"The Gurkhas in Nepal, at Delhi and Gallipoli" Topic
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Tango01 | 02 Aug 2015 3:53 p.m. PST |
"The superb fighting qualities of the Gurkhas were obvious to all who had fought against them during the arduous and thankless Nepalese campaign. Not least Frederick Young, who was kept a prisoner of the Gurkhas for a year, during which time they developed a mutual respect for each other's fighting spirit. At the end of the year Young was released and obtained permission to form a "Local Native" battalion made out of the men of the disbanded Gurkha army. In 1815 this battalion was raised at Sirmoor, and others besides were created in or around the same time. Young would command the Sirmoors for over 20 years, creating a regimental depot at Dahara Dun. Two years later in 1817 they fought against the resurgent Marathas, the battalion was successively employed with distinction, changing names a few times and by the First Sikh War were already becoming proud of their own regimental traditions. During the Battle of Aliwal they temporarily lost their regimental colour, the Sirmoors could not leave the field with this stain on their honour, and the following counterattack regained the flag. After seeing their courage first hand at Sobraon Lord Gough wrote: "They vied in ardent courage with The Grenadiers and, armed with the short weapon of their mountains, were a terror to the Sikhs". It was soon obvious that these were no longer just another native regiment, indeed they were not even that, for they were classified as an irregular hill force and so most wore dark green uniforms and were payed less than Sepoy's. Although no one knew it, this narrow distinction would have far reaching effects on the mentality of the Gurkha regiments regarding their identity…" Full text here link Amicalement Armand |
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