This silent film shows the battle for “Hill 700” starting on March 9, 1944. Depicted is the counter-attack by the 145th Infantry of the 37th Division to recapture the hill which had been taken in the early morning. The Japanese objective was to break through to the strategic beachhead on Empress Augusta Bay. Mortars (9:30) and light tanks and halftracks from the 754th Tank Battalion provided fire support and the battle continued through March 13th, when the troops regained the summit of Hill 700. Some of the difficult to watch footage in this film includes bodies seen at 15:40 in jungle trenches, evacuation of wounded at 16:00, body bags 17:30, and the burying Japanese dead. At 5;28-5:58, a Japanese soldier who was believed to be “playing dead” is shot.
The Bougainville Campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific. The campaign took place in the Northern Solomons in two phases. The first phase, in which American troops invaded and held the perimeter around the beachhead at Torokina, lasted from November 1943 through November 1944. The second phase, in which primarily Australian troops went on the offensive, mopping up pockets of starving, isolated but still-determined Japanese, lasted from November 1944 until August 1945, when the last Japanese on the island surrendered. Operations during the final phase of the campaign saw the Australian forces advance north towards the Bonis Peninsula and south towards the main Japanese stronghold around Buin, although the war ended before these two enclaves were completely destroyed.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
