Indian Engineers of 5th Indian Division operate a cable ferry across the Manipur River, India, which is then used to convey the guns of 28th Jungle Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.

Shot from the bank of the Manipur River. Wideshot of riverbank with improvised jetty, a number of pontoon rafts and men on the bank. A steel frame holds up a metal cable. Indian engineers on the jetty with the pontoon cable ferry alongside. A man carries a small bundle. A number of Douglas Dakota transport aircraft drop supplies by parachute over a ridge in the distance. The ferry makes its way across the river with a light lorry aboard. Men at work on the riverbank; slow pan right to jetty. A light lorry on the ferry in midstream. A number of Indian troops with supplies; they appear to be standing on a platform which has been screened off (with parachutes?) and covered in foliage, in order to keep mules calm as they were transported across the river. Hillside with drifting cloud. A Morris Quad artillery tractor struggling for grip on a very badly broken track. Men throw rocks into the mud to provide traction. A wrecked lorry at the roadside. The Quad, towing an Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun, picks its way along the track. View of a steep hillside. Men stand about as a bulldozer works to remove slipped earth from the road; slow pan right shows waiting vehicles. Bulldozer shunts earth down the hillside. Vehicles, guided by a man who beckons them on, make their way along the track. A Morris Quad and 25-pounder pass camera with a British corporal sitting on the gun. Another Morris Quad and gun pass. Landscape view with road visible. At the jetty on the Manipur River an Indian elephant, up to its eyes in water and fitted with two large panniers, wades out of the river. Raft in midstream. Pontoon raft carrying a jeep makes its way across the river; the strength of the current is evident. A screened raft crosses the river. Wider shot of raft in midstream. Mules are led aboard a screened raft. Shot of the cable stretched across the river. Material unloaded from the back of a lorry. Screened ferry setting out. A number of Indian engineers at work in the water (print quite badly marked at this point). Raft crossing river. British troops manhandle a 25-pounder onto the pontoon ferry. A ferry, heavily laden with men, passes camera. Pan along a line of Indian engineers standing in the river holding a line. A Chevrolet CMP FAT (Field Artillery Tractor) on the jetty with 25-pounder behind it. A large number of men carry a section of pontoon. CMP FAT on the ferry in midstream. 25-pounder pushed onto a raft. Wideshot of jetty and river; slow left pan across river. Ferry on the far side of the river. Indian engineers push a pontoon into the river. Raft in midstream approaches the nearside riverbank; an Indian engineer casts a line to the jetty. An Indian engineer standing in the water tightens a fitting on one of the girders that make up the jetty.

Notes

The crossing of this river forms part of 5th Indian Division's advance from Imphal to Kalemyo between July and December 1944. Once crossed, 5th Indian Division were able to continue their advance on Tongzang, on the Tiddim road.

According to Brett-James' history of the 5th Indian Division advanced elements reached the Manipur River on 14 September 1944. He describes as a rapid and swollen torrent, with a 'roar [that] was likened to that of a football crowd', and the rapidity of the current is clearly seen in this film.

Brett-James goes on to describe how the first crossing was made two days later by twelve men in a collapsible boat. The cable ferry was constructed by attaching lines, cordage and hawsers as required to 3-inch mortar shells which were then fired over the river. The ferries were progressively enlarged, with a six-pontoon ferry able to transport four tanks an hour across the river. Brett-James also notes that ten men were drowned during attempts to bridge this river.

For more film of bridging the Manipur River (which also features 28th Jungle Field Regiment), see related items.