I. 'SYRIA AND LEBANON.' Panoramic vista of the Roman ruins at Palmyra as British Bren gun carriers pass under a Roman archway. The Bren gun carriers are supported by British infantry, armed with .45 Thompson sub-machine guns and a .303-inch Bren light machine gun. British troops cautiously examine the fallen remains of the Roman buildings as the Bren gun carrier crew climb down from their vehicles. Commentary states that Palmyra aerodrome was an important strategic objective in the British advance over scenes of Royal Australian Air Force pilots dismounting from a truck and running to their aircraft. An Australian pilot wearing shorts climbs into the cockpit of a Curtiss P40 Tomahawk fighter aircraft and starts its engine. The pilot waves and the aircraft takes off (no Squadron markings apparent). Cut to a damaged Heinkel He 111 bomber in Vichy French markings. Commentary stresses the total cooperation between Commonwealth ground and air units over shots of British infantry examining the Vichy aircraft. A close up of the aircraft's rudder reveals the partly erased outline of a swastika underneath the Vichy colours. An Australian radio operator receives an order for a cease-fire, the message is passed on to an Australian artillery position and ammunition is unloaded, the gun's muzzles are then covered. Cut to Australian infantry working at everyday chores such as washing clothes and tending to horses and mules. Having completed their work the troops then relax, smoking cigarettes and reading magazines. The town of Acre as the Syrian armistice terms are initialled (July 12th 1941) following a meeting between General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson (C-in-C British Imperial Forces Syria), General Georges Catroux (C-in-C Free French Forces Syria) and General de Verdilhac (representing General Henri Fernand Dentz, Vichy French High Commissioner for Syria). Lieutenant-General Sir John Lavarack (Commander 7th Australian Division) is also evident during the initial armistice discussions. Australian Bren gun carriers and motorcycle troops enter Beirut, closely followed by soft-skinned vehicles towing limbers and Ordnance QF 25-pounder field guns. Australian infantry are carried shoulder high by a cheering crowd of civilians, as an Australian military band entertains the gathered throng. General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson and General Georges Catroux lead the ceremonial entry into the city, followed by a meeting with civic and religious dignitaries.

II. 'WESTERN DESERT.' Commentary stresses that it's "business as usual in the desert" over scenes of a British artillery barrage at night. Indian infantry (4th Indian Division ?) mount a soft-skinned vehicle to start a desert patrol. On arrival at their destination the Indian troops dismount and continue their patrol on foot armed with Boys anti-tank rifles and Bren guns. German prisoners wearing pith helmets and field caps behind a barbed wire enclosure. British troops display to the camera just how dusty they have become during a motorised patrol across the desert, they then strip to shorts and run in to the sea.

Notes

Documentation and sound: the sound on this film is extremely patchy. The Film and Video Archive holds a printed version of the English commentary