As war rages in Eastern Europe, the British Army is readying its infantry platoons for action. These platoons – 30 strong units of soldiers who eat, sleep and fight alongside each other – are the backbone of the Army.
This series follows one newly assembled platoon in The Rifles, the Army's largest infantry regiment, preparing for possible frontline deployment. Filmed over six brutal months, they must develop soldiering skills to compete with a battle-hardened enemy and grow into a band of brothers so tight they will lay down their lives for each other.
PLATOON: EPISODE 1
In Episode One, the thirty soldiers of 13 Platoon, D Company, 5th Battalion The Rifles come together for the first time. They come from all different walks of life and corners of the country, most with little experience beyond basic training. Their challenge is to become a fighting unit, capable of deploying to Eastern Europe in six months' time. At the helm is 22-year-old Platoon Commander Lieutenant Tom Drew, fresh out of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Infantry Battle School, but with just four weeks experience of life in camp.
Together with Platoon Serjeant Dan Mann, he's overall responsible for the success or failure of the platoon. With the clock ticking, he throws them in at the deep end with a week-long exercise in the Brecon Beacon mountains. Here the Riflemen undergo 'Top Dog', a competition scrutinising their fitness and mental resilience. Over four harsh winter days and nights they're put through the wringer.
Competing for this prize are Rifleman Callum Hancock, a former bouncer and powerlifter from Cornwall whose difficult family background serves as motivation to prove himself; Rifleman Will Halliday, the only Rifleman with A Levels, who's hoping brains can outsmart Hancock's brawn; and 18-year-old Rifleman Owen Morris, who, fresh into the army after being expelled from school, wants to show he's up to task. Meanwhile, father of two Rifleman Ryan Dutton, is competing after a lengthy lay off from injury. Does he have the grit to prove to his superiors he is worth his place in the platoon?
Whoever impresses most will be crowned Top Dog: the Best Rifleman in the Company.
PLATOON: EPISODE 2
Episode 2 continues with Top Dog and the soldiers must face the fourth and final day. Serjeant Mann has saved the worst for last with the troops are woken at dawn before forced in ‘Heaven and Hell’, a brutal test of mental aptitude under intense physical pressure. The competition culminates in the 'Sword Lane', where exhausted soldiers must show their psychological ability to switch on a cut-throat aggression to eliminate a series of targets at close range, using only a bayonet.
The platoon travel back in Bulford after Top Dog. But no sooner have the Riflemen unpacked their bags when news arrives that Donald Trump intends to stop sharing American military intelligence with Ukraine, Keir Starmer says that Britain is ready to deploy a peacekeeping force within weeks. As Armoured Infantry, 13 Platoon could be some of the first deployed.
Their training schedule now moves into training for Eastern European combat. They must first train on Warriors – armoured vehicles similar to tanks – their greatest weapon and how they will fight on the battlefield if the call comes. They are then trained in close-combat urban warfare, where Platoon Commander Lieutenant Tom Drew must put faith in a brand-new Corporal – Jack Sherborne – to lead an assault on a training village on the Salisbury Plain Training Area. With instructors watching their leadership skills, it's a vital test Jack and Tom must pass to keep the confidence of the platoon.
PLATOON: EPISODE 3
In Episode 3 the platoon’s training steps up, and they're deployed to a NATO training area in Germany for a month of Eastern European battle preparation. Here they train in their Warrior armoured fighting vehicles – tank-like machines which can carry Riflemen inside. Each Warrior crew will need to pass a live firing test by destroying moving targets. Lieutenant Drew is once again under pressure as he's paired with the platoon's most junior gunner.
Corporal Jack Sherborne leads the other Riflemen in a challenging week of drills on territory akin to Ukraine, taking young Rifleman Owen Morris under his wing. When the physical nature of the drills causes the platoon to go a man down, Corporal Sherborne must motivate the others to pass a final assessment – an attack against an enemy at night. Failure to eliminate them will dent the platoon's chances of being deployed.
PLATOON: EPISODE 4
It's now summer in Bulford and 13 Platoon is reaching the end of its training. But ahead of them are the two biggest tests of their six months of training. First is Exercise Iron Storm, in which the platoon will fight alongside tanks and artillery in a large-scale exercise across the Salisbury Plain Training Area. With their rifles and body armour equipped with a laser tracking system, this is the first time the platoon can kill – and be killed – in a battle simulation. But if they all get eliminated quickly, they'll fail the exercise. Rifleman Owen Morris, who impressed in Germany, is promoted to sharpshooter – the sniper of the platoon – and when the platoon ends up defending a farmhouse to the last man, everything rests on his young shoulders.
Their second challenge is an endurance competition, staged on the inhospitable terrain of Dartmoor in Devon. Carrying 30kg of kit, the platoon must race non-stop over 45 kilometres whilst also undertaking a series of energy-sapping combat exercises. To pass their training the whole platoon must cross the finish line together.
All eyes are on father of two Rifleman Ryan Dutton – a Rifleman who has struggled throughout training with an ankle injury and his fitness. He has extra motivation to complete the course – it is make or break for his chances of promotion. Carrying half their own body weight the platoon must venture across deep bog, high hills and march through the night. Soaking wet and with temperatures plummeting to near freezing, they must draw upon all their mental strength to get through. Can Platoon Commander Lieutenant Tom Drew and Corporal Jack Sherborne galvanise their soldiers one final time to get them across the finish line together as a band of brothers?