CROSSING THE RIVER RUBICON [Allocated title]

Gurkha soldiers of 1st Battalion 9th Gurkha Rifles, serving in Italy with 4th Indian Division, celebrate Dashahra.

British infantry and tanks cross the River Rubicon in northern Italy.

Tanks of 17th/21st Lancers and other vehicles of 26th Armoured Brigade negotiate the Passo della Muraglione, in the vicinity of San Benedetto In Alpe in northern Italy.

Sherman tanks of 6th Royal Tank Regiment, supporting 4th Indian Division, cross the River Marecchia, two miles southeast of Scorticata, in northern Italy.

View of the mouth of the River Rubicon at Bellaria in northern Italy.

North of Badia Prataglia in Tuscany in northern Italy, road demolitions by the enemy hamper the advance.

Views of road camouflage measures in the German Gothic Line defences in northern Italy.

In the village of Moggiona, on the Tuscany-Emilia-Romagna border north of Bibbiena, the cameraman films the aftermath of an atrocity in which local civilians were raped and murdered by German troops.

Gurkha troops of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles (11th Indian Brigade, 4th Indian Division) mount a patrol near Torriana in northern Italy.

AYY 815/5, shot by Sergeant Jessiman, 26 September 1944 A file of British infantry from 2/7th Battalion, Queen's Regiment, on the march. They pass camera. They cross a shallow stream, the River Rubicon. A heavily camouflaged Sherman tank of A Squadron, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment follows a path marked with mine tape. A Sherman (the same tank as before?) drives across the Rubicon. A Sherman climbs a bank and comes to an abrupt halt. Another view of a Sherman crossing the Rubicon. Close-up of a Sherman's track squelching through the mud of the stream. A Sherman tank driving away; it has snagged a length of mine tape.

AYY 815/6, shot by Sergeant Rodwell, 26 September 1944 A Gurkha soldier receives a haircut from the regimental barber, who leaves a small tuft of hair a the front of the head. A Gurkha sharpens his kukri; he wears the patch of 4th Indian Division. A soldier cooks chapatis. Gurkhas celebrate Dashāhra with dancing and music, including one man playing a madal (drum).

AYY 815/7, shot by Sergeant Ostinelli, 27 September 1944 View from a point on the modern SS67 road, overlooking the junction of the SS67 and the SP9ter, looking southwest towards San Godenzo, with traffic moving along the road. Alternative angle. Further view of traffic. Further along SS67, north of San Bernedetto In Alpe, a line of parked Sherman tanks of 17th/21st Lancers, 26th Armoured Brigade. Pan along the line of vehicles. Another view of a road. An M7 Priest (12th (Honourable Artillery Company) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery?) self-propelled gun climbs the road.

AYY 815/8, shot by Sergeant Barnes, 26 September 1944 Wide shot; Sherman tanks of 6th Royal Tank Regiment on a road. Medium shot; a Sherman named Formidable climbs an earth bank after crossing the River Marecchia. It is marked with a square and '31' on the left side of its hull. Sikh troops of 4th Indian Division watch as Formidable passes. Alternate angle; a Sherman climbs the track from the dry bed of the Marecchia. Close shot shows a Sherman marked '52' slowly climbing the muddy bank. 52 reaches the top of the bank and turns right. Close-up of the tracks and running gear of a Sherman marked '60' churning through mud.

AYY 815/9, shot by Sergeant Currey, 26 September 1944 Out of focus shots show wrecked boats on the River Rubicon (River Fiumicino) at Bellaria, and two Greek soldiers on the riverbank.

AYY 815/10, shot by Sergeant Richiardi, 26 September 1944 Slate 'IT.5'. At the site of German demolitions, blocking a hillside road, troops pick through rubble to check for booby traps. Wide shot showing blocked road. Men checking rubble; one man swings a metal detector. Traffic on a cleared section of road; the edge of the road is marked with mine tape. Alternative angle; a signboard reads 'Beware falling rock!'. Views of a bulldozer at work.

AYY 815/11, shot by Sergeant Richiardi, 26 September 1944 Views of wooden camouflage frames erected over a road. Troops push down a camouflage screen. Camouflage screen. Troops fill dugouts or mine chambers dug into a roadway. View of terrain.

AYY 815/12, shot by Sergeant Richiardi, 27 September 1944 A file of Indian troops march along a mountain road towards camera. A ruined house and pile of rubble; there may be bodies visible in the rubble. Alternate angle. Closer shot appears to show the feet of the bodies of murdered civilians among the rubble. View of a building with one wall demolished, with pile of rubble. Closer shot, which may include a body though it is not readily recognisable. A group of bodies. Two bodies; according to the dopesheet they are mother and daughter. An elderly Italian man speaks with a British soldier; the man indicates a bullet graze on his forehead. According to the dopesheet, he had been shot and left for dead, but was later able to escape to Allied lines to report the massacre. Shot of rubble.

AYY 815/13, shot by Sergeant Gunn, 30 September 1944 Slate. A Sherman tank (named 'Firebrand II'?) crosses the River Marecchia; it has the name 'Lily' on the assistant driver's hatch, the number 17 and a white or yellow triangle for A Squadron on its hull. Lying near a haystack a British officer briefs Gurkha troops about a patrol; there is a steep hillside in the background. The officer speaks with a Gurkha armed with an M1 Carbine; camera pans to show other troops in a building, apparently cleaning their weapons. Men cleaning weapons. Close-up man with kukri, Close-up man with Thompson submachine gun. Alternate angle of the officer and others at the haystack; a Gurkha goes to the building and the troops get to their feet. Pan along a line of Gurkhas, some smoking, being briefed by a Gurkha NCO; one nonchalantly holds a hand grenade and a lit cigarette in the same hand. One man thumbs the fore sight of his Thompson. Series of staged shots show the patrol setting out and in progress; one man carries a drawn kukri in his teeth. Shots of a Bren gun, a Thompson, and a Lee Enfield Mk III rifle being fired. The patrol returns to the building seen earlier. Gurkhas chat and smoke.

35mm