Reel 1: On ground covered by broken trees and with a square two-storey building in the background a Chindit 3-inch mortar team is in action. A soldier, seen in profile, in a bush hat with an American M1 carbine looks out from behind the cover of logs. Alternative angle, showing the man with his back to camera. A Chindit position; in the foreground lies a dead (presumably Japanese) soldier. Soldier in bush hat looking out with binoculars. Near a pile of debris with hills in the background the firing of a 3-inch mortar slightly startles a mule. Firing the mortar. The mortar being fired; pan shows large wooden and damaged buildings in front of the mortars position. Four British officers, including Brigadier Michael Calvert, commander 77th Brigade (seen with slung rifle, moustache and a pair of binoculars round his neck) standing over the body of a dead Japanese soldier. Inspecting a badly damaged brick building. Calvert with Major James Lumley (M1 Carbine in the crook of his arm) and Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw (behind Calvert), standing by a brick building with debris strewn about. Calvert continues his tour. Calvert sees a number of smouldering Japanese corpses. Damaged buildings and Chindits resting. Men walking amongst damaged buildings. British soldier looking out over the Mogaung river. File of British troops on the march through Mogaung. Aircraft overhead, probably a United States Army Air Force P-51 Mustang. A cloud of smoke rises a distance away. Variety of shots of a mule column (an ammunition convoy) passing. A Bren light machine gun and Vickers medium machine gun in position on a railway line; pan from the Vickers gun across open ground. Troops on the reverse slope of the railway embankment, apparently relaxing. Thickly bearded British soldier, wearing a vest and smoking. General shot of the men on the slope. Two wooden grave crosses, one with a jungle hat on top; a man places a hat on the other. The two crosses. A junior officer briefs his men over a map.

Reel 2: A Bren gun is fired. Chinese troops after linking up with the Chindits. Chinese troops, with American domed helmets, walking along the railway line. Bomb crater by the line. A length of ditch with corrugated iron shelters, with British soldiers gearing up. File of troops on the march; these men are possibly from 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. A soldier fires his carbine across the river. Various angles as a Vickers gun hammers away. Chindits marching. At the site of a destroyed bridge the Chindits link up with Chinese forces (probably 114th Regiment) with obligatory handshake shot. American aircraft attacking targets a few hundred yards away. A British soldier demonstrates the fitting of a cup discharger, for firing rifle grenades, to the Chinese. Chinese troops on the destroyed bridge. British troops passing Chinese counterparts. Chinese troops on the wrecked railway line. At a small Buddhist pagoda a Union flag is raised with a Gurkha guard of honour.

In Mogaung, northern Burma, Chindit troops of the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade capture the town and link up with Chinese forces, American aircraft provide close support, and the brigade commander Brigadier Calvert tours the frontline.

Notes

A very important piece of film documenting the atrocious conditions of the latter stages of the Second Chindit Expedition. The Chindits, placed under the command of the pathologically Anglophobic Lieutenant-General Stilwell, US Army, were ordered to take Mogaung, a task better suited to conventional infantry and entirely unsuitable for a Chindit brigade. The British official history considers that even before the fight for Mogaung, 77th Brigade 'had by now fought itself to a standstill'. Calvert's personal leadership (he would be awarded a Bar to his DSO for this expedition), the endurance of his men, and support of American air forces were vital to the eventual capture of the town. This film illustrates these various factors quite well, with the shot of the graves expressing the murderously high attrition rate suffered by 77th Brigade. The railway bridge across the Mogaung River seen in this film was the scene of a VC-winning action by Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun of 3/6th Gurkhas, for an act of 'outstanding courage and superb gallantry in the face of odds which meant almost certain death'. Incidentally, Major Lumley (also 3/6th Gurkhas) was the father of British actress Joanna Lumley, later a campaigner for Gurkha settlement rights in the United Kingdom. Tul Bahadur Pun would feature prominently in the settlement campaign.

See also MWY 39, for film documenting the capture of Hill 60 near Mogaung.

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.