Part 1: On a road in rolling countryside a sign reads Diversion; camera pans along the road. Men trying to free a vehicle stuck in mud. A lorry tows another free with the aid of British and Indian troops (presumably 4th Indian Division). Indian and British men at work on a road and laying stones in a stream. Pan of hillside with men at work. Long shot of a town on a distant hilltop. Mules and riders pass in the foreground. Another long shot (of a different town?). Man leads two mules. Bulldozer at work on road with closer shot of its Indian driver. Roadbuilding; men work with picks and shovels. Views of damaged or ruined buildings. Pan of the ruins. Indian troops use detectors to sweep for mines. Lieutenant-General Charles Allfrey, commander British V Corps, arrives by jeep. He meets officers of the (probably 3rd Battalion) 10th Baluch Regiment. He visits forward position before departing by jeep. A large staff car flying (Indian with boat) pennants drives away. In a mortar pit Indian troops fire a 3-inch mortar and a 4.2-inch mortar. Officers and men pose for the camera.

Part 2: Shot showing thick vegetation in the foreground and a hill in the midground. Another shot, partially obscured with vegetation in the right hand side of frame; in the midground men can be seen running forwards. A dark, silhouetted ridgeline, probably Church Knoll, with barbed wire out of focus close to the camera; the impacts of shells can be seen. Punjabi infantry, probably of 1st Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment, waiting in a trench to go forward; a British officer, stooping low, makes his way along the trench towards camera. There appears to be a tall stone wall rising behind them. An unnamed and wounded British major lies on a stretcher smoking a cigarette while a medical officer sees to a dressing on his abdomen. As he lies on the stretcher a BBC correspondent holds a microphone to record the major's message home. Wide shot of mules being loaded. Closer shot shows two Indian muleteers struggling to load a heavy pannier onto a mule. A column of men and mules led; the man at the the head of the column is a British officer wearing the patch of 5th Indian Division. View looking uphill as the mule train passes. A Punjab Regiment mortar officer with a pair of binoculars points out a target to a non-commissioned officer, who dashes off to relay the message. View looking down into a British mortar pit; the mortar team are firing their Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar rapidly and appear to have abundant ammunition. A shot consisting of fast pans from one position to the next showing a battery of four 3-inch mortars firing. View of Church Knoll, apparently with a number of Japanese bunkers visible. A Home Counties mortar detachment eating their midday meal. Hawker Hurricane fighter-bombers low over head and dropping bombs on the other side of the hill (this possibly shot on 18 May 1944). Wide and long shot of mule train winding its way towards camera. Mule train passes. The mule train returns to its base, with one shot in which a muleteer appears to be waiting for his cue. Relieved of their panniers mules are rubbed down. Group of British officers have tea.

Two-part film showing (1) Indian troops roadmending, being visited by Lieutenant-General Allfrey and firing mortars near Pelena, Italy and (2) British and Indian troops, probably of 33rd Indian Brigade, seen during an attack on Church Knoll during the Battle of Kohima in Assam, India.

Notes

Part 2: Dopesheet is a little lacking in details for this film and is undated. One reference is made to the 15th Punjab Regiment, and another to a 'Home Counties mortar detachment'. Together, and allowing for the assumption that the cameraman filmed only one brigade, these suggest 33rd Brigade, of 7th Indian Division, which included 1st Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, 1st Battalion Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surreys), and 4th Battalion 1st Gurkha Rifles.

Church Knoll was a ridge in the Naga Village area near Kohima. It was assaulted repeatedly by 1/15th Punjabs from 23 May 1944 but their efforts were bloodily repulsed. It eventually fell on 31 May 1944 to 1st Queen's, the position having been evacuated by the Japanese following a careful and methodical infilitration of nearby positions by 4/1st Gurkhas.

The BBC correspondent is probably Richard Sharp, the BBC's correspondent in India and Burma. A number of his recordings, including one from Church Knoll, can be found in the Museum's Sound Archive. His sound recordist was Eugene Girot.

While the ambiguity regarding the date of this piece means it should be carefully used, it still provides a useful record of a small part of a battle which was perhaps 'unfilmable' given its countless small actions and extremely difficult terrain. The panning shot of the mortar battery is particularly good.

The Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive holds one other film which is likely to show action at Church Knoll. See related items.

Series note: The MWY series of films is believed to be part of a ‘pool’ of film received by the Government of India from various sources, including South East Asia Command, the Indian Inter-Service Public Relations Directorate, the Ministry of Information, and from Allied governments. This footage would have been considered for editing and release through the Indian Newsreel Parade; see INR series.