‘Attack! The Battle of New Britain’ is a 1944 American documentary film produced by the U.S. military, chronicling the New Britain campaign during World War II. The film follows the Allied forces as they prepare for and execute their assault on Japanese strongholds at Arawe Beach and Cape Gloucester in the South Pacific. Using real footage captured by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the documentary highlights the challenges of jungle warfare, the strategic planning behind the invasion, and the sacrifices made by soldiers. Directed as both an informative and propaganda piece, the film provides a historical look at the Pacific War and the military operations that shaped its outcome.
Credits:
Director: Frank Capra (producer)
Writer: Robert Presnell Sr.
Narration: Lloyd Nolan, Burgess Meredith
Cinematography: Jack Hively
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin (uncredited)
#AttackTheBattleOfNewBritain1944 #WorldWarII #DocumentaryFilm #PacificWar
Credits:
Director: Frank Capra (producer)
Writer: Robert Presnell Sr.
Narration: Lloyd Nolan, Burgess Meredith
Cinematography: Jack Hively
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin (uncredited)
#AttackTheBattleOfNewBritain1944 #WorldWarII #DocumentaryFilm #PacificWar
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The
00:30The
01:00There's an old saying in the army, the longest march always begins with the first step.
01:06By the same token, the greatest battle usually begins with one word.
01:10One simple code word which becomes the symbol of the whole operation.
01:15So it happens that the battle for New Britain begins with the word overpower.
01:20The secret army code word.
01:24And it means that at a certain time, at a certain place, American troops will land on the Jap-held island of New Britain.
01:33It's a tough island to crack.
01:35The Japs gave it plenty of teeth.
01:38A powerful naval base at Rabaul, good airstrips, and over 100,000 troops spotted in different places and expecting a visit.
01:47And besides Japs, there's always the jungle.
01:51Never before in history has a large-scale war been fought on such difficult battlefields.
01:56Looks pretty, doesn't it?
02:00Pretty is a picture and a pre-war travel advertisement.
02:04But how is it to live in?
02:07Ask Joe Soldier.
02:09A jungle-clad paradise crawling with bugs, snakes, and lizards, spiders.
02:14Ask him about sweating out a march through blazing equatorial heat.
02:20Ask him about the smell, that wet stench of the jungle.
02:26Yes, and don't let him forget to mention those tropical sunsets bringing the malarial mosquito.
02:35An attack is prepared in staging areas where the men are rehearsed for the job.
02:40Quietly, secretly, systematically.
02:42Men and equipment start moving into three separate areas along this coast.
02:48This is done so there'll be no large concentration of troops in any one spot to tip off the plan.
02:56A task force is a miniature army, tailored for a particular job.
03:02This one consists of a regiment from Texas, a battalion of artillery and service troops,
03:07quartermasters, signal corps, engineers, and medicos.
03:10They know what this staging area means.
03:15A jumping off place for something big.
03:17Out here, housekeeping starts from the ground up.
03:30You pick yourself a place and start chopping.
03:35It used to be hard work mowing the lawn on Sunday afternoons.
03:39Try mowing cunai grass with a machete.
03:41Meantime, a couple of hundred miles to the north, the second task force marches into their staging area to prepare for their part in the operations.
03:53These men have seen something of jungle fighting.
03:56They're Marines.
03:58And they cut their teeth on Guadalcanal.
03:59In the third staging area, it's more Marines, more guns, more shells, more thorns to press into the side of Tojo's Island of New Britain.
04:16On back of the men come the trucks, the half-tons, the jeeps, the bulldozers, a community on wheels, carrying the thousand and one needs of a task force.
04:29Food for bellies and gun barrels.
04:32Canvas for cover.
04:34Wires for communication.
04:35The tools of the jungle army.
04:41When the lot is cleared, you stretch out your house.
04:44It doesn't take long.
04:45Just fasten the ceiling, get under the center pole, and hoist.
04:52And leave plenty of slack on those ropes.
04:56The first rain will do the tightening.
04:59Nudging out elbow room in this wilderness and getting your stuff across swamps and streams is pretty rugged.
05:05But it's good practice for jungle warfare.
05:19Bridges need plenty of attention.
05:22Mountain rains can swell these streams to torrents that can drown the truck.
05:27And transportation is important out here.
05:29When it comes to jungle construction, you can't beat a fuzzy-wuzzy.
05:38Uncle Sam has thousands on his payroll.
05:49The foreman checks everything.
05:51Thatched roofs keep out most of the rain, some of the heat, and none of the bugs.
06:05And don't think these builders don't know the value of money.
06:08Money will buy a pig, and a pig can be exchanged for a wife.
06:12Here's where that Boy Scout training comes in handy.
06:34And this lad is an awfully tough critic.
06:36Outfits sprawl over a staging area for miles.
06:43It's a signal cord job to tie them together with telephone lines.
06:49Not much like hometown telephone poles, but the technique of climbing them hasn't changed a bit.
06:54The nerves run back to the brain.
07:06This switchboard at headquarters will handle a thousand calls a day.
07:11Orders, reports, requests, instructions.
07:15The field phones out where the jungle begins.
07:17When a jeep or a truck is issued to a driver, that's his baby, and he keeps it clean.
07:38The old swimming hole, jungle style.
07:42It's the bath, shower, and laundry combined.
07:45First scrub your skin, then scrub the clothes you just took off.
07:58This may not be your favorite cafeteria, but it's the only one handy right now.
08:04And it's the quartermaster's job to see that the army is fed.
08:07There's a mess of vitamins that'll pat your ribs.
08:17But don't get us wrong.
08:19We still like home cooking.
08:20These are the canvas cities that Joe Soldier built out of jungle and kunai grass.
08:31Like their forefathers, these troops have tamed a corner of wilderness into a temporary home.
08:40Uh-uh.
08:415.45.
08:43And the day begins.
08:44The helmet makes the swell wash basin.
08:52And you can't do this with a family sink.
08:56And now to work.
08:59It begins with the task force commander giving the details of the job to the men who are going to do it.
09:04There will be two landings on New Britain.
09:08The first at Arroway, to divert the Japs from the main landing a few days later at Cape Gloucester.
09:16Arroway is a peninsula.
09:19A small force will make a landing up here, in the enemy's rear, they hope,
09:24and move down the peninsula to join with the main forces, who will land along here.
09:29A complete surprise is the main thing.
09:34Hit fast and hard.
09:36Gain a foothold before the Japs can move a large force against you.
09:40That's what unit leaders are telling them.
09:43A soldier has to know what he's supposed to do,
09:46where he's supposed to do it,
09:48and why.
09:53And this is the time to check your weapons.
09:56A gun jam on a beachhead might happen only once.
10:02The same thing is going on up in the marine staging area.
10:07Weapons, equipment, and the men themselves get a personal once-over.
10:14Anti-aircraft protection stays on its toes,
10:18just in case.
10:1937-millimeter anti-tank teams have to load, aim, and fire almost simultaneously.
10:26They can get off about 30 rounds a minute.
10:33It's rumored that a lone star governor once said,
10:37By gad, if the United States ever goes to war,
10:40Texas will go with it.
10:42And here she is.
10:43There'll be artillery, too,
10:55for knocking out Japs' strong points.
10:59Sometimes it takes a flamethrower to burn out a pillbox.
11:02They work well in jungle warfare.
11:06That could be a NIP installation.
11:09Native fighters, or bongs, as they're called,
11:15give our troops a few tips on the technique of jungle fighting.
11:28The training is carried out under simulated battle conditions.
11:32And, soldier, those aren't pebbles hitting the stream.
11:35You've got to know how to fire at sounds, too.
11:39Because jungle fighters seldom see each other alive.
11:45The last stages of training begin aboard the ships
11:48that will carry the troops to their mission.
11:51This practice ends in a full-dress rehearsal.
11:59Two detachments are going to make the landing in rubber boats.
12:04It takes a lot of practice to handle these.
12:06It's dangerous.
12:08It's dangerous.
12:08It's dangerous.
12:08It's dangerous.
12:08It's dangerous.
12:08It's dangerous.
12:09No protective armor.
12:11No more speed than your own paddle power.
12:24Regular types of landing craft may have trouble
12:27getting over the coral reef at arrow-weight.
12:29So buffalos and alligators have been selected
12:32to bring the first wave of assault troops ashore.
12:36What's an alligator?
12:38It's an amphibious tank.
12:40What's a buffalo?
12:41It's an amphibious tank, too, but it's got more armor.
12:46They look like bad dreams.
12:48And they'll deliver the first punch.
12:50And now let's hear what the general thinks.
12:54The secret of your success is your squad and platoon leaders.
12:57They must get hold of their outfits and control them.
13:00But control doesn't mean bunching.
13:02The buffaloes will land in a wave.
13:04From then on, their tanks.
13:06They crash through the underbrush.
13:07They knock out trees, followed by riflemen.
13:10You run upon a Jap machine gun nest.
13:12What do you do?
13:12You circle it, infiltrate, use grenades.
13:15And don't make the mistake of stopping
13:16to help a man who gets hit.
13:18You haven't got time.
13:20Let the medical man pick him up.
13:21So now, it's up to you.
13:23Remember, you can only go forward.
13:25You can't go back.
13:26There'll be nothing to go back to.
13:28Just grab a piece of beach and start shoving.
13:34Are there any questions?
13:44There'll be nothing to go back.
14:14Now comes the parade of men and supplies.
14:21The loading, the checking, the counting, the packing.
14:27It's the war of logistics.
14:29Adding up to the final question mark.
14:32Will the troops who make the landing have what they need,
14:36where they need it, and when they need it?
14:40Training is over.
14:42Rehearsals are over.
14:43Look, this is it.
14:51Remember, this is only one of three task forces.
14:54And it's going to make the landing at our way
14:56a few days ahead of the big staff at Gloucester.
14:59The commander-in-chief, who is responsible for the coordination of the whole plan,
15:12comes down for the takeoff.
15:14General MacArthur and General Kruger, on the right, commanding the 6th Army,
15:23have a last-minute chat with the task force commander.
15:26What they said is a military secret.
15:30The first assault waves are ready.
15:32Time doesn't even wait on generals, and time is running out.
15:49This is goodbye, and good luck.
15:52There they go.
16:07The buffaloes and alligators are going to load on the mothership.
16:10Now, here we go.
16:34Meantime, the main force loads aboard its transport.
16:54Once up the net, the landing craft that brought them will be hoisted aboard.
16:59And the rubber boat detachments move out to load on the destroyer that will carry them.
17:04The convoy is on its way to meet its naval escort.
17:17This is D-Day minus one.
17:20The men know that means the day before invasion.
17:34This last-minute check on weapons goes on aboard every ship.
17:41Nobody has to be told to do it now.
17:43Ammunition to fight malaria is the daily atoprine pill.
17:55This, too, happens on every ship.
18:10Last-minute instructions to officers and non-cons.
18:13It's called briefing.
18:14Get your messages back as fast as you can and go.
18:24Keep your men dispersed.
18:26Cut out a bunch.
18:27Look out for this high ground over here.
18:28You have to hit it from the flanks, I think.
18:29And above all, keep moving in this direction.
18:34You've all got compasses.
18:38We're at the rendezvous point.
18:47The task force commander leaves to board one of the destroyers of the escort.
18:51And now the convoy will sail through the night to arrow.
18:57Troop ships flanked by destroyers, led by minesweepers and sub-chasers.
19:06Tomorrow belongs to the headlines in hometown papers, to the radio commentators, the casualty lists.
19:30But these few hours belong to each man to spend as he likes.
19:36D-Day.
19:54D-Day.
19:56D-Day.
20:06Under the protection of the naval barrage, the first assault waves keep circling, awaiting the order to start in.
20:13D-Day.
20:15There they go.
20:27A jab plane.
20:45Rockets packed with high explosives.
20:58Calling cars to clear the beaches of small arms fire.
21:15More planes coming.
21:23Ours, we hope.
21:25Yep.
21:26It's a sky full of angels.
21:27Our own B-25s.
21:34Now it's the Air Force's turn.
21:36And they know their way around.
21:38They've been softening it up for days in advance.
21:45Propaganda leaflets to tell the Jap what's happening to them and why.
22:03The naval barrage drove most of the Japs off the beaches up on the cliff.
22:09And that's where the planes work them over.
22:12Strafing may not wipe out a ground force, but it keeps them ducking.
22:15There's the landing place.
22:27The first casualty.
22:29Result of a Jap machine gun burst.
22:34It's safe to raise your head and look at the shore now.
22:38And here's why.
22:39This is what naval barrage and air bombing can do to a shoreline.
22:59Remember, you can only go forward.
23:01You can't go back.
23:02There'll be nothing to go back to.
23:04Just grab a piece of beach and start shoving.
23:09Still a few snipers around.
23:18Patrols grope ahead of the main body
23:20to feel out the Jap's strength.
23:23Locate his positions.
23:24You saw troops keep advancing.
23:44Let's go.
23:44Let's go.
23:45Let's go.
23:46Let's go.
23:47Let's go.
23:48Let's go.
23:49The peninsula was lightly held, but there are still plenty of Japs to comb out.
24:12You don't see many, except this kind.
24:26The objective is to push about three miles up the peninsula, then dig in and hang on.
24:31More and more troops are fed up to the rapidly advancing front by jeeps, alligators, buffalos.
24:48The grab is over.
24:54Now to hold on.
24:56Counterattacks may strike anywhere, anytime.
24:59Better be ready.
25:00Beech gun emplacements for all-round security.
25:08That's an air raid warning truck under the camouflage.
25:12And every man digs a place to dive into when the zeros come.
25:22Communication keeps pace with combat.
25:26Switchboard and message center open for business.
25:30Supplies are needed faster than ships can bring them.
25:43Parachute-borne ammunition coming down.
25:47But they don't always select ideal landing places.
25:51A job for the pole line crew.
25:53That dirty pool is being converted into drinking water by the engineer water purification unit.
26:08Men may one day forget many things of this war, but never the taste of chlorine.
26:21Casualties from the front get attention in the surgical tent.
26:36The man on the table got a shell fragment in the leg.
26:42Enemy planes.
26:43isten.
26:44ヒャ documents.
26:44Come on.
26:44I'm chilling.
26:46You're this.
26:47I do.
26:47I have no pressure and process.
26:48Three lenses.
26:48There are many different ones you need.
26:50ble.
26:51Three lenses.
26:52It's brilliant.
26:52It's awesome.
26:53être Favor Danke losajimos.
26:56He's the man on the table, however.
26:56This is vital for you that vary.
26:57It's aany area.
27:04But it doesn't.
27:06…
27:06Do shimmer.
27:07What did you do?
27:08Whale do you do?
27:08CO teles minister?
27:09Weird ambulance.
27:09You have a man on the table.
27:10You have a man on the table.
27:11You have a man on the table.
27:11At the table.
27:12This is what's left of the surgical tent filled with wounded men after a direct hit.
27:42This is what's left of the surgical tent, and this is what's left of the surgical tent.
28:11For these men, the roads are longest.
28:17Having received emergency treatment, the wounded are evacuated to hospitals in New Guinea.
28:24This landing was a complete surprise to the Japs, so resistance was light.
28:29Except at the upper end of the peninsula, where the rubber boats went in before dawn.
28:34They met heavy machine gun fire before they could reach the Beats.
28:38The boats were destroyed. The men were scattered.
28:41They just couldn't swim and fight at the same time.
28:44But the main landing is successful.
28:47The Japs have been driven back up the peninsula.
28:54The beachhead is established.
28:56The task force commander is ready to make his report.
29:02And now for the main event.
29:12The landings on Cape Gloucester.
29:14Arrowy was the fink with the left.
29:17Gloucester will be the right to the jaw.
29:20Here, here, and here.
29:25The forces will capture the airstrip and converge, setting up an American stronghold on the supply line to Rabaul.
29:33In the marine staging areas, it is Christmas Day.
29:50The last mass before sailing for Gloucester.
29:56is Christmas Day.
29:59What is Christmas Day?
30:04If you were in the dark setting, it is that the boat?
30:09I would not go with it.
30:11If you are in the dark setting, it is the sun.
30:18Masses of men
30:47to land upon three separate beaches
30:49in the vicinity of Cape Gloucester.
30:56This is to be the main effort.
30:58It is an army made up of two task forces
31:01in the teeth of known Jap power.
31:17These two landings are the first stage
31:22in the neutralization and envelopment of Rabaul.
31:24On Christmas night, a vast convoy sets out.
31:51Cape Gloucester, New Britain.
31:53Nearing the height of the naval bombardment,
32:13the first assault load into Higgins' boats.
32:16The End
32:18The End
32:20The End
32:22THE END
32:52And the umbrella of air protection arrives on time.
33:22Back at the beaches, the jungle crawls with Japs.
33:34They're dug in and well fortified, but not against this.
33:37The bombardier once boasted he could hit a derby with a dime.
34:07Here's where accuracy really counts.
34:10Just back of the beaches, but not too far in.
34:32THE END
34:37THE END
34:42THE END
34:43THE END
34:44THE END
34:45THE END
34:46THE END
34:47THE END
34:48THE END
34:49THE END
34:50THE END
34:51THE END
34:52THE END
34:53THE END
34:54THE END
34:55THE END
34:56THE END
34:57THE END
34:58THE END
34:59THE END
35:00THE END
35:01THE END
35:02THE END
35:03THE END
35:04THE END
35:05THE END
35:06THE END
35:07THE END
35:08THE END
35:09THE END
35:10THE END
35:11THE END
35:12THE END
35:13THE END
35:14THE END
35:15THE END
35:16THE END
35:17THE END
35:18THE END
35:19THE END
35:20THE END
35:23THE END
35:24THE END
35:25THE END
35:26THE END
35:27THE END
35:28THE END
35:29AND THEN
35:30THE END
35:31THE END
35:33THE END
35:34AND THEN
35:35THE END
35:37THE END
35:39AND UNDER THIS AIR COVER, THE INVASION FLEET creeps forward.
35:45THE END
36:15THE END
36:45THE END
36:47THE END
36:49THE END
36:51THE END
36:53THE END
36:55THE END
36:57THE END
36:59THE END
37:01THE END
37:03THE YOUNGSTERS THAT DROVE JALOPES AND SANG THE POPULAR SONGS
37:07YOU MAY HAVE WONDERED SOMETIMES IF THAT EVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING
37:11well here they are giving everything they've got
37:15this is jungle
37:21these assault waves are like a hand stretched out in a dark room feeling their way
37:27if they are stopped here the main force landing behind them is stopped too
37:33they are
37:35they are
37:37they are
37:39they are
37:41they are
37:45they are
37:47they are
37:49they are
37:51they are
37:53they are
37:55they are
37:57they are
37:59they are
38:05they are
38:07they are
38:09they are
38:11they are
38:13Contact with the enemy.
38:43And here come the landing craft infantry, called LCIs.
39:08They're bringing the main fighting strength to back up the assault wave.
39:38They're bringing the main fighting strength to back up the assault wave.
39:45They're bringing the main fighting strength to back up the assault wave.
40:12Stuff has to be carried in the hard way. The trucks come later.
40:19Let's go.
40:38Digging in. Up at the front.
40:44Here's a highly trained specialist. Even a Jap sniper can't camouflage his scent.
40:59Fresh troops forward.
41:15Wounded to the rear.
41:21You never know what's around the next bush.
41:36Dead Japs aren't always dead. Better be sure.
41:51Enemy strong point.
42:12Strong point.
42:19Let's go.
42:34Hey.
42:36Monkey.
42:40Let's go.
43:11Here's the bazooka.
43:13This is a hand-carried rocket gun.
43:16Fire in it takes close teamwork.
43:40Hand grenades, mortars, bazookas, and flamethrowers did this.
43:58Here's the bazooka.
44:28After the LCI's have been emptied of men, the towering LSTs, landing ship tanks, move in,
44:40bringing everything for the establishment of a beachhead.
44:42This succession of ships, all in their proper order, thousands of men and tons of supplies
44:55have been one purpose, to keep a thin line of riflemen fighting their way forward into the jungle.
45:01Buffaloes and alligators.
45:19Mechanized sledgehammers, smashing holes in the jungle wall.
45:36Bucket lines to pass the ammunition.
46:27Jeeps do a lot of things, but they can't swim.
46:57Medium tanks to crush pillboxes.
47:03An hour or two later, the trucks roll in.
47:28But they can't go everywhere.
47:37Ammunition is being spent fast.
47:39For every finger squeezing a trigger, there are a hundred others pulling, hauling, and carrying.
47:59It's all part of the same job.
48:01That's barbed wire there, Carrie.
48:18As soon as there's any place to phone to, there's a telephone line to do it.
48:35The final protective line against counterattack must be prepared.
48:52You may be hit from anywhere, anytime.
49:01From the flanks, or from the rear, or from the air.
49:06Here we go.
49:36At 2.35, enemy dive bombers.
49:46Jap planes shot into the water.
49:49More than 60.
49:51Costing less than a dozen of our own.
49:55The Japs concentrated on the destroyer Bronson.
50:00That's the Bronson standing on end.
50:03Sinking fast.
50:06But among the floating wreckage are survivors.
50:26Exhausted.
50:49Some dying.
50:52Some dead.
50:54Some with clothes blown off by the concussion of bombs.
50:57These are a part of 208 survivors who will remember the Bronson when they fight again.
51:06Back at Gloucester, it had begun to rain.
51:11It had begun to rain.
51:12It had begun to rain.
51:16It had begun to rain.
51:17It had begun to rain.
51:21Back at Gloucester, it had begun to rain.
51:22Back at Gloucester, it had begun to rain.
51:26The folks back home are eating Christmas dinner about now.
51:34the folks back home are eating Christmas dinner about now out here is the day after and just
52:00another day
52:30just one more enemy mud
53:00information gained from prisoners confirms what we know the advance is nearing its main objective
53:24but every step forward means some men coming back on stretchers
53:37sometimes it takes too long for the stretches to arrive
53:55medical officers scrubbing up for emergency treatment before evacuation
54:21the country doctor city surgeon working together 25 hours out of the 24
54:35the
54:42the
54:44the
54:46the
54:47the
54:48the
54:49the
54:50the
55:04part of the price of a beach landing
55:05yes it's a wounded chap receiving decent treatment and a cigarette
55:26and on the beach the next day wreckage
55:39the
55:40the
55:42the
55:46the
55:52the
55:53the
55:58the
56:00Through the rain and darkness of enemy waters, they're going back to hospitals in rear area.
56:30.
57:00for by days of all they destroy
57:02and on the laws of the economy
57:04and the rules of the city
57:06and the rules of the city
57:08and the city
57:10and lead us not into temptation
57:14and let us never be able to
57:16and let us know
57:18and ask you
57:22Fire!
57:24Fire!
57:28Fire!
57:30Fire!
57:36One day of American living
57:38bought
57:40and paid for
57:42the
57:52the
57:54the
58:04the
58:06the
58:08the
58:10the
58:12the
58:22the
58:24the
58:26the
58:28the