At an airfield in India Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, meets Colonel Philip Cochran and (commander, 1st Air Commando Group) and inspects troops of 3rd Indian Division (the Chindits), soon to be deployed by air to Burma.

Mountbatten with Colonel Philip Cochran (United States Army Air Forces, commander 1st Air Commando Group). Mountbatten talking to others, including a British major-general, by a parked USAAF aircraft. Mountbatten and Cochran in discussion; Cochran explains some manouevre with hand gestures and a Waco CG-4 glider stationary behind. Mountbatten watching Gurkha troops pass with mules. Gurkhas passing. Mountbatten and the British major-general. Profile of the general. Mountbatten inspecting Gurkhas. Mountbatten boards a Dakota marked with the four stars of a general. Mountbatten and entourage on foot. The general speaks to a British junior officer. Assembled troops in full gear at a tented camp. A soldier’s personal equipment is shown to Mountbatten. View of the equipment. A soldier in full equipment; he turns around to show the camera the load he is carrying (with Brigadier Calvert watching?). The general examines a small piece of equipment, turns and realises he is on camera and waves ‘cut!’. Mules passing; it carries a Vickers machine gun as part of its load. Men and mules passing through a forested area. Gurkhas passing. More of troops and mules.

Notes

No dopesheet survives for this film so details are unclear, but presumably shot in India before Operation Thursday in February 1944

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.