This World War II era news film, official War Film 18, Film Communique 7th Issue, begins with a shot of smoke billowing from an industrial factory with the description, “Exclusive for the Men and Women of American Industry” (00:12). A Signal Corps production circa 1943 to 1944, this black and white reel is labeled an official film of the War Department in cooperation with combat film units of the United States Marines, Navy, and Air Forces. The Burma Outpost Combat Film Unit provided content for this communique, or official war statement, as part of a monthly series of pictorial reports in key cities directed at industrial war workers and labor groups. The Industrial Services Division of the War Department Bureau of Public Relations established the distribution of these films across the nation.

Mountain ranges of the Arakan Yoma system create a barrier between India and Burma, now known as Myanmar, and divide Japanese forces from American forces (00:45-00:57). The Naga Hills have a height of over 12,000 feet on the India-Burma front. Hidden American outposts, like that of Station X in the 10th Air Force, are scattered among the densely forested and rolling hills in the area (1:00). Tribesman of the Naga Hills occasionally interact with U.S. soldiers for trade and other exchanges (01:15-01:40). G.I.s use elephants to trek into the jungle, always on the lookout for Japanese air strikes (02:00-02:52). C-47 aircraft bring supplies via parachutes to the isolated soldiers (03:17-03:40). A popular, humorous animated G.I. called Private Snafu is shown in a piece called “The Home Front” (04:15-08:37). Private Snafu appeared in animated shorts produced for military forces between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. The Combat Photo Unit describes “What Makes a Battle”, and the capture of the Japanese stronghold on the Marshall Islands by U.S. land and naval forces is depicted (08:40-19:40). Starting at 19:45, the film concludes with footage of the darker side of battle, presenting images of dead and wounded soldiers to depict the losses endured during war.

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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com