Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Forker on September 26, 2009, 08:23:07 PM
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The Gurkha
The friends of mine that have come back from the middle east say these guys are super bad.
Forker
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The Germans feared them in the Italian Campaign. Yes, they were badasses.
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They wiped Prince Harry’s rear while he was in Afghanistan
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They wiped Prince Harry’s rear while he was in Afghanistan
I only spoke of the many things I have either read or heard from participants of the Italian Campaign. Dunno about how they are "today". But back then, what struck fear in the Germans was when the Gurkha's would run out of ammo. Because they knew what was coming, a charge with those knives.
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Gurkhas' rights to settle in the UK has been a pretty big political issue back home. Basically, the government said they couldn't settle in the UK unless they met some virtually impossible to meet conditions. The UK public told them to $%#-off and if we're taking in everyone else, we'll bloody-well let people who were prepared to die for the country live out there life here. It was all very shameful.
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The riddle of steel?
(http://charlie180.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/gurkha.jpg)
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They're a nice blade to throw, but a little tricky.
They need to be thrown with a smooth revolution, and no twist. Very similar to the way my tomahawks throw, and not quite like my "regular" throwing knife, which revolves and does a partial twist.
If you don't "stick" the target, the blade has a nasty tendency to bounce back hard and in a way that causes me to have an almost uncontrollable urge to try to catch it. Kind of scary.
I have a friend who throws one with great success and accuracy. I prefer my more conventional blade.
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Because they knew what was coming, a charge with those knives.
yes, knives work great against machine guns. :lol
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I've heard they are pretty darn tough myself.
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yes, knives work great against machine guns. :lol
machines guns overheat, jam, run out of ammo, etc. Bayonets and other knives continue to be effective, iirc the brits did an effecitve bayonet charge in the falklands, and scots did one in iraq:
SCOTTISH troops fixed bayonets and fought hand to hand with a Shi’ite militia in southern Iraq in one of their fiercest clashes since the war was declared more than a year ago, it was reported last night.
Soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders mounted what were described as "classic infantry assaults" on firing and mortar positions held by more than 100 fighters loyal to the outlawed cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, according to military sources.
At least 20 men from al-Sadr’s army were believed killed in more than three hours of fighting - the highest toll reported in any single incident involving British forces in the past 12 months.
Nine fighters were captured and three British soldiers injured, none seriously.
"It was very bloody and it was difficult to count all their dead," one source was quoted as saying. "There were bodies floating in the river."
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were drawn into the fighting when soldiers in two Land-Rovers were ambushed on Friday afternoon about 15 miles east of the city of Amara. The soldiers escaped, only to be ambushed a second time by a larger group of militia, armed with machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
Reinforcements were summoned from the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment at a base nearby. "There was some pretty fierce hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets fixed," the source added. "There were some classic assaults on mortar positions held by the al-Sadr forces."
Official spokesman Major Ian Clooney confirmed the Mehdi army "took a pretty heavy knocking", but refused to specify tactics. "This was certainly an intense engagement," he added.
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There is a book that is supposed to be on my bookshelf right now (but I'm damned if I can see it there) all about the Gurkhas. If I find it I'll post the ISBN.
The history of the Regiment will astound you.
And I can also say that Gurkha officers are the only commissioned ranks that I do not refer to as Ruperts.
Couple little known facts........I can't remember which town it's in but around the Gurkha training base in England you will often see Gurkha soldiers......learning how to walk straight. See, they come from a country in which flat, level land is pretty much unheard of so walking on a flat surface in a straight line is not a natural thing to a Gurkha. Hence soldiers will, in their own time, go for walks to get the hang of marching on a flat surface.
There is no requirement for a Gurkha to speak English. British officers assigned to the Gurkhas are expected to learn their language.
The legend goes that once the Gurkha knife (the Kukri) is drawn, it cannot be sheathed again until blood has been spilt. This is, unfortunately, a myth. However, the myth has come about because when a Gurkha draws his Kukri, you're in trouble son. That ickle knife might not look like much but your average Gurkha can remove a head with one stroke.
Few years ago a story hit the British newspapers, a 90 year old Gurkha retired in Britain was robbed in his home by 3 teenage scumbags. Well.....I say robbed, all 3 were hospitalised.
And finally: Do not **** with a Gurkha. Any Gurkha.
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Swoop, aren't they out of Shorncliffe? or something like that?
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That's the one. Near Folkstone in Kent, SE England.
More stuff I just found out by looking:
The United States Navy employs Gurkha guards as sentries at its base in Naval Support Activity Bahrain. The Gurkhas work alongside Navy members in day-to-day operations.
26 Victoria Crosses (highest British medal for valor) have been awarded to Gurkhas. The first in 1898, the last in 1965.
The Gurkhas were never defeated by any British force, they fought to a stalemate in Nepal against the might of the East India Company and impressed the British so much that Nepal was made a protectorate of the Crown and Gurkhas hired as mercenaries. If you can't beat em, buy em.
The "original" Gurkhas in the British Army refused to enter as soldiers and were instead given positions as officers in the British - Indian armed forces. After the British left India, Gorkhalis continued seeking employment in British and Indian forces, as officers and soldiers. Present-day British Gurkhas are not treated as mercenaries but are fully integrated soldiers of the British Army, operate in formed units of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and abide by the rules and regulations under which all British soldiers serve. Similar rules apply for Gurkhas serving in the Indian Army. During times of war (WW1 and 2, etc) the Nepalese government has supplied entire regiments of Gurkhas, commanded by British officers, in WW1 there were 33 Gurkha regiments serving in the British Army.
It is a misconception that the Gurkhas took their name from the Gorkha region of Nepal. The region was given its name after the Gurkhas had conquered it in the 1400s.
The Gurkha war cry is "Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali" which translates as "Glory be to the Goddess of War, here come the Gorkhas!"
Professor Sir Ralph Turner, MC, who served with the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles in the First World War, wrote of Gurkhas:
"As I write these last words, my thoughts return to you who were my comrades, the stubborn and indomitable peasants of Nepal. Once more I hear the laughter with which you greeted every hardship. Once more I see you in your bivouacs or about your fires, on forced march or in the trenches, now shivering with wet and cold, now scorched by a pitiless and burning sun. Uncomplaining you endure hunger and thirst and wounds; and at the last your unwavering lines disappear into the smoke and wrath of battle. Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you."
And yes, in case anyone is wondering, I like Gurkhas.
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Ive heard about the Gurkhas:
Very tough and deadly. Apparentally they were nightmares to the Germans in Italy.
One story I've heard goes that in WWII in Italy, a British officer asked a Gurkhan friend, who was going on a nighttime raid, to see if he could find a German watch as a keepsake. The next day, the Brit gets his watch......still attached to the wrist of the german that was wearing it! :eek:
The riddle of steel?
(http://charlie180.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/gurkha.jpg)
Ive been able to hold that knife. The shear weight and sharpness would, IMHO, cut through bone and muscle with ease. A gurkhan with that would be scary, indeed.
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We used to fly into Kathmandu while taking back Gurkhas that we demobbed and picking up the new recruits. We would then fly these new recruits back to Hong Kong for initial training in the British Army.
The may have a fierce well deserved reputation but are definitely some of the finest gentlemen you will ever meet.
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I have a Kukri. It's an awesome thing. With the extra weight at the tip and the bent shape, it's perfect for loping, which is what the Gurkhas are famous for. Never heard of throwing them, but I'm no expert. Sounds like fun. I may have to get into it.
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We used to fly into Kathmandu while taking back Gurkhas that we demobbed and picking up the new recruits. We would then fly these new recruits back to Hong Kong for initial training in the British Army.
The may have a fierce well deserved reputation but are definitely some of the finest gentlemen you will ever meet.
This goes without saying bro. :salute
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Here is a pic. of a Kukri bayonet.
(http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/fullsize/UK%20full/UK_Kukri.jpg)
The Italians were so afraid of the Gurka that if they ever got in close combat with them they would usually surrender en mass.
Can't really blame them as seeing those kukris wielded by screaming bearded Gurkas must be terrifying. :eek:
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My friend that just got back from Iraq said that the Gurkha's living compounds are “outside the wire”. They employ no hard perimeter protection. He said that because of their deeds and reputation none of the locals fork with them.
And by the way, this week when Obama goes before the IOC to lobby for Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics my guess it will be Gurkha pulling security detail.