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rasmussen81
Messages: 6111
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July 2007
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Gurka Troops
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Thu, 10 November 2011 17:25
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The Gurka (said Goorka) were troops that fought for the Allies in various campaigns, including the battles for Mounte Cassino. I just visited Nepal and discovered that the Gurka are from there...so I bought a Gurka knife and I'm now very interested in these fascinating troops!
Anyone know about them? Anyone have some good links to information about them? 
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sgaines
Messages: 46
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June 2004
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Thu, 10 November 2011 17:51
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Ah, so you got a kukri! I have one too. Very cool weapon. One of my first Airfix soldier sets were the Gurkhas. They fought in Iraq, Syria, North Africa, Italy, Malaya and Burma. They will eventually end up in my 54mm version of the game. I am not as familiar with them in WW2 but their exploits in Victoria's little wars were legendary. They were heavily involved in the NW Frontier fights and in the Indian Mutiny. I think they still have a unit in the standing British army.
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Achtung Panzer
Messages: 959
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December 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Fri, 11 November 2011 09:12
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Indeed they are still serving in the British Army. They were recently the centre of a British Citizenship debate in the UK with many retired VC veterans apparently being denied British status through a technicality. I think they won their case.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10782099
Interesting how something like the Gurkhas, who are very well known in the UK, are virtually unknown by most of the rest of the world.
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Phread
Messages: 1733
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December 2008
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Fri, 11 November 2011 09:26
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Not just the UK - Commonwealth countries know of and value them too.
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Banor58
Messages: 7
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May 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Fri, 11 November 2011 12:16
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a funny story
Quite a few years back I had the good fortune of being seated at a dinner show with an old British soldier and his wife. We talked about many things and I brought up the Gurkas. He said that they were indeed a tough bunch, but the Fijians were troops to be be feraed. Then he told me a story about a Fijian Sargeant Major.
The soldier was on a steam ship in a time when segrigation was prominent. He was seated in the main diningroom and a noticable murmur started to spread through the room. When the waiter brought the Sargeant Major a menu, he replied in a loud and booming voice, never mind the menu, bring me the passenger list.
As the the story was told, that broke the ice and the Sargeant Major had a delightful trip.
I laugh to myself everytime I think about it.
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Jaykay2010
Messages: 499
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November 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Sat, 12 November 2011 12:25
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Yes they DID win their case ... and rightly so, they are a highly regarded and extremely respected force, whose history and reputation is renowned for fighting alongside the British and Commonwealth forces .. they have a reputation for being fearless, die-hard, highly trained and deeply committed to fighting for Queen and country. It would be great for them to be represented in some special way in Memoir 44 via the use of a badge with some specific rule for specialist 'Gurka' troops in certain scenarios.
I wonder if anyone could come up with house rules for a unit of Gurka troops? 
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rasmussen81
Messages: 6111
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July 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Sat, 12 November 2011 18:26
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Yes, I did get a Kukri blade (though in Nepal they are also called Kukuri) and it seems like there are at least 2 or 3 ways to spell Gurka as well.
I had already thought they were interesting soldiers when I read about their attacks on Monte Cassino but I didn't realize they were (are) from Nepal...I'm still not clear on that, because I've also heard that they are from India.
I look forward to learning more about them!
| Jaykay2010 wrote on Sat, 12 November 2011 15:25 |
It would be great for them to be represented in some special way in Memoir 44 via the use of a badge with some specific rule for specialist 'Gurka' troops in certain scenarios.
I wonder if anyone could come up with house rules for a unit of Gurka troops?
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Although there is no special rule for them, we do have a Gurka badge that is found in the Terrain Pack. The two blades crossed on the badge are Kukuri like the one I bought! 
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TheMarshalUK
Messages: 185
Enregistré(e) en :
March 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Sat, 12 November 2011 19:01
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This article on the BBC website gives a broad overview of Gurkha History
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10782099
In the article it explains the connection with the Indian Army
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Phread
Messages: 1733
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December 2008
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Sat, 12 November 2011 19:34
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While we are nominating troops for special treatment, I'd nominate the 28th Maori Battalion of the NZ Division.
The Maori Battalion were a fine fighting force of Maori who earned the fear and respect of their opponents..
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tank commander
Messages: 1796
Enregistré(e) en :
October 2004
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Fortytwa
Messages: 48
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September 2008
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Mon, 14 November 2011 22:48
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My experience of the Gurkhas are
1. Amazing eyesight
2. Bloody good, natural shooters
3. Used to love cheese and onion crisps.
Prefer that they fight on our side
Fortytwa
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TheMarshalUK
Messages: 185
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March 2009
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Vulch
Messages: 404
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May 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Sun, 20 November 2011 11:55
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I served with the Ghurkas in the Falklands, Hong Kong and Bosnia.
Great blokes to have on your side (The Argentinians were terrified of them), but don't ever disrespect them.
A junior officer in Hong Kong who disrespected a Ghurka in front of his peers found a live grenade in his desk drawer, with the pin out!
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rasmussen81
Messages: 6111
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July 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Mon, 21 November 2011 05:00
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| Vulch wrote on Sun, 20 November 2011 14:55 |
I served with the Ghurkas in the Falklands, Hong Kong and Bosnia.
Great blokes to have on your side (The Argentinians were terrified of them), but don't ever disrespect them.
A junior officer in Hong Kong who disrespected a Ghurka in front of his peers found a live grenade in his desk drawer, with the pin out!
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Wow, that's an intense story!! Do they still carry Kukuri knives?
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OldBloodandGuts
Messages: 298
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May 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Mon, 21 November 2011 19:28
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I seem to remember from my reading that they played a pretty substantial role in the Monte Cassino campaign -- in fact, I think that was the first I heard of them in WWII.
They used to put those knives to terrible use, and had a reputation for finding German foxholes at night whose occupants were asleep. Always left one alive, so he'd wake up and find his friends dead with their throats cut. Terrifying, fearless, and effective, from everything I've read about them.
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TheMarshalUK
Messages: 185
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March 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Tue, 22 November 2011 12:30
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A friend of mines Uncle was a commanding officer for the hand over of hong kong and his role was to resettle the Ghurkas in the UK. One of the many problems he faced was "Dashain" ritual which the Ghurkas were told they would not be able to perform the ceremony in the UK.
This short explantion taken from a website outline the "Dashain" ritual.
Most Nepalese are devoted Hindus. They have been practicing Hinduism for generations and ritual beliefs still go strong even today. Similarly it would be fair to say that the khukuri has also been contributing to all Nepalese to performing some of the religious act of Hinduism.
One of the rituals and also traditions of Nepalese has a religious ceremony of beheading domestic animals as an offering to the goddess "Durgamata". The 18" khukuri is used for the bull decaptation during the Nepalese main festival called Dashain, during which on the 9th day called "Maar" domestic animals are sacrificed at home or mostly at temples as an offering. The ceremony is performed after going through all the rituals and the beheading must be done in one clean stroke otherwise it is believed to bring ill fortune.
My Friends Uncle was instrumental in the rellocation of these troops and the handing over of Honk Kong in 1997. He sadly passed away a few days ago.
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rasmussen81
Messages: 6111
Enregistré(e) en :
July 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Tue, 22 November 2011 13:51
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| TheMarshalUK wrote on Tue, 22 November 2011 15:30 |
A friend of mines Uncle was a commanding officer for the hand over of hong kong and his role was to resettle the Ghurkas in the UK. One of the many problems he faced was "Dashain" ritual which the Ghurkas were told they would not be able to perform the ceremony in the UK.
This short explantion taken from a website outline the "Dashain" ritual.
Most Nepalese are devoted Hindus. They have been practicing Hinduism for generations and ritual beliefs still go strong even today. Similarly it would be fair to say that the khukuri has also been contributing to all Nepalese to performing some of the religious act of Hinduism.
One of the rituals and also traditions of Nepalese has a religious ceremony of beheading domestic animals as an offering to the goddess "Durgamata". The 18" khukuri is used for the bull decaptation during the Nepalese main festival called Dashain, during which on the 9th day called "Maar" domestic animals are sacrificed at home or mostly at temples as an offering. The ceremony is performed after going through all the rituals and the beheading must be done in one clean stroke otherwise it is believed to bring ill fortune.
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Interesting you should post this link. One of the guys trying to sell me a Khukuri assured me that I could chop off the head of a goat with one chop if I bought his knife! I laughed, thinking it was a funny illustration of the strength of his product, but now I understand why that example came to his mind. I ended up getting a better knife later on, so I'm sure I could perform a clean decapitation if the situation called for it! 
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My Friends Uncle was instrumental in the rellocation of these troops and the handing over of Honk Kong in 1997. He sadly passed away a few days ago.
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I'm sorry to hear that he passed away!  It's always hard to lose a loved one.
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Vulch
Messages: 404
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May 2009
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Re:Gurkha Troops
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Thu, 01 December 2011 13:22
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I have just remembered a story from WWII when the Gurkha's were fighting the Japanese.
They used to go on night raids. The story I was told was that they would slip into a trench and feel the boots of the people in it.
British Soldiers had their boots laced up with the laces horizontal across the boot. Japanese criss crossed their laces from top to bottom.
The old soldier told me that he was sitting in his trench dozing when he felt something touch his foot, then a voice whispered in his ear "ok Tommy", he saw a glint of steel and the Gurkha who had slid into his trench disappeared into the night.
Ras: yes they still carry the Kukri. They have two kinds, a ceremonial one that is chrome plated and a working one that is more rough and ready.
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Jaykay2010
Messages: 499
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November 2009
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Fri, 08 February 2013 12:07
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I've just stumbled upon this thread after searching the message boards for information on the Gurkha troop/infantry unit.
Having just set up the Breakthrough map Torbung, (found toward the back of the recent Equipment Pack Bonus Supplement), I was delighted to discover the special rules for Gurkha troops.
They roll +1 dice in Close Assault (presumably even when depleted), and they 'Battle Back' with 2 dice.
Are there any other official scenarios with the Gurkha ruling available?
When did the special rules for Gurkha units first appear? Or is this them making their debut!?
I appreciate their badge first arrived with the Terrain Pack, but there is no mention of their spcial abilities in that expansion, and they don't yet have a Nations card or Troop card assigned to them to my knowledge.
I was just wondering if anyone could share any more insight into the appearance of the Gurkhas elsewhere in the Memoir gaming system.
Many thanks,
Jim
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rasmussen81
Messages: 6111
Enregistré(e) en :
July 2007
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Re:Gurka Troops
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Fri, 08 February 2013 12:54
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I believe the scenario you're playing is the first time they have official rules to go with them...though I could be wrong. There are no other scenarios that use the Gurka rules, but I believe there might be a few scenarios where Gurka units are involved (and used).
Personally, I hope we see a whole bunch more scenarios with the Gurka...maybe even a Campaign following them!
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