OT: Unleash the Gurkhas
Britain's most terrifying warriors prepare to take on the Taliban.
by Victorino Matus
10/12/2001
FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, the British army and navy have been conducting
joint exercises in the sultanate of Oman. The operation is called Swift
Sword II, and by happy coincidence, it happens to put 23,000 British
soldiers in the vicinity of Afghanistan. Many of them are now expecting
to
take part in the ground war and have been training furiously since
September
11.
In fact, just last week a war game took place in the heart of the Omani
desert. The objective was a two-man post held by the Lancers, an armored
infantry unit. One-hundred yards away, a platoon of elite special forces
dismounted from personnel carriers and charged the post. The first four
soldiers to reach the Lancers threw their SA80 rifles to the ground,
whipped
out curved, razor-sharp short-swords for hand-to-hand combat, jumped
into
the nest, and simulated slitting the Lancers' throats. Observers on the
sidelines were rendered speechless.
These knife-wielding warriors are members of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
And
they're not British--they're Nepalese. Their signature blade is called
the
kukri. Gurkhas have been known to decapitate their enemies with it (it
can
also double as a deadly boomerang).
Mere mention of the Gurkhas strikes fear and awe in the hearts of many.
As
one retired Gurkha officer explained to the Los Angeles Times, "When
they're
ready to go into battle, their eyes turn red. Then they keep coming.
They
can never be stopped." Indeed, having fought alongside Great Britain for
almost 200 years, the Gurkhas are known throughout the world as
legendary
soldiers. Their motto: "It's better to die than be a coward."
The legend dates to 1814, when the East India Company, which oversaw the
subcontinent under the auspices of the British Empire, went to war
against
the kingdom of Nepal after repeated raids by Gurkha tribes into Bengal
and
Bihar. A year later, the boundary dispute was settled and a peace treaty
was
ratified. But the British went further. Impressed by the Nepalese
warriors,
they asked them to volunteer for the East India Company. And so, in
1815,
the Regiment of Gurkhas was born.
The first test of loyalty came during the 1857 Indian mutiny, and the
Gurkhas did not disappoint. They remained on the side of the British
even
through the bloodiest campaigns, taking part in the siege of Delhi and
losing more than half their battalion in the Battle of Delhi Ridge. In
the
First World War, the Gurkhas finally saw action outside the
subcontinent.
Approximately 100,000 Gurkhas battled in Ypres, Salonika, Persia, and
Mesopotamia. They also fought at Gallipoli.
The Second World War saw a record 112,000 Gurkhas fighting alongside the
British in North Africa, Syria, Italy, and in the brutal Burma campaign,
which resulted in over 40,000 Gurkha casualties. Colonel David Horsford,
who
fought with them in Burma, once said that "when the Gurkhas ran out of
hand
grenades, they spent 20 minutes throwing stones at the Japanese troops."
Major Charles Heyman, who served with the Gurkhas more recently in
Borneo
and is currently the editor of Jane's World Armies, notes that "the
Japanese
were terrified of them."
After World War II, the Gurkha regiment was scaled down. Many remained
in
India after that country's partition in 1947, and the rest went to Hong
Kong. Gurkhas were sent to the Falkland Islands in 1982, and legend has
it
that hundreds of Argentinians surrendered to British forces upon hearing
that a Gurkha patrol was coming their way. In recent years, the Gurkhas
would see action in the Gulf War, East Timor, and even Kosovo. To date,
they
have earned 26 Victoria crosses.
When Britain handed Hong Kong back to the Communist mainland, the
Gurkhas
vacated the garrison there and relocated to Brunei and England (some
even
take turns standing guard at Buckingham Palace). Today, the number of
Gurkhas in the British army has dwindled to about 3,500. But the British
still love them. Take, for example, the words of a letter writer in The
Mirror:
"Once again, Britain sends for the Gurkhas in its hour of need. These
warrior soldiers will cope well with the terrain in Afghanistan and will
not
fail us. . . . The Gurkhas are good friends of Britain and are always
ready
to help us."
Last year, when Gurkha Headquarters moved from one town to another in
England, huge crowds turned out to bid them farewell. Said one
politician,
"There is a considerable vacuum now. Local people are very proud to have
had
these doughty warriors living amongst us . . . we will always be proud
and
grateful we were part of the Gurkha family."
Though the Royal Gurkha Rifles have dwindled in number, more and more
Nepalese want to join up. Recruiters looking for as few as ten men have
on
occasion had more than a thousand show up, some as young as 14. (It's
easier
to fake your age as a Gurkha--the average height is 5 feet, 3 inches.)
Many
are lured not only by the mystique but by the pay, more than 12 times
what
they would make in Nepal. The training is rigorous and includes ten-mile
hikes and running up mountainsides with over a hundred pounds of rocks
on
one's back. Needless to say, Gurkhas are famous for enduring long
marches
and can do so at different paces, such as the "double march" (known as
"the
Keel Row") and the "quick march" (also called "the Black Bear").
The Gurkha company in Oman consists of about 150 men. Asked how they
like it
in the desert, some of them complain that it is hot, but add, "We are
enjoying it here." The temperature is about 115 degrees. And what do
they
think about the latest crisis? One rifleman told a reporter from The
Mirror,
"The attack on America was very sad and many lives were lost. It was
terrible to watch on television. So I would love to go to Afghanistan to
fight." He went on to say, "From what I have read, the Taliban are bad
people, so the fight would be very just. I would even ask to go first."
A
British officer said, "for them, it is like playing in the World Cup."
I asked Major Heyman what it would be like for the Taliban if they
confronted the Gurkhas. "I'll put it to you this way," he said. "You
wouldn't want to meet the Gurkhas on a dark night, especially when
they've
got their bloodlust up." |
