out on all the action, as his part only involves cooking. Hogan says his part is vital, for which he will get deGaulle to award LeBeau an oak leaf cluster and a Crêpe Suzette.
Schultz guards the cooler. Inside, Kinchloe and Newkirk come up through the tunnel and shove a life-size dummy into Roberts' cell to replace Roberts. Newkirk uses the dummy's arm to wake Roberts up. They then place the dummy in the bunk and cover him up; then go out through the floor tunnel.
AT the appointed time, Baumann turns out the light in his quarters. Just before Hogan sneaks into Baumann's quarters, Baumann slips on the arm gun. Hogan enters and says they will leave through the window.
Newkirk, Roberts, and Kinchloe emerge from the hollow tree stump. They come to the awaiting car. Roberts approaches it alone and is stopped by a soldier speaking in German (which Roberts apparently does not speak).
At camp and under cover of darkness, Hogan and Baumann make it to the barbed wire fence. Klink watches from his window, assuring Hochstetter that his guards have been told to look the other way and that Schultz is watching the Englander in the cooler.
Back at the car, Roberts tells the "fool" soldier to speak only English to him as he is Group Captain James Roberts, RAF. The soldier complies with a "Yes, sir", and they leave in the car.
LeBeau comes upon Schultz, wafting a pan of freshly made potato pancakes. Schultz is wooed. LeBeau asks to get at least a few to the group captain. Schultz knows he can't see Roberts, nor should he be out of the barracks. LeBeau suddenly agrees but Schultz says not to be so hasty. Schultz complies.
At the fence, Baumann is taking too long to cut through; apparently the wire cutters are not big enough for the wire. He wonders about the distraction. Hogan says not to worry.
In the cooler, Schultz opens the door to Roberts' cell, and calls to him, hearing no answer. He taps the group captain on the shoulder, and discovers a mannequin in Robert's bed. He must be escaping. Where can he be? LeBeau suggests the wires near the main gate - because that's where HE'D go if HE was escaping. Going, Schultz tells LeBeau to keep the pancakes warm.
Schultz catches Baumann and Hogan at the fence. Baumann breaks cover to identify himself as Baumann, not Roberts, and speaks in German. Hogan begs Schultz not to listen to him. It's what all Englishmen say. Baumann demands to see Maj. Hochstetter, but Schultz has Baumann put back in the cooler while taking Hogan along to report to Klink.
In Klink's office, Hochstetter is quite pleased to hear that Baumann-alias-Roberts took off from the airport five minutes ago. As Klink tries to see that his name appears favorably in Hochstetter's report, Hogan and Schultz enter. Schultz reports foiling Robert's escape attempt. Hogan concurs. To Klink and Hochstetter this is obviously the diversion Hogan engineered.
Klink and Hochstetter exit, too busy squabbling over the report to listen further. Left behind with Hogan, Schultz summarizes that doing wrong is no good but doing right is no good either. As Hogan pours themselves drinks from Klink's stock, Hogan says he'll continue to give Schultz full credit. Schultz declares that Hogan is his enemy but also sometimes his friend. Hogan says that, with him as a friend, Schultz doesn't need an enemy. They drink but Schultz doesn't find Hogan's statement as nice as it should have been.
Later, Klink, Hochstetter, and Hogan happily come upon Schultz and Baumann in the compound. Baumann insists he's Baumann and not Roberts. Hochstetter smugly asks the man to describe his mission in German to prove himself (knowing Roberts doesn't speak German). Baumann is fluent, which confounds Hochstetter. How could this be? He just got the report that the Englishman crossed the channel under Luftwaffe protection. "Klink! I VILL mention you in my report!"
As Klink stands confounded, Baumann congratulates Hogan as a worthy opponent and offers his hand. Hogan says thanks and reaches for the hand but knocks the arm up instead. The hidden gun goes off, shooting the cap off Klink's head.
"Hogan..." says the kommandant, picking up his cap and putting a finger through its new hole. "Don't blame me," says Hogan. "I didn't know his arm was loaded."
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