Troops of 26th Indian Division, XV Indian Corps, seen aboard HMS Prins Albert before making an amphibious landing on the banks of the Rangoon river, Burma, as part of Operation Dracula.

Footage shot at sea; a landing barge, laden with Indian infantry, passes HMS Prins Albert. The barge comes alongside an men transfer from the barge to the ship. Looking down on the men on the barge; some are wearing berets, others in bush hats or turbans (indicating Sikhs). A QF 2-pounder gun (a Vickers 'pom-pom') being fired; a steel helmet falls off a gunner's head as he cranes his neck to look through the sights. A gunner uses a piece of equipment to fuse 40mm ammunition for the gun. A church service in progress on the quarterdeck with close-ups of men singing hymns and the ship's chaplain. British soldiers cleaning their weapons (Sten submachine guns). Footage from a muddy landing ground on the banks of the Rangoon river; Landing Craft Tank 1144 (LCT) is beached with its ramp down and a Chevrolet CMP lorry (possibly a 'FAT' or Field Artillery Tractor) coming ashore. The CMP tows an Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun but struggles with the muddy conditions. A winch cable is run out from the back of a bulldozer and hooked onto the CMP's tow bar. View along the beach with a Landing Craft Infantry (Large) (LCI(L)) nearest, LCI(L) 277, LCT 1322 and 1144 behind it. Footage at sea; signalmen hoist signal flags up a flagpole. Men passing time during the voyage; one plays the board game 'housey-housey' or lotto, others write letters. Indian men cooking chapatis (chapattis) on an open (charcoal?) oven. They use their machetes as cooking utensils. The men eating their chapatis with curry or vegetables. British and Indian servicemen talking. One British man chats with a bearded (Sikh?) Indian soldier, each with an arm around the other. Both are wearing identity discs.

Notes

Both 36th and 71st Indian Infantry Brigades were landed during Operation Dracula, but it is not clear which brigade is seen in this film. Operation Dracula was intended partly as an 'insurance policy' against the possibility of 14th Army's land advance being held up by logistical problems, the weather or enemy action.

The Prins Albert was a pre-war Belgian cross-Channel steamer and served as a Landing Ship Infantry during amphibious actions at Lofoten (Norway), Bruneval, Dieppe and Sicily.

At the same time as this film was shot, units of IV Indian Corps, led by 17th Indian Division, were advancing overland and had reached Pegu, 50 miles from Rangoon. They were prevented from reaching the city by a combination of blown bridges and the early onset of the monsoon.

Other British Army and RAF (ABY-series) film of these landings can be found at the references below. See related items.