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The Gurkha forces were sent to Italy in May 1943, to prevent the Germans from advancing. Italy surrendered when the Allied troops invaded, but the German soldiers remained in the mountains of Italy. The Gurkhas reached Italy on 11 February 1944 as a part of the 4th Indian Division. They started an offensive on February 16 and 17.
Lachhiman Gurung VC (Nepali: लाछिमान गुरुङ; 30 December 1917 – 12 December 2010) [2] was a Nepalese–British Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
During World War II (1939–1945) there were ten Gurkha regiments, with two battalions each, making a total of 20 pre-war battalions. [32] Following the Dunkirk evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1940, the Nepalese government offered to increase recruitment to enlarge the number of Gurkha battalions in British service to 35 ...
Men of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles inspect a captured German 75mm anti-tank gun near San Clemente, Italy, 8 September 1944. The 43rd Independent Gurkha Infantry Brigade, also called the 43rd Indian Infantry Brigade or the 43rd Gurkha Lorried Infantry Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the Indian Army during World War II.
Until that time the highest award that Gurkhas were eligible for was the Indian Order of Merit. Since 1911 however, of the 16 VCs awarded to men serving with Gurkha regiments, 13 have been bestowed on native Gurkhas. [3] The most recent award was made in 1965 to Rambahadur Limbu, during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. [3]
Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. [3] The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that served for the East India Company . [ 4 ]
During World War II, there was an internal treaty between Nepal and Britain about the mobilization of Nepalese soldiers. In addition to Royal Nepal Army's troops, Nepalese fought in the British Gurkha units and were engaged in combat all over the world. Gurkha troops were part of the Allied occupation force in Japan.
Prior to 2011, administrative support for the entire Brigade of Gurkhas was provided by specially trained personnel called Gurkha clerks, who wore the cap badge of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. In June 2011, the Gurkha clerks were amalgamated into a single company sized unit called the Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company (GSPS), which was ...