Gurkha History 101

D

David Innes

Joined
Sep 9, 2000
Messages
181
Howdy all!

Here is some questions for you all to ponder over while waiting, er, maybe for cars to pass so you can take potshots at it, or while whittlin' on the porch (just watch them fingers now!).

1. "Has a Gurkha Paltan ever seen active service in Vietnam?"

2. "If you think 'yes' maybe the answer, which units were they and when were they there?"

3. "For the love of God, will Innes ever stop making posts on Uncle Bill's site that have nothing whatsoever to do with kukhuri, annoy the heck out of us, and are generally boring!"

The answer to Number 3 is 'no'.
wink.gif

David



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"Kaphar Hunno Bhanda Marnu Ramro"
 
The Gorkhas played a role in Vietnam, but I can't provide the specific info offhand -- I'll need a little time to research the details, which I'll provide within the next few days, hopefully.

And by the way, in reference to your third question -- anything and everything is OK in Uncle Bill's Cantina as long as it is offered in a spirit of brotherhood and good will.



[This message has been edited by Steven F (edited 10-29-2000).]
 
Thanks Steven, thanks Uncle Bill. You guys... Wow.

Anyway, the answers is 'no', technically. The 2nd Gurkhas saw active service for several months in the Saigon area in 1945, supporting the French colonial regime in 'French Indo-China'.

Their war diary has a complaint about the Nationalist enemy (Vietcong): "In such country the enemy always had the first shot. It was annoying that they never stayed to take an attack, but faded away into the countryside where it was almost impossible to follow them without sustaining casualties". Which must make a few of the guys think about thirty years later.

I hope this is of some interest to someone apart from me!

David

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"Kaphar Hunno Bhanda Marnu Ramro"
 
:
"In such country the enemy always had the first shot. It was annoying that they never stayed to take an attack, but faded away into the countryside where it was almost impossible to follow them without sustaining casualties".
Click to expand...

And that was probably the results of the way they were ordered to fight.
If the Ghorkas had been left to their own devices and tactics things may very well have been different.
But who ever listens to the grunts?!?



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

........unknown, to me anyway........

Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Website
 
Hi everyone,

The most recent issue of "Vietnam" magazine has an article about the events in Indo-China immediately after WWII. I haven't read the article fully (was flipping through it in the newsstand yesterday), but it seemed to cover the role played by the British-Indian forces in the region - saw mentions of 1/1 Gurkha Rifles and 3/1 Gurkha Rifles.

- Sonam
 
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