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World History

COLGATE4

(14,840 posts)

11. There's a saying in the British Army

Reply to appalachiablue (Reply #7)

Mon Dec 14, 2020, 06:27 PM

Dec 2020

that a man who tells you he's not afraid of death is either a liar or a Gurka. These troops are totally fearless. A Gurka recipient of the Victoria Cross (equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor) fought Japanese troops alone for more than 26 hours, most of that time shooting them with his bolt action Lee Enfield rifle with one of his arms blown off. He said that when he ran out of ammunition he just used his Kukri knife (for which they are famous). When he was finally relieved they found he had killed 43 Japanese soldiers.

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On this date in History, 1943 image. The guys on the carrier do not look too happy with photographer [View all] irisblue Dec 2020 OP

Interesting photo. Not sure why you posted it. n/t CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2020 #1

Cause I find the idea that guys from India fighting for the Brits irisblue Dec 2020 #2

I appreciate your answer, which expanded my knowledge of the incident. CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2020 #5

Did you know about the Bengal Famine of 1943? irisblue Dec 2020 #8

These may be the Gerkas. The British are intensely proud of them and they're proud of themselves! Karadeniz Dec 2020 #6

Gurkhas are badass fighters, but the men in this photo are Punjabi. appalachiablue Dec 2020 #7

There's a saying in the British Army COLGATE4 Dec 2020 #11

Their reputation as fighters is well deserved. The WWII Gurkha appalachiablue Dec 2020 #12

maybe he was hoping for a sherman tank instead of a go cart lol nt msongs Dec 2020 #3

I was looking for a ship (aircraft carrier) myself! 😆 ShazzieB Dec 2020 #4

! I now see your point, I was limited in the title line irisblue Dec 2020 #10

The turbaned troops are Sikhs and the tank is labeled 'Punjab.' appalachiablue Dec 2020 #9