Jungle Patrol (documentary)

''Jungle Patrol'' is a 1944 Australian documentary narrated by Peter Finch, and directed by Tom Gurr. The film follows eight Australian soldiers on a fighting patrol in New Guinea during World War II.

Plot

The film starts with the introduction of all 8 members of the infantry section which the film follows. From Port Moresby, the section board a USAF C47 called the ''Honeymoon Express'', then covers their flight over the Owen Stanley Range and Kokoda Trail, with the narrator noting the heavy fighting that took place in the recapture of Kokoda in 1942. The plane land at an airstrip at Dumpu in the Ramu Valley, ten miles from the frontline.

The eight troops them march through the Ramu Valley, fording the Ramu river and then bathing in a pool. The section then pushes on through tough terrain in tropical heat, beginning their ascent of the Finisterre Range, encountering local inhabitants in service with the Australian army as porters and stretcher bearers. When the section arrive at their battalion's position on Shaggy Ridge, the men pitch tent, eat and apply products such as anti-lice lotion and foot powder.

The next day, the men shave, cut their hair and drink treated water, before embarking on a long range patrol into the jungle. Along the way, they radio back to headquarters, and receive airdropped food from a USAAF C-47. Later on their patrol, the men take fire from a Japanese sniper, and are then shot at by a Japanese machine gun hidden in the jungle. The section closes in on the enemy, firing at them with their small arms, before taking out the bunker with hand grenades. The Australians then bury the Japanese soldiers that they killed.

Viewers next see the beginning of the Battle for Shaggy Ridge. They see a forward artillery observer up a tree, followed by a bombardment by Australian QF 25-pounder howitzers, as well as machine guns and mortars. Artillery bursts on the ridge, and then USAAF P-40 fighter bombers strafe and bomb the ridge. Australian troops are later seen in possession of the ridge, with victory signalled by a flare being fired and a victory roll from a P-40 fighter.

The film closes with shots from a USAAF B-17. Shots show Australian infantrymen struggling up a trail, fighting against Japanese troops, then soldiers heroically framed on a mountain top. The commentary concludes ''"You, the Australian soldier, have sweated some more miles of jungle. You have won another battle. In a year, you've advanced three hundred miles. You've got three thousand miles to go. But when the Allies march into Tokyo, you'll be marching in - with them!"''

Cast

* Private A N McGregor
* Corporal A C Pierson
* Private F C Northcott
* Private A B Graffin
* Private M J Driver
* Corporal R A Box
* Private J H Adams
* Private E Barmby

Depiction of local people

New Guinea natives in Australian service are depicted helping carry supplies for Australian soldiers and are referred to as " boongs", with narrator Peter Finch claiming, "You couldn't fight the war without the boong, the steady, patient boong".

Production

The film was made by the Australian government to demonstrate the contribution of Australia to the New Guinea campaign, which they felt had not received sufficient acknowledgement. It was shot over five weeks and was widely distributed in Australia and overseas, including in newly liberated European countries. Writer-director Tom Gurr, who worked on the film without pay, estimated it was seen by fifteen million people.

References

{{reflist

External links

Complete copy of film
at Imperial War Museum
Complete copy of film
at Australian War Memorial

''Jungle Patrol''
at Australian Screen Online

''Jungle Patrol''
at National Film and Sound Archive

Films set in Papua New Guinea
Australian World War II propaganda films
1944 films
1940s war films
Australian short documentary films
1944 short documentary films
1940s Australian films