The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth Gorkha Rifles has five infantry battalions. The regiment was raised in 1857 as part of the British Indian Army. In 1947, after India's independence, the Fourth Gurkha Rifles became part of the Indian Army as the Fourth Gorkha Rifles.
The regiment has seen action in wars in Africa, Europe and Asia, including the Second Afghan War, the Boxer Rebellion (China), World War I, and World War II. Since Independence, in 1947, the regiment has seen action in the India-Pakistan Wars of 1947–48, 1965, 1971, 1987, and 1999, and the Chinese aggression in 1962. The regiment has also participated in UN peace-keeping missions.
History
In the wake of the 1857 rebellion, an Extra Goorkha Regiment, was raised later that year as part of the East Indian Company Army, and was briefly known as 19th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. Following the decision in 1861, to number the Goorkha Regiments sequentially, in order of raising,Bullock 2005, p. 279 the regiment was designated as the 4th Goorkha Regiment. In 1924, the regiment was honored with a Royal connection and redesignated as the 4th Prince of Wales' Own (PWO) Gurkha Rifles and Edward Albert, the Prince of Wales, later the lovelorn King Edward VIII, was appointed as Colonel-in-Chief. In 1950, after India become a republic, the appellation PWO was discarded.
In 1866, Bakloh was acquired as Goorkha Cantonment for the 4th Goorkha Regiment and Balun, Dalhousie Cantonment, as cantonment for British troops, along with a sliver of territory to connect the two cantonments, from the Raja of Chamba for a sum of Rupees 5000. Bakloh, a hill station, remained the home, and the Regimental Center and Depot, of the 4th Gurkha Rifles, for 82 years, from 1866 to 1948.
1857–1914 Between 1857 and 1914, the regiment saw action in small wars, in India's North East, in the Lushai Hills, present day Mizoram, and along India's North-West Frontier, including during the Second Afghan War. In 1900 the Regiment formed part of the Expeditionary Force deployed to China in response to the Boxer Rebellion.
In 1903, in Somalia, during the Third Somaliland Campaign, Captain William George Walker, a Regimental officer, on deputation with Somali Camel Corps, became the first person from the regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross, for risking his life to save the life of another officer.Parker 2005, p. 392.
World War I
Soon after the start of World War I, the 1st Battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles (1/4 GR), was deployed to France, as part of 9th (Sirhind) Brigade, the 3rd (Lahore) Division, Indian Corps, to form part of Indian Expeditionary Force A, to reinforce British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. The orbat of Sirhind Brigade included one British infantry battalion (1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry), one Indian (125th Napier's Rifles) and two Gurkha (1/1st Gurkha Rifles and 1/4th). The battalion arrived at Marseilles from Egypt on 30 November, and was hurriedly deployed to the front in December 1914.Edmonds, 1914, Vol II, Appendix 1.F.W. Perry & A.F. Becke, Orders of Battle. As a part of the Sirhind brigade, 1/4 GR GR saw action in the battles of Givenchy, Neuve Chapelle and Ypres, in France. The battalion was sent to Gallipoli, disembarked on 1 September 1915 and departed on 19 December 1915. In April 1916 the 3rd (Lahore) Division was deployed to Mesopotamia.
The 2nd Battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles (2/4) Raising 22 Apr 1886 Bakloh (HP) 2/4 GR Ops Participeted ( Chin Lushai Manipur Expidation-1889-91) [(Manipur Expidation-1891)] [Tirah-1893-1898], Punjab Frontier1897-98, ( Kohat Kurram in North west frontier Prevince1914-1915) [Tigris 1916], Mesopotamia Campaign ,Iraq Baghdad Victory 08-11 Mar 1917- Baghdad Day] saw service in , Mesopotamia Solonica, in Greece 1914-1918,( Kut-AL-Amara 1917) > (Khyeber -1923), [Ramzak 1923-1931], [Iraq and Syria war ,Syria and Westeran Desert OPs 1941 > Couldron 1941]- ( Monte Cedrone-1944) : [(Gurais War (OP ERAZE) Kanzalwan 23 july-30 July 1948 > Battle Honour Gurais-1948)] , [(UN Mission Middle East (UNIFIL) South Lebanon -1998-99)]
3rd Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles (3/4 GR), was ordered to be raised during the war; but due to a clerical error the 4th Battalion, 3rd Gurkha Rifles (4/3) was raised. 3/4 GR was eventual raised in World War II, in Bakloh, on 1 October 1940.
World War I war diaries Transcripts of War Diaries of Indian army units and formations that participated in World War I, including 1st Battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles (1/4 GR), 3rd (Lahore) Division, are now available on line, as part of "Operation War Diary", a Zooniverse, crowdsourced project. The transcripts of 1/4 GR war diaries, which provide interesting insights into day-to-day activities, movements of the unit and subunits, and individual experiences of officers and soldiers are now available on Zooniverse web site.
World War II During World War II, the third and fourth battalions (3/4 GR and 4/4 GR) were raised in Bakloh, on 15 November 1940 and on 15 March 1941 respectively. The battalions of the regiment saw action in Iraq and Syria, in the Middle East, Egypt, in North Africa, Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, Italy, in Europe, India's border areas in Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram, and the Far East.Chappell 1993, pp. 17
Burma Campaign During the Burma Campaign the first battalion (1/4 GR) formed part of 48 Infantry Brigade, which in turn was part of the 17th Indian Infantry Division. It took part in the Battle of Sittang Bridge in February 1942, and the retreat into India. During this period the battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel "Joe" Lentaigne. In 1944 the battalion participated in the Battle of Imphal.Bullock 2009, p. 137; Smith 1998, p. 107
Soon after it was raised in October 1940, the third battalion (3/4 GR) was assigned to the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade. This brigade was part of the Chindits and was commanded by "Joe" Lentaigne, who had been promoted to Brigadier. It took part in the second Chindit expedition, Operation Thursday, in 1944. When Major General Orde Wingate, the overall commander of the Chindits, was killed in an air crash, Brigadier Lentaigne succeeded him. Major John Masters took command of the main body of 111 Brigade.
The fourth Battalion (4/4 GR) distinguished itself in the storming of Mandalay Hill in Burma, in 1945.Bullock 2009, p. 163
Iraq, Syria, and Italy 2/4 GR was the only Battalion of the 4 Gorkha Rifles that served in the Middle East and Europe. In the wake of the growing threats to Iraq following the fall of France, the battalion embarked from Karachi in May 1941. It disembarked in Shatt-Al-Arab, on 5 May 1941. In Iraq it formed part of 10 Indian Infantry Division, commanded by Maj Gen Bill Slim, later Field Marshal Slim. Except for the Commanding Officer and few field officers, all officers were Emergency Commissioned Officers. On 24 May 1941, it participated in the operations to secure Basra, and areas north of Basra, along the west bank of River Euphrates, in a combined all arms, night assault. On 25 May 1941, the battalion was air lifted to reinforce and secure Habbaniyanh, a RAF base, under threat from Iraqi ground troops and German aerial attacks from Luftwaffe, based in Mosul, and Baghdad.
In June 1941, after a successful campaign in Iraq, including securing of Haditha, the battalion was deployed in Syria, against the Vichy French army, and along the Syria _Turkish border. In Syria, it participated in operation to capture Deir ez-Zor, and the occupation of Raqqa, which has lately gained prominence as the epi-centre of ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant activities.
After the successful campaigns Iraq, Syria, along the Persian border, the battalion left Iraq by road for Palestine, to participate in the war in North Africa where it was overrun by two Bersaglieri battalions of the Italian Trento Division storming the fortress of Mersa Matruh on 29 June 1942. It was later rebuilt and deployed to Cyprus and subsequently fought in the Italian Campaign.
Regiment in books
A prominent figure who joined the 4th Gurkha Rifles as a regular officer during the thirties, was the author John Masters, who participated in operations on the North West Frontier, in Iraq (where he served as battalion adjutant), the Second Chindit Operation, the capture of Mandalay and at one point commanded the 3rd Battalion of the regiment. His autobiographical books Bugles and a Tiger, The Road past Mandalay, and Pilgrim's Son portray life in the Indian Army and the 4th Gurkha Rifles during this period. Masters won a Military Cross (MC), and Distinguished Service Order (DSO), in Burma, and after the war become a celebrated writer.
Customs, traditions, and regimental arcana The regiment drills and standards are similar to British 'Greenjackets'. It marches 'quickstep' at 180 paces a minute on parade, the same former pace as the other Indian Army rifle regiments, in its own ceremonies, while doing the same 120 paces if marching with other units. Commanders in 4th Gorkha Rifles, unlike other regiments in the Indian Army, but like the many former rifle regiments of the British Army (and now the sole regiment The Rifles), wear (a plain Black) Lanyard attached to a whistle over the Jersey. The intention of this arrangement is to facilitate use of the whistle with the left hand, while leaving the right hand free to use the sword. The uniform and insignia are Spartan; the regiment prides itself on its simplicity and disregard for pomp and ceremony. '4 GR', in black metal, is worn as regimental signage on the shoulder straps by all ranks.
The official, and correct, spelling of 'gorkha', since February 1949, is Gorkha, and not Gurkha, as the British still choose to spell it.
Uniform The first uniforms obtained for the regiment, during the chaotic period of 1857–58, were makeshift whites dyed khaki-drab in the bazaar. Dark rifle-green uniforms with black cuff facings were subsequently adopted to be worn with the round peakless Kilmarnock cap common to all Gurkha regiments.W. Y. Carman, pages 204–205 "Indian Army Uniforms Under the British From the 18th Century to 1947: Artillery, Engineers and Infantry", Morgan-Grampian: London 1969 Together with black metal buttons and insignia these items were to remain features of the dress uniforms of the regiment until the present day. Khaki drill was worn for active service and hot-weather dress from 1873 on. John Masters records that after World War I the historic rifle-green was retained only for the mess uniforms of officers and the full dress uniforms of pipers and mess order.John Masters, page 79 "Bugles and a Tiger", The New English Library Limited 1962
Regimental Centre The Regimental Center was formed on 15 November 1940 in Bakloh. The first commandant was Colonel TDC Owens, MC, who commanded the centre for five years during World War II.
Transition 1947–48 In 1947, just before independence, all Gorkha Regiments, including the 4th Gorkha Rifles (GR), received orders from the Commander in Chief of the Indian army, that Gorkha regiments which opt to remain with the Indian army, were to be transferred 'intact', including mess property and regimental funds. British officers of many Gorkha Regiments, including 5 RGR (FF) and 9 GR, did not comply with these instructions and transferred funds and properties to England before 15 August 1947. 4 GR too managed to transfer part of the regiment funds before independence to England. These regimental funds were used to fund a corpus for a war memorial, for publishing volume 3 of the regimental history, and Rupees 8000, was used to transfer and install the memorial tablet in the St Oswald Church in Bakloh to England.