In Surabaya a large pall of smoke hangs over a burning kampong or village. Two Chinese civilians approach carrying their belongings; the leading man carries a small Chinese flag to indicate he is not an Indonesian. Two more civilians with fires clearly visible behind. An RAF Thunderbolt Mk II fighter-bomber passes and disappears into the smoke. A civilian carrying a case on their head. Buildings ablaze. Very dark footage of Indian troops entering the burning village. Very dark shot of an Indian soldier against a backdrop of flames. Indian soldiers in an improvised position with a Bren gun. View of an Indian radio operator with close-up; a Thompson submachine gun leans against a wall in the background.

Footage from the turret of a moving Sherman medium tank, probably of 13th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Lancers. Alongside the cameraman is the tank's commander. As the tank drives down a road Indonesian nationalist graffiti; a sign can be read which reads: 'Nursery Peace [sic] - Don't hinder the Indonesian republic'. Later graffiti reads 'Up! Indonesian Republic' and 'Death with colonisation'. Profile of an Indian radio operator on the turret. Sherman with crew. The tank drives away from camera.

As Chinese refugees flee from fighting in Surabaya (Sourabaya/Soerabaja) in Java, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), the cameraman joins a tank sortie into the city by the 13th Lancers.

Notes

The date given on the dopesheet is 27 November 1945. According to the official history, two battalions of 49th Indian Brigade (23rd Indian Division) were flown out of Surabaya to Semarang on that date, so it is not clear if this shows the (unidentified) remaining battalion, or one of the two others before their fly-out. The following day 5th Indian Division completed their occupation of the city.

The city of Surabaya had seen heavy fighting during November 1945 after violence broke out between Indonesian nationalist forces and Indian troops. The deployment of armoured vehicles and aircraft (whose presence in the battle is represented by the shot of the Thunderbolt) were elements of the range of forces that were deployed against Surabaya, which included artillery and naval gunfire support.

The cameraman's dopesheet seeks to emphasise that British and Indian forces were at pains to minimise the destruction of the Chinese quarter of Surabaya, and stresses that the burning village was deserted by its residents and was populated only by Indonesian forces.

In all a short but highly illustrative film, with the possible symbolism of Indonesian graffiti seen from the turret of an Indian tank under British command being particularly intriguing.