A brief picture of the training of India's army and a record of its service overseas through the first half of the Second World War.

Commentary recalls WW1 service and inter-war status as a frontier force, over shots of Sikh and Indian troops in Egypt; film then illustrates retraining (PT, mechanical training etc) and re-equipment (manufacture of armour, shells and small-arms ammunition) with a tribute to India's industrial effort. The current war record: RAISC in France, 1939-40 (mules and horses); troops with Wavell in Egypt (light tanks in desert); in Eritrea (in mountains) and Abyssinia (Haile Selassie's return to Addis Ababa; surrender of Duke of Aosta); in Libya (an anti-aircraft alert); holding-operations in Middle-East; engineering work in Malaya and Burma; special mention of Gurkha troops. The film closes, with "the enemy close to his own land now" on a morale-raising note: "despite reverses, the Indian soldier is not dismayed" and quotations from General Wavell's tribute to Indian troops under his command.

Notes

Remarks: a straightforward compilation with little or no new material: much film in common with DEFENDERS OF INDIA and THE HANDYMEN (CIN 201-202).