Customer Reviews

The Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers

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Hi, One book you just want to read and keep on doing so.Kept reading it till i had to miss my meals until i finished it.It's a book that demonstrates the quality of these men, Gurkhas, their work and their deeds, it goes on to tell us about how these tough mean men are thoroughbred gentleman ,helping unfortunate ones in Hong Kong , Kosovo and so on.It is a book that at times made me cry that there are men out there who honour loyalty more than money in these selfish and greedy times of ours.God Bless them, and those who gave their lives for someone's else freedom.....

Is there anyone with an interest in militaria who has not heard of the Gurkhas ? Then let this book introduce you to the bravest men in any regiment of the British Army, with the most Victoria Crosses (highest British battle honour) to their name.

Packed with reminisences from the warriors themselves along with the author's competent overview and asides this is a fine testament to the men, their skill and their courage. Starting with the history of the first encounters between the Brits and the Gurkhas when they were on opposing sides in India, it continues with accounts of their Afghan frontier duties, exploits in two world wars and deployment in modern wars and in trouble zones such as Kosovo and Timor.

One of my favourite parts is the description of when a wounded Gurkha from a beseiged fort staggered to the British lines for medical treatment. The British treated him thinking this was a surrender whereupon he returned to the fort to take up his post and continue the fight leaving the Brits bemused and astounded by his bravado.

The Brits should consider themselves very lucky to have these brave and cheerful fighters on thier payroll and as the reviewer below points out, should better their pay right away. The Gurkhas may be the richest in Nepal but they don't have pay parity with Brit frontline troops as yet. And boy have they earned it.

Though this is a well written book and brings out the strength,courage and determination of the Gorkhas,it has hardly a mention of their real exploits during service with the Indian army.Their battles during the Indo-pak wars,China and Kargil have been completely ignored.The British may have employed them once but they are and always were an integral part of the Indian army and this fact is not at all focussed upon.

If the Author had actually attempted to get information about their service in the Indian army,the book would have been thrice as large,twice as interesting and quite heart-stopping.It is really sad that the most obvious expectation from the book has completely been ignored.

This inspired book takes the story of the famed Gurkhas up to more recent times. While Byron Farwell has covered much of this story in his earlier book about the Gurkhas in the Britsih army, John Parker provides a more up-to-date coverage. The book is also enlivened by the author's travelogue account of a recent visit to Nepal. Here he provides interesting descriptions of the beautiful, though forboding landscape, as well as the largely primitive living conditions. Nepal seems to be a country which time forgot, although perhaps that is slowly starting to change. Many interestig characters are also met en-route, including some famous Gurkha veterans who turn out to greet the visitors.

The author then launches into an historical account starting off with that fateful campaign of 1818 when British soldiers first encountered these hardy little fighters and soon wanted them as friends! Although conquered, the Gurkha's spirit was not broken, and it was these qualites that most impressed the British to begin their long term relationship with them. From that time until the present the Gurkha has been a devoted adjunct to British forces. They were far more trustworthy and less difficult than most Indian troops, and did not allow their religious beliefs to restrict their deployment anywhere. All have feared the Gurkha war cry of "Ayo Gurkhali" which means the Kurkris is about to strike! Fearless soldiers, they are also disciplined to a fault. Under their specially selected British officers, this pairing produces one of the most feared and respected combinations in modern military history. We should not discount how the British officers who were selected to lead the Gurkhas brought out the best of their martial qualites. On their own Gurkhas were firece fighters, but with their British officers they became both firece and disciplined.

I disagree with one reader who believes this book would have been twice as interesting if it included exploits of the Gurkhas in the new Indian army. Doubtless these soldiers have been an asset for India, but I doubt very much they have the same historical fascination as they do in the British army. Plus we have 189 years of history vs. only about 60! I think the historical interest and roll of battle honors goes to the service of the Gurkhas in the British army! Still, perhaps a chapter on the Indian army since partitition and how Gurkhas have been used might have been interesting. This awaits another book, but again, the interest to English speaking military historians might be a lot less.

The author brings the Gurkha story up to the present with an intersting chapter on the Falklands conflict and how the 7th King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles terrorized the Argies into surrendering their whole garrison! The Gurkhas were at first crest-fallen that they did not get to drench their Kurkris with Argie blood, but then came to realize how their reputation virtually won the conflict, and this gave them some solace!

The last part of the book chronicles the ever changing environment in the British army. Much time is spent discussing the state of Gurkha veterans and what can be done to improve their pay and retirement. Certainly the MoD needs to address these issues and perhaps by now they have. The author does a good job weaving first-hand accounts and current interviews together into a compelling narrative. This seems a hallmark of his several books he has done already on elite military formations. Sadly the famous regimental names of the Gurkhas have gone and have been replaced by the bland sounding "Royal Gurkha Rifles", and numbers are way down, but the Gurkha presence in the British army continues to be a viable one. Long may it continue!

The Gurkhas are considered to be the worlds most feared foot soldiers. The crack Nepalese troops have fought almost every British military caqmpaign since 1816. When WW1 broke out, virtually every Nepalese man of fighting age vounteered. The British no longer employ many Gurkhas, though, so there's now about 300 applicants for every vacancy. Some who fail to make the cut commit suicide rather than face the disgrace they think they bring upon their families. Wages and pensions paid to Gurkhas are now Nepals third biggest source of forein currency, but Parker points out that the Gurkhas are still being ripped off with paltry pensions after a career on the front line that often leaves them permanently maimed.