Formation The Gurkha War was fought between the
Gorkha kings of Nepal and the
British East India Company as a result of border tensions and ambitious expansionism especially into
Kumaon,
Garhwal and Kangra hills. Although the British East India Company's army defeated the Gorkha army led by General
Amar Singh Thapa, they were nevertheless impressed by the skill and courage the Gorkhas had shown during the siege of Malaun fort in
Bilaspur. As a result, during the post war settlement a clause was inserted into the
Treaty of Sugauli enabling the British to recruit Gorkhas.
Early campaigns The regiment soon saw its first battle when, in 1826, it took part in the
Jat War where it helped in the conquest of
Bharatpur, gaining it as a
battle honour, the first battle honour awarded to the Gurkha units. In 1846 the
First Anglo-Sikh War began and the Regiment was heavily involved in the conflict. It was awarded two battle honours for its involvement in the war; at the
Battle of Aliwal which saw the
Sikh forces, who had invaded
British India. The regiment experienced numerous names changes during the 1800s; one name change in 1850 saw it gain a new numerical designation to become the
66th Goorkha Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry In 1861, the regiment gained its present numerical designation when it became the
1st Goorkha Regiment. In 1875, the regiment, under the command of
Colonel James Sebastian Rawlins, was sent abroad for the first time, when it took part in the effort to quell a rebellion in
Malaya during the
Perak War. During the conflict Captain
George Nicolas Channer was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valiant actions against the Malayans. The regiment took part in the
Second Afghan War in 1878 where they were part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade and won the
Theatre Honour "Afghanistan 1878–80". The regiment then took part in operations in
Burma, the
North-West Frontier and the
Tirah campaign in 1897. In 1901, the regiment's title was shortened when it became the
1st Goorkha Rifles and in 1903 its title was changed once more, this time to the
1st Goorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment). Conditions on the Western Front were very different to those that the regiment had been used to in the
sub-continent and they, along with the rest of the Indian Army troops deployed, suffered badly during the winter months. As a result, in December 1915 it was decided that the infantry units of the
Indian Corps would be withdrawn from France and sent to other theatres. As a result, the 1st Battalion, along with the rest of the 3rd Division, was sent to
Mesopotamia to take part in the
campaign against the
Ottomans which had begun in 1914. The Sirhind Brigade was given a numerical designation, the 8th Brigade. In 1916, the 1st Gurkhas took part in a number of attempts, including the attack on
Dujaila Redoubt in March, to relieve
Kut-al-Amara, which had been besieged by the Ottomans since 7 December 1915. Those attempts, however, failed and Kut remained under siege until it surrendered to the Ottomans on 29 April 1916. Following this the regiment took part in the Allied offensive against the Ottomans later that year; this included the effort to recapture Kut, begun in December, which was recaptured in February 1917 and the capital
Baghdad which was taken the following month. The 1st Battalion was later moved to
Palestine in early 1918. It was involved in the effective Allied offensive against the Ottomans in September, the
Battle of Megiddo, and also saw action at the
Sharon. Elsewhere, the 2nd Battalion saw service in the
North-West Frontier of India, gaining the Battle Honour "North-West Frontier 1915–17" in the process. In 1917 a 3rd Battalion was raised for home service in India. In 1937, the regiment's name was altered slightly when it became the '''1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)'''; the only change being the addition of a V.—the regiment saw much service in the war but most notably in Malaya and Burma. taken
prisoner by the Japanese. In Burma, a similar situation occurred, the Allies—having come under intense attacks from the Japanese who had begun their offensive in December—had to commence a retreat to India from February 1942 which was completed in May. Later, the battalions of the Regiment saw heavy fighting again in 1944 in the
Arakan campaign and during the Japanese offensive against north-east India where two important battles,
Kohima and
Imphal, took place from March to June 1944.
Imphal was besieged by the Japanese until the Allies achieved a decisive victory at
Kohima in June and the Japanese fled back into Burma. The Regiment subsequently took part in the successful Allied offensive into Burma and on 3 May 1945 the Burmese capital
Rangoon was liberated by British forces. There were still Japanese forces present in Burma but the fight against the Japanese was now ostensibly a mopping up operation. The war concluded with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945 on the deck of the
USS Missouri in
Tokyo Bay; the Allies had prevailed after nearly six years of fighting. In
French Indochina that same day the
Viet Minh, led by
Ho Chi Minh, declared their independence from France as the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Shortly afterwards the British began to send units of the
20th Indian Infantry Division, which the 1st and 3rd Battalions were part of, to occupy the south of the country while the
Nationalist Chinese occupied the north; the deployment was completed by October. The force was intended to disarm the Japanese forces and help in their repatriation back to Japan. The force, however, soon became embroiled in the fight against the Viet Minh and was soon helping in the restoration of French-control over the country. The British were, due to a lack of sufficient manpower, ironically forced to have the Japanese forces working alongside their own in Indochina in order to maintain peace and stability. The operations against the Viet Minh gradually became more intense and after substantial French reinforcements arrived the British and Indian forces departed by May 1946, and the
First Indochina War would begin shortly afterwards. On 25 October, a Japanese patrol captured a Russian adviser near Thủ Dầu Một, in an incident that constitutes the only known evidence of direct Soviet involvement in the 1945–1946 war. He was handed over to Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Jarvis, commander of the 1/1 Gurkha Rifles. Jarvis made several attempts at interrogation, but it was fruitless, so the intruder was handed over to the Sûreté, the French criminal investigation department (equivalent to the CID). From there he disappeared from the annals of history. From September 1945 the
7th Indian Infantry Division, which the 4th Battalion was part of, was deployed to
Siam (now
Thailand) As a result of this agreement it was decided that of the pre-war Gurkha regiments, four would be transferred to the
British Army, while six—one of which was the 1st Gurkhas—would become part of the newly independent
Indian Army. Despite India achieving its independence, the regiment retained its full designation until 1950 when it became the
1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), also adopting the Indian spelling of
Gurkha, following India's transition to a republic. In 1961, Captain
Gurbachan Singh Salaria received the posthumous
Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest military honour, for his actions in the
Congo when the 3rd Battalion, of which he was part, was on
United Nations service.
Siri Kanth Korla served as the Colonel of the 1st Gorkha Rifles, over 1965-75.
6th Battalion On 1 April 2016, a new battalion with about 700 soldiers was raised as the 6th Battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles (6/1GR); it was the first time in 50 years that a new Gorkha battalion had been formed. The new battalion, christened "Kanchi Paltan", was raised at Sabathu in the Shivalik foothills near Shimla, which is the location of the 14 Gorkha Training Centre. It is the first Gorkha battalion comprising only locally domiciled Gurkhas. The ratio between Nepali Gurkhas and Indian-resident Gurkhas in the army's seven Gurkha regiments had typically been around 70:30. The announcement about the raising of this battalion was made by Lt Gen
Ravi Thodge, then Master General of Ordnance and Colonel of the Regiment, in October 2015 during the grand celebrations of the reunion and bicentenary of the regiment. ==Units==