Tanks, troops, and artillery of XXXIII Indian Corps move up as part of operations towards Shwebo in Burma.

Parachute supply bundles descending near a bridge over the dry Sipadon Chaung or river. Vehicles driving across the riverbed. Jeep with troops walking at the roadside. Troops passing. Troops walking in dappled sunlight along a dusty road with tall grass. Digging sand out from beneath a bogged vehicle. Brief shot of a Universal carrier on the bridge. Lee medium tanks of the 254th Indian Tank Brigade pass under the bridge along the riverbed. Priest self-propelled guns, probably of 18th (Self-Propelled) Field Regiment, passing. Various shots of Lees with tracks churning dust etc. Bren carriers pass. Parked Lees in background; infantry climb the riverbank into undergrowth. Troops moving through thick vegetation; one man appears to wear a tam o'shanter. Taking compass bearing. Various shots of the setting up of a 3-inch mortar battery. Men carrying mortar ammunition. Mortarmen and weapons. More men passing through. Officer on radio. Sergeant F Manifold and Sergeant R Millburn check a map. Troops lying prone, one has a Bren gun and another binoculars. Troops digging. Stacked mortar rounds are covered in foliage. Officer on radio; tilt to a lieutenant. Close-up lieutenant checking his watch. Close-up mortar muzzle. Carefully removing a (misfired?) bomb from the barrel. Close-up lieutenant saying 'fire'. Close-ups of an unidentified brigadier with another. Bulldozer dragging a tree with troops passing. Dozer shunting. Out of focus shot of the road with collapsed bridge. An 'orders group' (?) in progress. Priest self-propelled guns passing. Lieutenant-Colonel J S Vickers, commanding officer of 4th Battalion 10th Gurkha Rifles, talks to Major-General Nicholson, commander 2nd Division. Nicholson, wearing steel helmet and standing by a tree marked '94 Command Post'. Shots of an unidentified brigadier with Nicholson and a captain of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (probably 1st Battalion). Soldier with Sten gun. Troops crossing the bridge over the Sipadon Chaung. A Universal carrier piled with gear. Japanese kanji script on the bridge. More troops and vehicles passing. Towed 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzers. Engineers working on a road with heavy plant. Lorry towing passes. A bulldozer leads a lorry. Parked Lee medium tank; pan across road to a steamroller. View of text 'License expires on 6-9-1942' (on the cab of the roller?). Royal Indian Army Service Corps mule train crosses the bridge.

Notes

No dopesheet for this film, but the Imperial War Museum Photograph Archive holds a number of contemporaneous photographs, the captions of which provided many of the details above. See related items.

4th Battalion 10th Gurkha Rifles was part of 100 Indian Infantry Brigade, 20th Indian Division, but was attached to the all-British 2nd Division for these operations. The account in the official history would suggest a date in the last week of December 1944. Date given above is tentative.