Yea you're badass but will you ever be in the same level as a Gurkha?

In 1815, the British Army tried to conquer Nepal. But it was easily defeated by Nepal's warriors: the Gurkhas. So the British officers decided that, if they couldn't beat them, they'd get the Gurkhas to join them.

A peace agreement ceased all British conquest in Nepal, and the Gurkhas agreed to be recruited into the Crown's military.

A soldier of the 87th Foot wrote in his memoirs: "I never saw more steadiness or bravery exhibited in my life. Run they would not, and of death they seemed to have no fear, though their comrades were falling thick around them".

The preferred Gurkha method of attack with a kukri is to strike upwards at an enemy at close range while crouching low, close to the ground. 

There are two possible reasons for this.  An upward slash is one that can be least blocked or parried by an enemy with a bayonet fixed rifle. 

An upward slash also makes it harder to wound one's own self should the knife strike fail to make contact with the opponent. 

In any event, Gurkha kukri attacks usually result in an enemy's sudden and terminal evisceration, the traumatic loss of limbs, head, or all three.

Not long after WWII began in September 1939, the British Army formed a total of 43 Gurkha Battalions serving in 10 regiments. 

They fought in Syria, North Africa, Italy and Greece against the Germans and against the Japanese in Malaya, Singapore, Burma and northeast India.  These fierce warriors from Nepal racked up a truly impressive fighting record of earning 2,734 battlefield awards for bravery while suffering some 32,000 casualties during the war. 

Then as now the Gurkhas were known for their ancestral warrior's love of fighting with "cold steel?. They are experts in using their razor sharp kukri knives in battle.

The Gurkhas oftentimes assaulted enemy positions with their primary infantry weapon in one hand and their kukri knife in the other.  Oftentimes, just the sight of unsheathed kukri knives in an attacking Gurkha unit's hands was enough to discourage any further enemy resistance by "causing a cold, cramped sensation in the nether regions of their enemy's stomachs." 

One such wartime account not only attests to this, but also speaks volumes about the average Gurkha's temperament and mentality both on and off the battlefield. 

During the fierce fighting in Italy's Arno Valley in 1944, a smaller than normal Gurkha NCO led his section in a charge upon a German position.  In close quarters fighting he killed two very large German soldiers who fell upon him, burying him under their combined weight. 

A third German came at him and the Gurkha somehow managed to partially extricate himself from under the dead weight of the Germans and pull out his kukri.  With one slash the Gurkha practically severed the German's arm. 

Minutes later, after being removed from underneath the dead men, the Gurkha NCO accompanied the wounded German's stretcher party back to the medical aid station with his kukri still dripping the man's blood. 

The NCO walked alongside the man's stretcher, softly patting the wide-eyed, terrified German's uninjured shoulder, all the while gently assuring him in Gurkhali language that he was now perfectly safe and all would be well.

Gurkhas oftentimes developed close and affectionate kinship bonds towards their unit's British officers, often transcending even death itself.  During the long British retreat through Burma early in the war, the rear guard fighting there was terribly confused.  In one instance, a Gurkha unit observed a dozen half starved Japanese with raised hands, appearing as if they wished to surrender. Lt. Col. George Balinger and several of his men left cover to bring the Japanese in.  Suddenly, the Japanese threw themselves flat on the ground as their machine guns cut down the British officer and a number of his men. The Japanese were quickly and summarily killed.  Gurkhas are never terribly keen on taking prisoners in the first place, but after the treacherous killing of Col. Balinger, the 1st battalion 3rd Gurkha Rifles never took another Japanese prisoner captive for the remainder of the war.

Gurkhas tend to have an extremely earthy, macabre sense of humor that probably comes from their short, hard lives they normally live at home in the Himalayas. 

A Gurkha Lewis machine gun crew was firing its weapon and enemy return fire soon killed its gunner. 

The no. 2 gunner took over and he too was soon shot through the head.

The no.3 gunner began firing the gun, but before long, he was killed also.  Some of the Gurkhas in an adjoining position began cheering and laughing because they had been making book as to the lifespan of the last remaining gunner. 

During the hard fighting in Burma, a Gurkha PIAT gunner (Projectile Infantry Anti Tank) who'd carried his heavy gun for several weeks up and down mountains without firing it finally had an opportunity to test his weapon. 

He spied a lone Japanese soldier standing in full view.  The weapon was loaded and the Gurkha sighted in on his enemy.  PIAT guns fire a three pound projectile designed to pierce several inches of reinforced steel.  The Gurkha fired and scored a ?bull's eye" on the unsuspecting Japanese soldier.  An eyewitness later wrote. "The result was remarkable and exceeded even his wildest dreams."

In 1945, Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung was stationed in a trench with only two other men when over 200 Japanese soldiers opened fire. Gurung's comrades were severely wounded. As grenades flew in one after another, Gurung tried to throw each one back.

He was successful with the first two, but the third exploded in his right hand. His fingers were blown off and his face, body, and right arm and leg were badly wounded.

As the Japanese stormed the trench, Gurung used his left hand to wield his rifle, defeating 31 enemies and preventing the Japanese from advancing. Gurung survived, and was awarded with a Victoria Cross later that year.

Bhanubhakta Gurung, who fought against the Japanese in Burma in World War II, was awarded with a Victoria Cross for capturing a bunker almost all by himself.

Starting in a platoon of only 10 troops, Gurung came under heavy fire from machine guns, grenades, mortars, and a sniper. Gurung shot the sniper out of a tree, and then charged uphill alone. He threw grenades into a foxhole where enemies were shooting from and took another three foxholes with his bayonet.

Far ahead of his comrades, Gurung then charged the bunker with two smoke grenades and his kukri knife, the famed curved blade of the Gurkhas. He defeated two Japanese soldiers with the knife, and another one with a rock.

Gurung then held off a counterattack with three other men at the bunker, this time using a rifle

Their motto is "Better to die than be a coward". In the First World War, in which 20,000 of them were casualties, they won almost 2,000 awards for gallantry.

At the Battle of Loos in 1915 a Gurkha battalion fought literally to the last man. At Gallipoli they were the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Sir Ralph Turner MC who served with them then wrote an epitaph: "Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had a country more faithful friends than you". If there was a minute's silence for every one of the 23,000 Gurkha casualties from World War II, the nation would have to fall quiet for a full fortnight.

RIFLEMAN LACHHIMAN GURUNG, VC

"At Taungdaw, in Burma, on the west bank of the Irrawaddy, on the night of 12/13th may, 1945, Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung was manning the most forward post of his platoon. At 01.20hours, at least 200 enemy assaulted his company position. The brunt of the attack was borne by rifleman Lachhiman Gurung's section and by his own post in particular. This post dominated a jungle path leading up into his platoon locality.  Before assaulting, the enemy hurled innumerable grenades at the position from close range. One grenade fell on the lip of Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung's trench; he at once grasped it and hurled it back at the enemy. Almost immediately another grenade fell directly inside the trench. Again this rifleman snatched it up and threw it back. A third grenade then fell just in front of the trench. He attempted to throw it back, but it exploded in his hand, blowing off his fingers, shattering his right arm and severely wounding him in the face, body and right leg. His two comrades were also badly wounded and lay helpless in the bottom of the trench.  The enemy, screaming and shouting, now formed up shoulder to shoulder and attempted to rush the position by sheer weight of numbers. rifleman Lachhiman Gurung, regardless of his wounds, fired and loaded his rifle with his left hand, maintaining a continuous and steady rate of fire.  Wave after wave of fanatical attacks were thrown in by the enemy over the next four hours and all-were repulsed with heavy casualties.

 For four hours after being severely wounded Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung remained alone at his post, waiting with perfect calm for each attack, which he met with fire at point-blank range from his rifle, determined not to give one inch of ground.  Of the 87 enemy dead counted in the immediate vicinity of the company locality, 31 lay in front of this rifleman's section, the key to the whole position. Had the enemy succeeded in over-running and occupying Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung's trench, the whole of the reverse slope position would have been dominated and turned. This Rifleman, by his magnificent example, so inspired his comrades to resist to the last, that, although surrounded and cut off for three days and two nights, they held and smashed every attack.

His outstanding gallantry and extreme devotion to duty, in the face of overwhelming odds, were the main factors in defeating the enemy."

During the hard and bloody fighting in Italy in 1944, a story was told of an attacking German soldier who spotted an English-speaking Gurkha in a foxhole and lunged at him with his bayonet fixed rifle.  The Gurkha twisted his body a little, just in time.  "You missed me." he said, and then whipped out his razor sharp kukri knife and slashed at his neck.  "You missed me, too!" said the German.  "Hell I did!" said the Gurkha.  "Wait until you shake your head."

The Gurkhas have time and again proved worthy of being Britain’s personal detachment in perilous missions with colossal odds stacked against them.

The fact that the Gurkha Regiment has been awarded the Victoria Cross for a record 26 times stands as a testimony to their bravery. However, dire the situation may be – giving up is not in their nature, and retreating away from a mightier rival has never been an option for them.