China-Burma-India Theater during the World War II. B-29 bombers of the 7th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Force land one after the other at their base airfield in India. Landing after completing their mission of bombardment at the railroads in Burma. Taxi jeeps and people near the runway are visible. Puff of dust emerges as a B-29 lands on the runway.
Film opens showing reenactment of Japanese attack ostensibly against Formosa, in 1894. Japanese troops and artillery are shown. The event is depicted in a critical political cartoon. Next, Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo is seen in 1904, standing with other naval officers. Then, Japanese warships are shown, firing barrages of naval gunfire at the Russian fleet in Port Arthur, Manchuria. Huge black clouds arise from burning ships. Scenes of Japanese people celebrating their naval victory. Date shifts to 1910. Cartoon depicts Japanese annexation of Korea. Cartoon illustrates Japanese actions in World War I when, siding with the Allies, Japan acquired the German-held Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula of China, as well as German-held Marianas, Carolines, and Marshalls islands in the Pacific. Japanese representatives are seen participating in Post World War 1 international activities. They signed the so-called Five-Power,Four-Power, and Nine-Power treaties, and participated in the League of Nations. Glimpse of two Japanese officers, followed by cartoon depiction of the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands, that Japan insisted on keeping. Cartoon shows them being fortified. A Japanese military marching band parades down a city street while being cheered by spectators on the sidewalks. Next, Japanese military General, Baron Tanaka Giichi, is seen in uniform with other officers. Cartoon illustrates the so-called Tanaka Memorial document that Baron Tanaka allegedly presented to the Emperor, in 1927, outlining a strategy to conquer the world. Cartoon then illustrates plan of conquest by acquiring Chinese manpower; Manchurian iron and coal; Siberian timber, coal, wheat, and metals; Tin,oil and rubber from Malaysia and the East Indies. The United States is shown as the last conquest. Views of ordinary farm and factory activities in the U.S. Cars parked in the Ford Motor Company factory lot. Japanese officials and legislators meeting in the Diet (Parliament). Japanese theater patrons and a Japanese woman singing with an American-style band, are shown as examples of activities the Japanese Government sought to discourage. A Japanese female ensemble in traditional dress, playing traditional instruments, is shown as more desirable. Western dancing and western hollywood movies are shown and narrator states they were forbidden by the Japanese government. Japanese movie scene depicts ancient martial arts. A musical production on stage displays German Nazi swastika flag , Japanese rising sun, and symbol of Kingdom of Italy, celebrating the axis alliance. Japanese men are shown playing the ancient game of Chu Shogi, instead of playing Western card games. People are shown in a library, where Western books are replaced by more militaristic tomes, such as: "If we fight" by Admiral Shinsaku Hirata, March 15, 1930 (shown on film slate). Slate goes on to quote about attack on Hawaii as the first battle in war of the Pacific. Film cites another approved Japanese publication: "Arguments Against American Policies" by Kawashima Seichiro, Christmas Day, 1924. It discusses distruction of the American fleet and subsequent landing on the U.S. West Coast.
The Ledo-Burma road shown on animated map of China and India. The Ledo Road or Stilwell road (named after General Joseph Stilwell) under construction. Chinese man takes picture. Workers fall trees. Crane uproots tree and clears the area of debris. Rocks blasted and bridge built. Chinese engineers work inside a large pipe.
The Altai mountains in the Central Asia region of Gorno-Altaysk (or Gorno Altai, or Gorny Altai or Altay) in the south Siberian Soviet Altai Republic (convergence of Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan). The cattle graze on the mountains. A truck moves along a mountain road. Men and women walk through forest. People in canoes on a lake. People at a resort lodge near the lake. Gardens and flowers. Exterior views of the large resort lodge building and people walking on the grounds. A group in the lodge listens to a speaker as he delivers a lecture at a resort. Some of the men present wear Soviet military uniforms.
The Altai mountains in Central Asia (at convergence of Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan). Natives of the region in their tents. A woman milks a cow and grinds grain with a stone. Interior of a native tent. Activity in a tent village. The nomadic people move with all their belongings, family and animals to a new region. Children on sheep as they move along with a group. Skeleton structure of tents abandoned by natives.
The Altai mountains region in Central Asia (at convergence of Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan). A small village consisting of huts in the mountains. A village near a river. Native with a heard of cattle in fields. Men and women on horseback watch herd of cattle. Cattle at a water hole. A large bull. Herd of yaks in a field. A woman milks a cow. They pour milk into a large pail. A herd of sheep in field. Shepherd on horseback as he holds a lamb. Sheep, rams and goats in the field.