Gurkhas

So ive known about the Gurkhas and how great of fighters they were for the British crown and such threw history, but my question is why is a group thousands of miles away so obedient and loyal to a the British Monarchy and government? also I would like some history on them ive heard them regarded as great soldiers and that the Germans were scared of them.

 

History can be found here.

http://www.army.mod.uk/brigade_of_gurkh ... /index.htm

funny stories and the like here.

http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewforum/f=78.html

Nepal is a poor country and if you take the gurkha salary and go to Nepal the are very well off.

They are very good figters and have spread fear into armies for years, during WW2 they (from old soldiers i have spoken to) used to identify british and commonwelath soldiers from the way thier boots and putties were worn.

You may also like this link it has some information too and you can help the schols in Afganistan.

http://afghanappealfund.org.uk/?page_id=22[/b]

 

I once read that it was a Gurkha tradition that when they had drawn their long knife it had to draw blood even if they had to cut themselves to do it. :-?

 

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Utter rubbish.

 

You ever seen one of those Kukri knives?
They are huge!
Cutting yourself would be insane especially if you have to do it every time you draw it. As it is often used as a tool rather than as a weapon

 

One possible myth I was told by members of the armed forces and I think I can recall repeated elsewhere was that during the Falklands campaign the Argentine conscripts were particularly terrified of the Ghurkas as they'd been told by their officers that the Ghurkas would kill and eat them if they captured them.

Apparently the Ghurka's were also particularly dissappointed that the Argies surrendered before they had a chance to get stuck into them.

 

I used to own an ex-gurkha kukri - not that big really - but apparently a fearsome weapon in the hands of a Gurkha. This one had lots of little dots punched into the side of the blade and I always wondered what they meant - kills perhaps ? To me it seemed a poor weapon - short and very badly balanced to my touch - but then I'm not a Gurkha.

:x

 

What I posted was probably just a legend but I did read it all the same .

 

hmmmmm many of the ones I have seen have had 13-17 inch blades but then again they might not have been the military issue ones

 

A Kukri is 'unbalanced' - the weight is biased towards the tip of the blade, giving a greater momentum in the swing, leading to a better chop when it hits. This is an old established tactic of edged weapons.

They are not hugely big (the ones I have see were about a foot long) but capable of nasty wounds.

 

Kukri

The one I have is 16" from tip to pommel, that is about the standard length of a military one (not tourist rubbish) there is a particularly large one, massive, used in religious ceremony to chop off a bullocks head in one swing, I imagine all Ghurka Regiments have one of these.

 

Re: Kukri

The ones I have actually seen are tourist rubbish - a friend of mine bought a couple when in Nepal, and brought them home on the plane in her hand luggage! (pre 9/11)

 

Kukri

I'm doing a 'Ricky' with new camera! Should get 'Brownie Points!!!) Kukri is 16" long.
www.gurkhas-kukris.com/catalog/new

 

Re: Kukri

Good picture, and a nice way to prove a point (pun only partly intended)

On a side note, how nice to be recognised in such a way!

 

16" would not generally be considered "long" for a martial weapon intended for use mainly as a chopping weapon - the point (no pun intended, again :roll is that the Gurkhas have mastered its use to a very high degree - all the more impressive to me.

:x

 

Basically, it is not good to be on the bad side of a Gurkha.

Incidently, the oft-repeted pun is actually rather pointless, as the Kukri is a chopping weapon not a stabbing weapon.

 

Apologies, Ricky - as usual you cut to the chase ...

 

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It's probably to do with all the 'Kukri' series on TV!
If you look at the Web Site I've given you you will see various uses of the Kukri, including a stabbing weapon, see 'Handling a Kukri'.

 

Be on the bad side of Gurkha and be 20 feet away. A M-16 > Kukri.

Have they actually used them in combat so far in Afghanistan?

 

Re: Kukri

The kukri is one of the last strands of the family of recurve sabres. The origin of the design is not really known, but famous examples of the weapon type include the Egyptian kopesh, the Greek machaira, the Iberian falcata and the Turkish yagathan. All of these were considerably bigger than the kukri; unlike the Gurkha weapon, they were supposed to be used as a primary weapon rather than a sidearm.

Xenophon advised that all cavalry that was required to fight hand-to-hand be armed with machaira-style swords, since he considered them best suited for fighting from horseback. The principle of its use is very simple, basically coming down to either a forehand or a backhand chopping motion from a point above the shoulder. Both these motions are amply testified on vase paintings of the Greek world.

The falcata replica I own is just over 25" long.