How was the Royal Gurkha Army established?

197 1 year, an overseas combat unit moved to the land of China and Hong Kong, and they took Hong Kong as their new headquarters. It was not until 1997 that Hong Kong returned to the motherland that the troops withdrew to the British mainland, and some soldiers were recruited as bodyguards by Hong Kong security companies. This is the famous Gurkha army in Britain.

Gurkha soldiers are mercenaries recruited by Britain from Nepal, a mountainous country located in the western Himalayas. The members are all standard Asians with yellow skin and black eyes. Gurkha troops are listed as special forces of the British army.

Strict selection

Gurkha soldiers originally came from Gurkha village west of Kathmandu, Nepal. Because the village is poor, young men from all over Nepal come to the British Gurkha Recruitment Center in the western city of Boquera every year to enlist in the army. The Nepalese youths called are all men aged 17 ~ 22, and it is better to have a certain educational level. After strict selection, only more than 200 people out of thousands were lucky enough to become a member of the British professional army. For Gurkhas, joining the army can not only broaden their horizons and earn a considerable sum of money, but also be a glorious thing and bring honor to their families. Many people regard joining the British army as a turning point in their lives.

During the selection, the recruitment agent sent by the British army first went to the mountain village to find difficult candidates. Young people selected in the first round will enter the next stage of selection, which is called "mountain selection". In this round of screening, the physical intelligence test is more comprehensive and the elimination is more cruel. Of about 6,000 young men who took part in the "Mountain Election", only 789 were able to take the one-week final test. The final test was held at the British Gurkha Recruitment Center in the western Nepalese city of Boquera. Of these 789 people, 230 will join the British Gurkha Army. Gurkha soldiers who want to join the British army have a loyalty ceremony before joining the British army. They vowed to be loyal to the British monarch forever and promised to obey the orders of the British commander and bravely kill the enemy. In the first three years of joining the British army, Gurkha soldiers were not allowed to go home to visit relatives. They have a 15-year service contract with the British army, usually for more than 5 years, and the situation is even better than 32 years. I retired at the age of 50. The annual salary of Gurkha soldiers is 8500 dollars. Although the salary paid by the British government to Gurkha soldiers is very low, it is still a considerable income in the eyes of Nepalese.

Prepare equipment

The Gurkha Rifle Battalion maintained a size of 707 in peacetime and increased to 740 in wartime, slightly more than the number of British infantry battalions (about 625). The rifle battalion consists of three rifle companies, namely the headquarters company, the support company and the fire support company. The three companies are named Company A, Company B and Company C respectively, and each company includes three platoons and HQ company. A company and B company have five Milan missile launchers in one platoon, and the third platoon of C company includes the whole battalion of assault fighters. Rifle platoon consists of three classes and HQ platoon, each with eight people, including platoon leader, inspector, radio operator, 5 1mm mortar operator and two infantry. Six infantry in each class were equipped with SA80 assault rifles, and the other two operated light support weapons, both firing 5.56 mm bullets. Each platoon has 1 7.62mm general machine gun shooter.

Whenever there are emergencies and urgent tasks, or the environment in the mission area is harsh and complicated, it is necessary to send a force with excellent style, tenacious will and courage to fight. Gurkha troops have always become the first choice of the British army. It is said that the outgoing British Prime Minister Blair has always had a soft spot for the brave Gurkha army. Gurkha's operational creed is: "I would rather die than surrender."

Hone in the war

Gurkha was named after Gurkha, the principality of Nepal, which conquered and ruled most parts of Nepal in the middle of18th century. This name is also used for soldiers in the principality of Kukaha. The English word "Gurkha" has also been changed several times, such as Gurkha and Gurkha. 18 14, Gurkha soldiers from the Kingdom of Nepal raided Kashmir and Bhutan. Nepal's expansion had a conflict of interest with the British colonial army stationed in India at that time, when Britain occupied northeast India. Therefore, Britain mobilized 2 1 0,000 troops, launched an all-out attack on Nepal on the pretext that the border post was attacked, and had a bloody armed conflict with the Nepalese army composed of 1 0,600 soldiers. However, the British army was hit hard by the Nepalese army composed of Gurkhas in the battle, and the two sides signed the Sergey Peace Treaty in 18 15. Gurkha soldiers' spirit of dying and being brave and good at fighting was praised by the British, so the British dreamed of recruiting Gurkhas under their command. Later, after peace talks between the two sides, Britain gained the right to recruit Gurkha soldiers. The British Gurkha Army 1, 2, 3 and 4 Rifle Battalion composed of Nepalese soldiers was established on April 24th, 2005. Since then, Gurkhas have been serving in the British army ever since.

During their service in the British army, Gurkhas participated in almost all conflicts related to Britain or India. Gurkha really fought side by side with the British army in the Indian rebellion of 1857, and their spirit of sacrifice showed their incomparable loyalty to the British army. From 1857 to World War I, Gurkha soldiers fought for British troops in Burma, Malaya, China, Tibet, Afghanistan, Somali Island, the northeastern and northwestern borders of India and Cyprus. During this period, the number of Gurkha soldiers in the British army increased continuously.

In World War I, more than 200,000 Gurkha soldiers fought side by side with the British in France, Mesopotamia, Persia, Palestine, Egypt and Thessaloniki, Greece. During this period, Gurkha soldiers were awarded two Victoria Cross medals by the Queen of England, which was the first time that Gurkha soldiers were awarded such a high honor. Moreover, at that time, 1 1 rifle battalion was established, and other battalions also added two companies each.

During World War II,11.20,000 Gurkhas fought against the British in Syria, Italy, Greece, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar. During this period, 7,544 Gurkha soldiers were killed and 23,000 were disabled. In the dense jungle of Southeast Asia, the story that Gurkha soldiers touched the Japanese sentry post unnoticed, cut their shoelaces with machetes and boldly teased the Japanese army has been passed down to this day. During this period, Gurkha soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross of 10.

1947 After India's independence, Gurkha soldiers remained in the British army. After negotiations with India and Nepal, the British army retained the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10 battalions, and the rest remained in the Indian army. From the beginning of Malaya crisis (1957 Malaya independence) to 1960, about five Gurkha combat battalions fought in the jungle of Malaya. 1962, Gurkha soldiers moved to Brunei and Indonesia. In the Indonesian "hostile" campaign from 1962 to 1966, all the British Gurkha soldiers participated in the war and performed well, and were awarded the last Victoria Cross. In two conflicts, Gurkha soldiers proved that they were masters of jungle warfare.

During the period of 1967- 1972, the number of personnel in Gurkha 17 infantry division was reduced from14,000 to 8,000, and the station was also moved from Malaysia to Hongkong, China. In Hong Kong, Gurkha troops are called Gurkha Field Forces, which are responsible for border patrol and security inspection. 1974, 1 Rifle Battalion and 10 Prince Rifle Battalion were deployed to Cyprus to resist the Turkish invasion. 1982 During the Falklands War, Gurkha troops raided thousands of miles, participated in the landing war in San Carlos Bay and the British finally attacked Stanley Harbor. It is said that when the Argentine army learned that there were Gurkha soldiers in the British army, it retreated without fighting and fled hastily. Although this statement is somewhat exaggerated, it also reflects people's awe of Gurkha soldiers. Gurkha troops also participated in the Gulf War of 199 1.

The Gurkha army also played an important role in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and therefore fought the enemy in Vietnam, Congo, Rwanda and Lebanon, Kosovo, East Timor and other countries. At present, the Royal Gurkha Army is still carrying out its mission in Afghanistan and has made great contributions to the fight against the remnants of the Taliban. It is reported that on June 4th, 2006, soldiers from Gurkha Rifle 1 Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of Airborne Forces fought fiercely with Taliban forces in the west of Nozad town in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The battle lasted for six hours, and the scene was very tragic. Britain killed about 65,438+000 Taliban militants hiding in 7-8 bunkers. At present, in the Queen's Guard, you can also see the heroic attitude of Courtas soldiers.

Close to actual combat training

The training time of Gurkha soldiers is three times that of ordinary British soldiers. They must first overcome language and cultural barriers and adapt to completely unfamiliar environments. Many Gurkha soldiers have a low level of education. Living in the mountains since childhood, swimming and other skills have to be learned from scratch. After modern military training, they have mastered various combat skills and formed a tenacious and fierce fighting style. Gurkha soldiers are best at mountain warfare and jungle warfare, and have extraordinary survival ability in complex natural environment.

The following is the scene of soldiers of the Royal Gurkha Rifle 1 Battalion training in the jungle of Gasru, Kenya.

Soldiers of the Royal Gurkha Rifle 1 Battalion marched in the jungle, and the sun was setting around them. In fact, this dusk atmosphere is caused by the Millennium jungle, even at noon. Walking in the dense jungle is a nightmare. The humid and sultry weather makes it difficult to breathe, and the burden on soldiers is even more torture. They crossed countless rivers in the forest and walked over the peaks. Although it didn't rain, they were all sweating and their clothes were wet. Walking in the jungle, any sound will echo and can be heard far away. The soldiers must carefully distinguish every sound so as not to fall into the enemy's trap.

Gurkha Rifle/KOLOC-0/Battalion A Company marched in a small column of 8 people, among which Charley Firepower 4-person group was in front and Delta 4-person group was behind, with the distance of/KOLOC-0/0 ~/KOLOC-0/5m. They silently counted their steps and used the compass they carried with them to tell the direction from time to time. The two men in front of the "Charley" fire team are scouts, carrying L85A 1 assault rifles respectively, and the distance between the soldiers is 3 ~ 5 meters. Followed by the team leader and light machine gunner (equipped with light support weapons). Walking in front of the "Delta" Firepower Quartet are two riflemen, followed by two gunmen equipped with assault rifles, and the second light machine gun gunman is the last one.

With the support of the Kenya branch of the British Army Training Liaison Group, the British Army conducts "Great Temptation" exercises in Kenya three times a year. Kenya is located near the equator, where different climates, altitudes, latitudes and landforms are concentrated. Jungles, deserts, mountains, rivers, etc. They are all within the range of Fiona Fang 150km, providing the best training environment for the British army in the world. It is the largest training base of the British Army.

The training of British light infantry in Kenya started from 1963 to 65438+February, and local Kenyans provided services for the training of the infantry fighting group and the Royal Air Service Corps. Therefore, the British government has always maintained close contact with the Kenyan government and non-governmental organizations.