Following its introductory credits, which are displayed to the Army Air Force Orchestra's cover version of "March of the Volunteers," the movie opens on footage of the Japanese invasion of China and then briefly introduces the history, geography, and people of China. It contrasts the peaceful development of the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen with the militarized modernization of the Empire of Japan, whose invasions of China are explained with reference to the Tanaka Memorial, which has since been largely discredited: