Stories That Prove Gurkhas Are the
Fiercest Fighters on the Planet
GETTY IMAGES
In 1815, the British Army tried to conquer Nepal,
but it was easily defeated by Nepal's warriors: the Gurkhas. So the British
officers decided that, if they couldn't beat them, they'd get the Gurkhas to
join them. A peace agreement ceased all British conquest in Nepal, and the Gurkhas
agreed to be recruited into the Crown's military.
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The Gurkhas have fought in several wars, including both world wars and the Falklands War. Known as some of the
most skilled and fiercest warriors in the world, the Gurkhas have impressed
(and terrified) everyone around them. Here are some of the bravest soldiers and
stories to ever come out of the Gurkha ranks.
1Dipprasad Pun
In Afghanistan in 2010, Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun single-handedly fought off
30 Taliban soldiers. As Pun was keeping guard
on the roof of a checkpoint, the attackers came at the complex from all sides
with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s.
It took less than an hour for Pun to kill them
all. He went through all of his ammo—400 rounds and 17 grenades, as well as a
mine that detonated—to defeat each attacker. When he ran out of ammo, a Taliban
soldier climbed up to the roof, only to be hit with a machine-gun tripod that
Pun threw at him.
Pun's valor was rewarded with a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, the second
highest British military decoration awarded for bravery.
2Gajendera Angdembe,
Dhan Gurung, and Manju Gurung
The Gurkhas leave no man behind. When a squad of troops was
ambushed out in the open in Afghanistan in 2008, one soldier, Yubraj Rai, was
hit and fatally wounded. But Captain Gajendera Angdembe and Riflemen Dhan Gurung
and Manju Gurung carried Rai across 325 feet of open ground
under heavy fire. At one point, one of the soldiers resorted to using both his
own rifle and Rai's rifle at the same time.
Gaje Ghale
would earn a Victoria Cross.
In another battle against the Japanese on the
Burmese front in 1943, Sergeant Gaje Ghale was assigned to
take a position that the Gurkhas had twice failed to capture. He led his
platoon through heavy fire and suffered injuries in his leg, arm, and torso.
But disregarding the injuries, Ghale engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his
adversaries, taking the position. He then held off a counterattack with his men
before letting his wounds get cared for. Ghale was later awarded the Victoria Cross.
8Peter Jones
Some of the British men who commanded the
Gurkhas showed tremendous bravery as well. In 1943, Colonel Peter Jones led a battalion
of Gurkhas against the Germans at the Battle of Enfidaville in Tunisia. As the Gurkhas charged the
Germans with their kukri knives under fire from machine
gun posts, Jones shot down the emplacements with a Bren gun. Jones was wounded in the neck
but still joined the hand-to-hand fighting afterward, where he sustained
additional injuries to his eye and thighs. He only accepted treatment after the
battle was won. His effort was rewarded with a Distinguished Service Order decoration.