During World War II, 27-year-old Nepalese-British Gurkha soldier Lachhiman Gurung single-handedly
withstood a Japanese force of 200 men with only one arm and a rifle.
The Gurkhas were part of the Commonwealth's manpower.
Renowned for their unique kukri knives and close-quarter combat skills during World War
I, the Gurkhas were essential in driving the Japanese back from India and Asia during the
Burma campaign of World War II.
During the conflict, 13 Nepalese Gurkhas were awarded the British Army's highest military
decoration: the Victoria Cross.
And Lachhiman Gurung was one of them.
Pinned down and surrounded by vengeful Japanese soldiers, Gurung stood his ground even as
he was hit by enemy grenades while fighting from his trench.
He returned two of them, but a third one blew off his arm and injured his right eye.
Wounded and almost blind, Gurung reloaded his Enfield rifle and bravely faced the incoming
Japanese battalion...
Soldiers Required
Lachhiman Gurung was a Nepalese-British Gurkha born in 1917.
He joined the British Indian Army in 1940 when he was 23 years old.
Gurung was barely 4-foot, 11-inches tall, which was below the minimum height required
to enlist.
But he was granted an opportunity because the Army needed every able man to join the
fight.
He thus became part of the 4th Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles from the 7th Indian Infantry
Division.
The Japanese Imperial Army had surprised the British by launching attacks across the entire
Asian continent before they had time to counter-attack.
As the Japanese threat increased, more Indian volunteers enrolled, and thousands were shipped
every day to Africa and Europe.
They were also hopeful that the British would grant complete independence to their country
after the war ended.
Indian volunteers eventually became the largest volunteer army of World War II.
From less than 200,000 volunteers that comprised the British Indian Army in early 1939, the
number skyrocketed to more than 2 million in 1945.
By then, the British and American forces were feeling optimistic about South Asia.
The war in Europe was reaching an end, and it was a matter of time before the Japanese
surrendered in India and the rest of the Pacific.
Nevertheless, the Japanese warriors would fiercely fight back in the name of the Emperor,
even if their numbers and supplies were running short at an alarming rate.
One Last Stand
In late April of 1945, General William Slim's 7th Division was tasked to cross the Irrawaddy
river and destroy Japanese units retreating from the Taungdaw valley.
Gurung's 4th Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles, sent two companies to encircle the withdrawing
Japanese and force them to surrender, but the enemy was prepared.
While the men were searching for the Japanese in the area, they came upon the village of
Taungdaw and established a forward position.
While the Gurkhas set up their defensive formations around the village, they were being observed
by Japanese scouts that had encircled and cut off the two companies.
The Japanese silently watched them and prepared for a surprise attack to break through the
Gurkhas’ formation and resume their withdrawal.
It was time to unsheathe their katanas and fix the bayonets on their Arisaka rifles one
more time.
The London Gazette would report a few months later that (QUOTE): "At Taungdaw, in Burma,
on the west bank of the Irrawaddy, on the night of 12 May, 1945, Riflemann Lachhiman
Gurung was manning the most forward post of his platoon.
At 01:20 hours, at least 200 enemy assaulted his Company position…"
Hell broke loose among the Allied lines.
The Gurkhas were not expecting a full-scale attack, and no one heard or saw anything under
the jungle foliage.
The Japanese stealthily reached the tree line and directly charged towards the Gurkhas.
The London Gazette’s article with the King's approval for Gurung's Victoria Cross continued
(QUOTE): "The brunt of the attack was borne by rifleman Gurung's section and by his own
post in particular.
This post dominated a jungle path leading up into his platoon locality."
After barely being able to hold back the first wave of Japanese attackers, the Gurkhas tried
to regroup.
But the enemy started throwing grenades at them and made it impossible.
Unable to locate where the grenades were coming from, some Gurkhas searched for cover while
others retreated.
Many were wounded and unable to carry on fighting.
But rifleman Gurung stood his ground.
Suddenly, a cooked grenade fell on Gurung's trench.
He quickly hurled it back with one violent move.
But he could barely catch a breath before a second one hit the trench from the opposite
side.
An exhausted Gurung raced for the other grenade, picked it up, and threw it as far away as
he could.
Both grenades exploded next to the Japanese forces nearby.
A third grenade hit the trench, but Gurung couldn’t get rid of it in time.
The London Gazette’s citation read (QUOTE): “Almost immediately another grenade fell
directly inside the trench…
Rifleman Gurung 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."
Gurung was immobilized and could hear the enemy screaming and shouting with more intensity
as every second passed.
The Japanese were approaching, and the two men next to him were also severely wounded.
But Gurung would not give up.
Almost blind and losing a lot of blood, he crawled towards his Lee Enfield rifle and
grabbed it with his left hand.
In Ghurka tradition, he then pulled his iconic Kukri knife, stabbed the ground, and repeatedly
shouted to the Japanese (QUOTE): "Come fight a Gurkha!"
He also told the enemy that none of them would be able to get past his knife, a promise that
he would bravely fulfill with all it took.
As the Japanese advanced towards him, Gurung struggled to reload his rifle with his good
hand.
It was even more difficult as the Enfield bolt action rifle was conceived for right-handed
persons.
Still, he did it slowly, one round at a time, and shot every Japanese that approached at
point-blank range.
Gurung would repeatedly lie down in his trench until the enemy was above him, then shoot
at him.
The London Gazette recounted that (QUOTE): "The enemy, screaming and shouting, now formed
shoulder to shoulder, attempted to rush the position by sheer weight of numbers, Rifleman
Gurung, regardless of his wounds, fired and reloaded his rifle with his left hand, maintaining
a steady rate of fire…
Wave after wave of fanatical attacks were thrown in by the enemy and all were repulsed
with heavy casualties."
Rifleman Gurung fought the enemy on his own for over four hours after having been wounded
by the grenade's shrapnel.
His last words before the enemy retreated were (QUOTE): "Come and fight a Gurkha, I
will kill you all!"
A Ghurkha’s Courage
Of the approximately 200 Japanese soldiers that stormed the area, 87 lost their lives,
and 31 of them were lying right by Gurung’s trench.
He was the key to prevent the Japanese from advancing and overwhelming his entire company.
Lachhiman Gurung's Victoria Cross citation ended with the following words (QUOTE):
"Had the enemy succeeded in over-running and occupying Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung's trench,
the whole of the reverse slope position would have been completely dominated and turned…
This Rifleman, by his magnificent example, so inspired his comrades to resist the enemy
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 almost overwhelming
odds, were the main factors in the defeat of the enemy."
Gurung remained hospitalized through the end of the war and lost vision in his right eye.
His only complaint after the battle ended had been that his shattered arm was swarmed
with flies.
Gurung's Last Fight
After partially recovering from his wounds, Gurung received his Victoria Cross from the
Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell, at Red Fort in Delhi on December 19, 1945.
Gurung remained in the army until 1947 when India became independent and formed its own
armed forces.
He eventually achieved the rank of Havildar, the equivalent of Sergeant, and retired to
his hometown village in Nepal, where he had a farm and some stock to make a living.
He lived in peace with his 5 children with a military pension and used his spare time
to support causes that assisted World War II veterans.
In 1995, he was granted a monetary donation from the Armourers and Brasiers Company, with
which he was provided with a house near the Gurkha Welfare Centre at Chitwan.
But in 2008, Gurung returned to the public eye.
He and Tul Bahadur Pun, another Victoria Cross veteran, spoke at England's High Court to
fight for the surviving Gurkhas’ rights to settle in Britain.
A problematic policy had denied Ghurka veterans who retired before 1997 the right to live
in England.
The government’s stand was that the Ghurkas failed to (QUOTE): “demonstrate strong ties
to the U.K.”
With their chests full of medals, the two old men made a lasting impression on the British
authorities.
The High Court ruled that the government should review its policy, and let Gurung settle in
Hounslow with his family.
He lived there until he passed away in December of 2010 from pneumonia.
His Victoria Cross inscription can be appreciated at London's Memorial Gates in Constitution
Hill, while his medal remains in possession of the 4th Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles to
honor the unit he served.
Gurung truly honored Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's words when he said (QUOTE): "If a man says
he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha."