Creator(s):
Department of Defense.
Department of the Army.
Office of the
Chief Signal Officer.
9/18/1947-2/28/1964 (Most Recent)
Series:
Orientation Films,
1942 - 1949
Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer,
1860 -
1985
Production Date:
1944
Other
Title(s):Orientation
Film, no. 6
Production Series: Title:
Why We Fight
Scope &
Content: This motion picture film explores
Japanese aggression. In
Reel 1, Japanese planes bomb
Shanghai; citizens flee. Describes
Chinese development of the compass, printing, astronomy, gunpowder, and porcelain. The reel shows views of the
Gobi Desert, sampans, and types of architecture and statuary. Japanese artillery fires and cavalry advances. The reel also describes Japanese plans for world conquest; contrasts Japanese unity with Chinese disunity. Footage also shows
Emperor Hirohito. Reel 2 shows
Sun Yat-sen and uprisings against the
Manchu dynasty. Students go abroad. Hospitals, highways, schools, and factories are constructed.
Children play at school. Emperor Hirohito reviews Japanese troops; tanks roll down a street. The reel shows a Japanese munitions factory, a
Japanese fleet at sea, troops marching, the
Army occupying
Manchuria, views of the
League of Nations as the action is condemned, the
Great Wall of China, the puppet premier Pu-Yi, Japanese attacking Chinese at
Marco Polo Bridge in
1937, and
Chiang Kai-shek. Reel 3 shows street and harbor scenes in Shanghai, the bombing and naval bombardment of the city, street fighting, and the city's capture by
Japanese units. Japanese troops advance toward
Nanking. The gunboat Panay is bombed in the Yangtze. The reel also shows fighting in and around Nanking. In Reel 4, the battle continues. Footage describes
Japanese atrocities during the rape of Nanking and shows dead and injured civilians. Chinese demonstrate against
Japan. Chiang Kai-shek speaks. Hordes of Chinese emigrate to the
West carrying their belongings with them. Reel 5 shows the establishment of the new Chinese capitol at
Chungking.
Air raid shelters are dug; the city is bombed. The reel shows an underground factory, fires being fought, recruits for the
Chinese Army, the "
Flying Tigers" taking off, and Japanese units occupying the Chinese coast. In Reel 6, coolies repair and expand the
Burma Road by hand; trucks move over it.
Dikes on the
Yellow River are blown up to stem a Japanese offensive on
Chengchow.
Guerrillas ambush a Japanese patrol. Japanese planes attack
Pearl Harbor. Footage shows the Japanese high command. In Reel 7, Japanese units advance against
Changsha, their supply lines are cut forcing their withdrawal, and the Chinese infantry advances. Footage shows
Generals Douglas MacArthur and
Joseph Stilwell.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek addresses the
U.S. Congress. The
Ledo Road is constructed; transport planes fly over "the Hump." The "Flying Tigers" bomb Japanese airfields in
China.
Contact(s):
National Archives at
College Park -
Motion Pictures (RDSM), National Archives at College Park,
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Phone: 301-837-3540, Fax: 301-837-3620, Email: mopix@
nara.gov
National Archives Identifier: 36072
Local Identifier: 111-OF-6
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/36072
- published: 17 Mar 2015
- views: 5729