Directed by: Herschel Daugherty
Written by: Peter Allan Fields
The Rat Patrol win a battle against a German unit, and are greeted by Allied infantrymen. Maybe they're Australian? Actually, they're Germans in disguise. It was a ruse by Dietrich to capture the Rat Patrol and their Jeeps.
Posing as Sergeant Troy, Dietrich reports to an Allied commander (Robert Knapp) and learns about Operation Diamond. Dietrich doesn't know it's just about the logistics for baseball games between Allied enlisted men.
Meanwhile, the Rat Patrol escape their captors and commandeer a German tank. Troy calls the base to warn them about Dietrich's deception. An Australian soldier answers; he's skeptical about the impostors, but agrees to pass the message along. Before he can do that, though, one of Dietrich's men stabs him, and sends a fake acknowledgement. Troy's not fooled.
At the ammunition depot, Dietrich sets up a Time Bomb to blow the place up in 45 minutes. Then he goes to the major's office and orders the major's aide at gunpoint to open the safe and give him the documents for Operation Diamond.
The Rat Patrol arrive at the base, and after some arguing with the corporal at the gate, are allowed aboard. Moffitt and Tully find and disarm the bomb in time. Troy tells Dietrich to release the major and the Operation Diamond documents. The major tells Troy that Dietrich must not be allowed to leave with those documents, but Troy "reluctantly" agrees to Dietrich's offer: the documents for the major.
Once he's back behind Nazi lines, Dietrich realizes he's been had and admits this to Colonel Behr (Charles Bastin). However, Behr thinks all the baseball terminology could be some kind of code; he orders everyone at the cryptography department to devote all their resources to cracking the code, not realizing what a massive waste of time and effort this will be.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: Dietrich exchanges the Allied major for information that turns out to be worthless.
- Briar Patching: Dietrich offers to trade the Allied major for the Operation Diamond documents. Troy knows the papers are useless to the Nazi war effort, but plays along in order to get the major back.
- Dressing as the Enemy: This time, Captain Dietrich and three of his men do it. Dietrich acknowledges this as a page out of Troy's playbook.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: Dietrich actually pulls this off, but it turns out to be a Pyrrhic Victory.
- Hourglass Plot: Dietrich turns the Rats' own tactics against them, and he would have won for a change if Operation Diamond had been as important as he first thought.
- Human Shield: Dietrich uses the major as one to escape with the plans for Operation Diamond.
- Near-Villain Victory: Dietrich actually wins this time. Unfortunately for him, his trophy turns out to be a booby prize.
- Operation: [Blank]: Operation Diamond. As in a baseball diamond, much to Dietrich's dismay.
- Race Against the Clock: Once they learn about Dietrich's Time Bomb, the Rats have to find it before it detonates. Moffitt and Tully deactivate it just as it's about to explode.
- Shout-Out: To Bridge. Captain Dietrich says he's played enough of the game to know when he's been "finessed."
- Translation Convention: There's no good reason for Colonel Behr and Captain Dietrich to speak to each other in English, other than for the viewers' convenience.
