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Secret Army : Season 3
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Air date: 22 Sep '79 - 14 episodesSecret Army, a series created by Gerard Glaister, chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen back to their home country. The show was set in a Brussels café and later restaurant (Le Candide), where the owner Albert Foiret helps Lisa Colbert (code-named "Yvette") hide airmen and control the various members of the "Lifeline" organisation as they take the airmen across borders to safer neutral countries such as Spain. Their principal opponents were Ludwig Kessler, an officious officer in the SS, and the more laidback Luftwaffe officer Major Erwin Brandt.
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List of Episodes (14)
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Secret Army (1977)
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1. The Last Run
22 Sep '79At Gestapo headquarters, Kessler takes an instant dislike to the newly arrived Luftwaffe Major Hans Dietrich Reinhardt, who has joined him in a final concerted attempt to crush the evasion lines. As the Allies continue to advance from the invasion beaches, Lifeline must continue their efforts in getting airmen back to Britain, but when Natalie attempts to guide two evaders down to Spain, it becomes clear that their work may at last be over.
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Secret Army (1977)
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2. Invasions
29 Sep '79Lifeline’s original function is now over – the Allied advance has severed the evasion lines and it is now a matter of keeping evaders safely hidden until the war is over. Despite Kessler’s irritation at Reinhardt’s manner and methods, his efforts pay dividends when he discovers a Lifeline safehouse. Two of his new prisoners commit suicide rather than talk, but Reinhardt is determined that the third prisoner will give information under torture. Albert and Monique receive a tip-off that
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Secret Army (1977)
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3. Revenge
06 Oct '79An assassination attempt has been made on Hitler, and Kessler believes that Reinhardt is involved in the conspiracy. He begins to gather information that he hopes will provide his colleague’s guilt. Meanwhile, Albert becomes aware that the Communists are once more out to get Lifeline, and that he is their target.
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Secret Army (1977)
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4. A Safe Place
13 Oct '79Albert is imprisoned on trumped-up charges as part of a Communist revenge plot, and Monique is left to take charge of both Lifeline and the Candide. Alain discovers the existence of a false escape line set up by Reinhardt to flush them out and that one of their evaders, “Mad” Mike Miller, had previously been shot down and helped by Lifeline. Monique must make a difficult decision if she is to maintain Lifeline’s safety.
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Secret Army (1977)
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5. Ring of Rosies
20 Oct '79Still languishing in prison, Albert learns that he was set up by the Communist leader Paul Vercors. Meanwhile, Dr. Keldermans makes a shocking discovery when examining an evader at a safehouse – the man is dying of bubonic plague. Lifeline’s personnel face the horrifying possibility of being wiped out by the deadly disease.
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Secret Army (1977)
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6. Prisoner
27 Oct '79Major Nick Bradley returns to Brussels to co-ordinate resistance activities whilst waiting for the Allies’ final push, and clashes with Monique over leadership of Lifeline. A tense time is in store for Lifeline when Alain is arrested, and Bradley decides to make a deal with a German officer to try to get him out of Gestapo headquarters. However, the officer demands one million francs in exchange for Alain’s freedom.
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Secret Army (1977)
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7. Ambush
03 Nov '79Bradley travels to the Ardennes to continue recruiting his own private army of former airmen to engage in sabotage activities – the target is V2 testing sites. Bradley’s first objective, however, is to hijack a convoy of weapons and he asks Monique for assistance in recruiting men and resources. Lifeline, previously an evasion network, is now a fully-fledged guerrilla operation
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Secret Army (1977)
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8. Just Light the Blue Touch-Paper
10 Nov '79As Bradley’s army remains in hiding along the Dutch border, he and Natalie become closer as they work together planning the raid on the V2 site. To increase his chances of success, Bradley must try to obtain the rocket delivery schedule and plans to get the information by dining with Kessler at the Candide…. Meanwhile, Reinhardt is rapidly closing in on Lifeline, with Natalie as his chief suspect.
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Secret Army (1977)
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9. Sound of Thunder
17 Nov '79The Allied advance continues as they at last enter Belgium, and the Germans begin to plan a strategic withdrawal from Brussels. Albert is petitioning for his release from prison, while Bradley endeavours to forge links with other resistance groups. The people of Brussels are now left to their own devices, and recriminations are brewing for collaborators and black marketeers. Kessler comes to help Madeleine, while Alain offers Monique and Natalie a place to hide. Meanwhile, Reinhardt at last
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Secret Army (1977)
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10. Collaborator
24 Nov '79Albert is finally released from prison and reunited with Monique. The Lifeline personnel continue to be in danger of reprisals from their own people and the Communists for alleged collaboration with the Germans, but Albert refuses to leave the Candide. The Allies are still making their way towards Brussels, and Natalie and Alain join the offensive. As Kessler and his men leave the city, Reinhardt stays behind to complete his investigation into Lifeline and pays one last visit to the Candide,
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Secret Army (1977)
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11. Days of Judgement
01 Dec '79Vercors has taken Albert, Monique and Reinhardt prisoner, and plans to hang Albert as a collaborator and a murderer. Only the Allies, helped by Natalie, can save him but they have only just entered Brussels. Meanwhile, Kessler and Madeleine are trekking on foot towards Germany through the Belgian countryside. To evade capture by the Allies, Kessler decides to take on a new identity.
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Secret Army (1977)
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12. Bridgehead
08 Dec '79The Allied liberation of Brussels paradoxically brings terror for the former Lifeline workers. About to face savage punishment after being falsely accused of collaboration, Monique is rescued thanks to Natalie and a British officer, Captain Stephen Durnford. She moves in with Natalie, where Durnford visits her and the two become close. Natalie tries to persuade Albert to declare his feelings for Monique, but he remains convinced that she will come back to him and the Candide. Meanwhile, Hans Van
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Secret Army (1977)
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13. The Execution
15 Dec '79Kessler, still posing under an alias, and Reinhardt find themselves interned in the same prison camp for German officers. Kessler learns that Reinhardt surrendered himself to Albert at the Candide and is determined to dispose of him with a trumped-up court martial. Madeleine is forced to make a decision that will change her life forever. In Brussels, Albert and the others learn they are to be decorated for their selfless contribution to the war effort and Albert is given full ownership of the
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Secret Army (1977)
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14. What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
22 Dec '791969. Albert, Monique, Natalie and Alain are invited to take part in a British TV documentary “In Our Time” commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Allied liberation of Brussels. Also participating is Kessler, now known as Manfred Dorf. The former Lifeline personnel reunite at the Candide, and discuss their lives during the war. NB: The episode was never broadcast due to quality issues and the feeling that the content ran contrary to the main dramatic themes of the overall series.
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