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Osprey Men at Arms #41
The Gurkha Rifles
The Gurkhas have a long and distinguished service record. This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organisation of the Gurkha rifles. It traces the 19th Century origins of the now famous Gurkha regiments and also covers their service history during the Great Mutiny of 1857 and the 3rd Afghan War (1919). During the two World Wars the Gurhah rifles performed countless tours of duty and their regimental battle honours listed in the book bear testimony to their extensive service. A series of full colour illustrations accompany the text.
50 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 4, 2024
The Gurkhas. I had heard of their name way back. Where I live they station near shopping malls and VIPs. Although it is rarely life-or-death situations anymore, they remain armed and poised as if the impenetrable looks are there to cause trepidation.
I learn from the book that they are truly a militant type as the rumour has it. The book does not lul you with the finest details in those skirmishes. It gives you a brief idea of what a pivotal role these units often played in some struggling showdowns.
Earlier this year I had the chance to witness the changing of the guard before Buckingham Palace, in which the unit succeeding was the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers. While backbench visitors were wading through the passing crowd in front of the main gate, the band performed. They had a predilection for Les Misérables including ‘At the End of the Day’, ‘One Day More’ (my favourite piece!), ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’, which was the icing on the cake.
What a beautiful paradox of their peoples: a sheathed kukri (traditional short sword) by the waist, brass instruments in hand.
I learn from the book that they are truly a militant type as the rumour has it. The book does not lul you with the finest details in those skirmishes. It gives you a brief idea of what a pivotal role these units often played in some struggling showdowns.
Earlier this year I had the chance to witness the changing of the guard before Buckingham Palace, in which the unit succeeding was the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers. While backbench visitors were wading through the passing crowd in front of the main gate, the band performed. They had a predilection for Les Misérables including ‘At the End of the Day’, ‘One Day More’ (my favourite piece!), ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’, which was the icing on the cake.
What a beautiful paradox of their peoples: a sheathed kukri (traditional short sword) by the waist, brass instruments in hand.
January 24, 2018
Tremendously boring. It should be titled "The Gurkha Uniforms", as nearly half the book deals with the author's fetish with military fashion.
A good portion is devoted to the renaming of various Gurkha units. The "begats" of Genesis spring to mind.
His military history of the Gurkhas is all too brief, contains little detail and lacks necessary exposition, assuming the reader has a background knowledge of incidents and people to which he refers. He fails to flesh out anecdotes, making them essentially meaningless.
He refers to the Gurkhas involvement in the "Third Afghan War", but seems to have confused it with the second.
Awful. I hated it.
A good portion is devoted to the renaming of various Gurkha units. The "begats" of Genesis spring to mind.
His military history of the Gurkhas is all too brief, contains little detail and lacks necessary exposition, assuming the reader has a background knowledge of incidents and people to which he refers. He fails to flesh out anecdotes, making them essentially meaningless.
He refers to the Gurkhas involvement in the "Third Afghan War", but seems to have confused it with the second.
Awful. I hated it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews