START 00:00:00 Over tracking shots of thick jungle, the commentary observes "For many years soldiers have fought in the jungle where there is always a war of nerves and terror. Where there are no towns for shelter, few maps and few certain roads. Yet even in the jungle, the cool logic of life must be argued out. For some it was the logic of manoeuvre, reconnaissance and patrol". The leader of an eight-man Royal Marine Commando patrol belonging to No. 3 Special Service Brigade takes over the commentary and introduces each member by their nicknames except himself. The men, armed with SMLE No. 4 rifles, a Bren gun and an M1A1 Thompson sub machine-gun (carried by the patrol leader himself) and wearing a variety of soft hats and berets, set off through thick jungle on a three-day patrol. The commentary dwells on the obstacles and dangers all around them. At the end of the day, the Royal Marines set up camp away from mosquitoes and crocodiles and observe basic precautions against detection by the enemy such as lighting a fire against a tree truck to conceal the smoke and using jungle vines as an improvised warning system.

00:03:50 At dawn at the start of Day 2, the patrol sets off through the jungle and across paddy fields where leeches become a problem. These are removed by applying lit cigarettes to them. The patrol discovers a Burmese village ahead and splits up to reconnoitre the village from two sides. Once the Royal Marines are satisfied no Japanese troops are in the village, they make their presence known to the villagers, who turn out to be friendly. The patrol leader assigns one of his team the job of sentry. The others are fed by the villagers and are made to feel at home.

00:07:23 Reel 2 At the beginning of Day 3, the patrol crosses a river beyond the Burmese village in a boat made from bamboo and lined with waterproof ground sheets. As the Royal Marines continue their patrol to reconnoitre a village deep inside enemy territory, they encounter a solitary Japanese soldier who hurls a grenade at them before escaping into the jungle. More Japanese soldiers are observed burning vegetation outside the village that is the patrol's objective.

00:10:45 The patrol sets up a booby trap consisting of bamboo spikes to kill a Japanese soldier and snatch his papers and lies silently in wait in the jungle as night falls. The Royal Marines allow a Japanese patrol to pass by unmolested but spring their trap on a straggler. Once they have killed him, they grab his papers and remain hidden in the jungle as other members of the enemy patrol return to find out what had happened to their missing comrade. The Japanese search in vain for his attackers.

00:14:36 Over the tracking shots of the jungle seen at the beginning of this film, the commentary concludes, "So the patrol made home. But there are others who will always remain in the jungle. The soldiers who will be coming back will find a world at peace - but a world where the cool logic of life must still be argued out. A world with very few maps and few certain roads. They will remember how evil can be beaten in its own surroundings by men who kept calm and kept together".

END 00:15:10

Re-enactment of a jungle patrol by Royal Marine Commandos in the final stages of the 1942-1945 Burma campaign.

Notes

Remarks: A film that might have started life as an instructional film for jungle warfare. The technique is reminiscent of the Australian JUNGLE PATROL (CAU 245) but here the dramatisation is transparent.