RIFLEMAN BHANBHAGTA GURUNG
Lots of good stuff here:
http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/Content/VCHolders.php
I keep a kukri by the front door just in case. My kukri has taken the head off a goat in one fell swoop, and I keep it sharp.
Posted on 03/03/2008 7:55:14 PM PST by 1066AD
Bhanubhakta Gurung, VC Last Updated: 2:37am GMT 04/03/2008
Havildar Bhanubhakta Gurung, who has died aged 86, was awarded a VC when serving as a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in Burma on March 5 1945.
At that time the Fourteenth Army was making a drive toward Mandalay in central Burma, and the task of the 25th Division (of which the 2nd Gurkhas were part) was to engage in diversionary action along the coastal sector of Arakan.
The 3rd Battalion landed at Ru-Ywa and advanced to the high ground east of Tamandu. Capturing the area would assist British progress to the Irawaddy through the An pass, but the enemy here was the formidable Japanese 54 Division and a machine-gun battalion.
advertisementThe dominant feature was .582, nicknamed Snowdon, to the east of which was another high hill known as Snowdon East. No enemy was encountered on either hill and by the evening of March 4 "A" Company was in position at both points.
However, during the night the Japanese attacked Snowdon East in overwhelming strength, killing half the Gurkhas on it; the remainder, completely out of ammunition, managed to cut their way through to their comrades on Snowdon.
The following day "B" Company, with which Bhanubhakta was serving, was ordered to retake Snowdon East "regardless of cost".
Bhanubhakta's citation (in which his name was spelled Bhanbhagta) recorded that: "On approaching the objective, one of the sections of the company was forced to the ground by a very heavy light-machine-gun, grenade and mortar fire, and owing to the severity of this fire was unable to move in any direction.
"While thus pinned down, the section also came under accurate fire from a sniper in a tree some 75 yards to the south. As this sniper was inflicting casualties on the section, Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung stood up and, while fully exposed to heavy fire, calmly killed the enemy sniper with his rifle, thus saving his section from suffering further casualties."
Bhanubhakta then began to run for the top of the hill, yelling for his comrades to follow him. Though the casualties were heavy, the section ploughed forward until within 20 yards of their objective, when the Gurkhas were again halted by exceptionally heavy fire.
Without waiting for any orders, Bhanubhakta dashed forward alone and attacked the first enemy foxhole. Throwing two grenades, which killed the two occupants of the trench, he immediately rushed on to the next enemy foxhole and killed the two Japanese in it with his bayonet.
All this time he was under continuous light-machine-gun fire from a bunker on the north tip of the objective, and two further fox-holes were still bringing fire to bear upon the section. Bhanubhakta dashed forward and cleared these trenches with bayonet and grenades.
He then turned his attention to the machine-gun bunker, and realising, as the citation put it, that it "would hold up not only his own platoon which was not behind him, but also another platoon which was advancing from the west", he pushed forward a fifth time to knock out the position.
"He ran forward and leapt on to the roof of the bunker from where, his hand grenades being finished, he flung two No 72 smoke grenades into the bunker's slit." Two Japanese rushed out of the bunker, partially blinded by the smoke and with their clothes aflame with phosphorous; Bhanubhakta promptly killed them both with his kukri.
One Japanese soldier remained inside, holding up 4 Platoon's advance with the machine gun. Bhanubhakta crawled in and, prevented by the cramped space from using his bayonet or kukri, beat the gunner's brains out with a rock.
Most of the objectives had now been cleared by the men behind, but the enemy which had been driven off were collecting for a counter-attack beneath the north end of the objective.
Bhanubhakta ordered the nearest Bren gunner and two riflemen to take up positions in the captured bunker with him, from where they repelled the enemy counter-attack.
Bhanubhakta, the citation concluded, "showed outstanding bravery and a complete disregard for his own safety. His courageous clearing of five enemy positions single-handed was in itself decisive in capturing the objective and his inspiring example to the rest of the Company contributed to the speedy consolidation of the success."
As a result of this engagement, his regiment gained the Battle Honour "Tamandu."
Bhanubhakta was a Gurung, one of the two main tribes from which the second (King Edward VII's Own) Gurkha rifles (the Sirmoor Rifles) enlisted their men. He was born in September 1921 at Phalpa, in western Nepal, and joined the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkhas in 1940.
He took part in the first Chindit operation in 1943 when Brigadier Orde Wingate led some 3,000 men on a destructive mission behind the Japanese lines in Burma.
By 1944 he had achieved the rank of Naik (corporal) but was reduced to rifleman for an offence which was subsequently found not to have been his fault.
It was said that this unfair loss of rank played a part in his determination to prove that he had been unjustly treated - but in fact Bhanubhakta was a reasonable man and not one to bear a grudge.
After the war his company commander tried to persuade Bhanubhakta to continue serving but he had a frail widowed mother and a young wife at home, so he decided to leave. When he quit the regiment in January 1946 he had already regained his former rank of Naik and had been given the honorary rank of Havildar (sergeant).
In the years after the war he visited his regiment in Malaya, Hong Kong and in Britain, and was always greeted as an honoured guest. In addition to his VC he was also awarded the Star of Nepal, 3rd class. In 2000 the Gurkha training company block at Catterick was named after him.
His three sons also served in the 2nd Gurkhas. Bhanubhakta suffered from asthma for many years and for the last four years of his life was housebound at his youngest son's house at Gorkha, where he died on Saturday.
His company commander described him as "a smiling, hard-swearing and indomitable soldier who in a battalion of brave men was one of the bravest".
Ouch !
Just a tribute to a hero.
The Victoria Cross is the UK equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest possible award for valour.
Actually the Gurkhas were treated rather shabbily by later UK gov'ts when it came to pensions etc.
RIFLEMAN BHANBHAGTA GURUNG
Lots of good stuff here:
http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/Content/VCHolders.php
I keep a kukri by the front door just in case. My kukri has taken the head off a goat in one fell swoop, and I keep it sharp.
Good post. Thanks.
RIFLEMAN LACHIMAN GURUNG
8th Gurkha Rifles, Burma
12/13th May 1945
....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. A second grenade landed in his 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 finger, 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 button 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 during the next four hours and all were repulsed with heavy casualties...
Great post, thanks!
Hero PING
Thank You for posting the website.
Remind myself NOT to get on your bad side.
Good idea, heh heh!
The real “Gunga Din”.
Salute!!
BTTT and ping!
Not one to be trifled with, wot?
Almost as brave as John Kerry!
This story is, among other good things, a nice reminder of the Burma Campaign - which seems to be little known in the U.S. I’ve always thought that William Slim, who commanded, was the outstanding British general of WW2.
George MacDonald Fraser (may he rest in peace) agrees with you.
Slim was the GREATEST British General of the 20th century. Period.
Yes, the current UK government, for many reasons, doesn’t even deserve to be called scum.
I recognize the name, but know little about him. Could you elaborate? FReegards.
RIP to a Gurkha and WW2 legend.
‘Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC, (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia. He fought in both World War I and World War II. He was wounded in action three times during his career.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Slim
http://www.burmastar.org.uk/slim.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWslim.htm
Slim did all this with the slimmest [no pun intended] of resources. He was an innovative tactician, and a solid strategist. He took it to the Japanese in the jungle.Stillwell had great respect for him. His men worshiped him. While he took calculated risks, he did not risk the lives of his troops needlessly. He was a stand up officer, not an empty suit, like Alexander, nor a technically proficient egomaniac like Monty. One of Britain’s thee [IMO] best - along with O’Connor and Auchinleck. And he was the best of the three...by far.
He was probably the right man in the right place to stop the Japanese from opening the door to India, but I have to wonder what such an imaginative tactician would have done against the Germans.
Dude! You killed some Talibastard’s girlfriend!
A helluva lot more than Bernard Law Montgomery. And a helluva lot quicker.
I think I could have gotten into Caen and Antwerp quicker... And I wouldn’t have left Zangen’s 15th Army in control of the Scheldte Estuary, making Antwerp useless as a port. Monty was a twit.
Monty made his mistakes, and was not a great general, but neither was he the incomptent Americans make him out to be...
As to Caen,Anglo-Canadian forces were facing between 75 and 90% of all German armour and SS divisions in the battle for that city. At one point, German armour was withdrawn from the AMERICAN sector and transferred to face the BRITISH, even though we at the time were facing almost all the Panzer Divs. And in Normandy, almost all German reserves were rushed into the Anglo-Canadian sector.
The SS Pz. Divs LSSAH and HJ were further east. 9th and 10th SS were still in eastern Europe, and would march straight from detraining to battle. 2d SS was in the mountains of Southern France. Wouldn't arrive in Normandy for a week. And Geyr von Schweppenburg’s Pz. group was being held in reserve - near Paris - and couldn't be moved without Hitler's express order. Adolf slept in that day.
Montgomery was, in the words of Corelli Barnett, the type of general who took a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Couldn't catch Rommel after Alamein [apparently rained on 8th Army, but not the DAK]. Couldn't close the northern end of the Falaise Gap. DIDN'T free up the Scheldte Estuary after he was ORDERED to take Antwerp, leaving the Allies with a supply line that had to run back to Normandy.
He ignored intelligence warnings about panzer units at Arnheim prior to MARKET GARDEN [9th and 10th SS], and sent his army careening up a single road with the German 15th Army [that escaped from that pesky Scheldte Estuary] sitting on his flank, and never even consulted with the Dutch Army officers attached to his staff about the plan's feasibility [they'd war gamed it before the war].
Like I said - a technically competent egomaniac, but not a very good general.
Lotta goat break-in's in you neighborhood? ;)
He's got my vote.
Agreed! LOL!
I dont disagree with you on any of your post (I am a history graduate and a military history buff), my point is that Americans talk about the Anglo-Canadian sector in Normandy and the attack on Caen, as if both were ‘easy’.
Falaise?. Monty couldnt close the gap because of fanatical fighting by the Germans and last time I looked, it was Bradley who lost the chance to seal it when he ordered Patton not to advance north and support the Canadian/Polish group fighting to seal the gap in the north.
Even today, we still have to listen to the nonsense that the British and Canadians/Poles were ‘too slow’ or ‘too cautious’ in June-July 44. I wish Americans, historian and layman, would realise just what we were fighting...
With the greatest of respect, WE were the ones fighting the crack Panzer and SS divisions whilst you took on mainly second class infantry divisions and a handful of Panzer/SS units.
And the US Army had its share of mistakes in Normandy and France...
p.s your Mareth Line remark is a bit disingenous,the weather in Tunisia after Alamein was appalling,and it would have been hard for any general to have cut off Rommel. I might add Monty got criticism from Churchill and allegedly his own commanders for that as well, so Mareth Line criticism wasnt/isnt just an American criticism.
Agreed.
Though I wish Americans would realise just what the British-Canadian-Polish forces faced in trying to take Caen.It was us who took on the vast majority of the better German divs: Panzer, SS, Paras...
Caen would never have been ‘easy’ for ANY allied general.
(my italics)
‘Bradley was being ultra-cautious before he launched the Cobra offensive, which should been unleashed when the great mass of the German armour was embroiled with the British in Operation Goodwood.But that battle has ended and still Bradley held back. Even though his NINETEEN superbly armed American divisions were faced by no more than NINE scratch German divisions, with little more than 100 tanks, none of them Tigers.
The fourteen divisions of British and Canadians had taken on an EQUAL NUMBER of German divisions, but they were mostly crack SS and Panzer divisions with SIX HUNDRED tanks, including many Tiger tanks.’
(page 98 of ‘Caen 1944’ by historian Henry Maule, 1976)
‘I have read a fair bit since the war about the British in Normandy, and about how Americans especially think we “lost our dash”, or how the infantry “went to ground” instead of “pressing on”.
Where, I wonder, were the people who wrote this?. Do they realise just what the British Army actually went through in Normandy in 1944?’
—British infantry officer Colin Thomson, quoted in ‘Caen 1944’ by Henry Maule.
It's also natural for a country to focus on the deeds of its own soldiers. Americans always sleight the role of the Russians at Stalingrad, the decisive battle of the European war IMHO, and at Kursk.
No, our beef is with Monty's generalship. His over-cautious refusal to move quickly and decisively on Caen before the Germans moved their panzer reinforcements in proved very costly in British and Canadian lives in the long run and slowed everyone down since it was the key objective in Normandy.
And that's not to say we don't have beefs with our own generals. Similar timidity and slowness to get off the beach cost us dearly at Anzio. Ike's broad front strategy was a poor tactical choice that cost us again in the campaign for the irrelevant Hurtgen Forest, although politically he may have had no choice other than the broad front, I would concede.
Bhanubhakta then began to run for the top of the hill, yelling for his comrades to follow him... Without waiting for any orders, Bhanubhakta dashed forward alone and attacked the first enemy foxhole. Throwing two grenades, which killed the two occupants of the trench, he immediately rushed on to the next enemy foxhole and killed the two Japanese in it with his bayonet... two further fox-holes were still bringing fire to bear upon the section. Bhanubhakta dashed forward and cleared these trenches with bayonet and grenades. He then turned his attention to the machine-gun bunker... "He ran forward and leapt on to the roof of the bunker from where, his hand grenades being finished, he flung two No 72 smoke grenades into the bunker's slit." Two Japanese rushed out of the bunker, partially blinded by the smoke and with their clothes aflame with phosphorous; Bhanubhakta promptly killed them both with his kukri. Bhanubhakta crawled in and, prevented by the cramped space from using his bayonet or kukri, beat the gunner's brains out with a rock.What a wuss, eh? ;') ;'D :'D
Well said.
May a great soldier and a true war hero RIP.
Bump
Cheers.
Thanks for the reply.
As for Normandy:
First, the Americans were fighting in the bocage. the Brits were fighting on a pool table, which is tank country. That's why the Germans were there, and that's why they kicked the crap out the Brits [Villers Bocage], and prevented Monty from encircling Caen; and remember, he only had part of the 21st Pz. to face there on D-Day, the day he set for taking the place [and he had naval gunfire to support his efforts]. If Monty had faced the same terrain the Americans did, we'd still be in France. Second, the First German Airborne, the 352d Infantry and a hell of a lot of German units facing the Americans weren't substandard. They just weren't Pz. units. Third, the Americans were prevented at Falaise from crossing the boundary, with nary a peep from Monty. There was no criticism of British or Canadian troops intended in my remarks. They fought hard, and they fought well. But their commander, obsessed with being “ground forces commander”, unwilling to admit any setback [like the Alamein plan, Overlord kept changing to make the reality seem part of the plan], and unwilling to take calculated risks [Patton would have taken Caen on D- Day, Rommel would have been half way to Paris] was a poor general.
Exactly! If Lucas can be criticized [justly] for failing to move his a*s off the Anzio beaches [Churchill called the operation a “beached whale”]; why can’t Monty take it the ear when he made a career out of moving too slowly?
Too bad the Americans didn't get the left flank instead of the right. Once the Rhine was crossed, I'd have loved to see Patton streak across the North German Plain.
All I can think of is after having their butts kicked across France, the Gibraltar of the East falling, nearly seeing London burned out, and U-Boats nearly starving them to death, the Brits were so grateful to the Hero of El Alamein for not losing Cairo and actually defeating a German army that later they could never bear to admit Monty wasn't their best general.
The whole point of the Brit-Can-Pol army group being in the east of Normandy WAS that we would tie down the vast majority of German armour and SS Panzer/SS units.
Therefore it was common sense that the larger American army be in the west and pivot around our army group...
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