3rd Gorkha Rifles

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(Redirected from
3rd Gurkha Rifles
)
3rd Gorkha Rifles (1950 onwards)
3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles (1908-1950)
khukris, with a star in-between and the numeral 3 within
TartanColqhuon (pipes and drums)

The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army

Tripartite Agreement signed between India, Nepal and Britain
at the time of Indian independence. Prior to independence, the regiment was known as the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. In 1950 the regiment's title was changed to 3rd Gorkha Rifles. Since 1947 the regiment has participated in a number of conflicts including the 1947 and 1971 wars against Pakistan.

History

Formation to 1885

The regiment was raised during the

Robert Colquhoun on 24 April 1815 as the Kemaoon Battalion.[1] It did not consist entirely of Gurkhas but of men from Kumaon and Garhwal. The regiment adopted the tartan of the Clan Colquhoun
.

The regiment was primarily used to police the border with

Battle Honour
"Delhi 1857". The mutiny was quelled by July 1858.

The regiment, having been brought into the line of the Bengal Army, was briefly titled the 18th Bengal Native Infantry in 1861 before the regiment gained its present numeral designation when it became the 3rd Gurkha (The Kumaon) Regiment.[2] The regiment saw service in an expedition to Bhutan shortly after the name change.

3rd Gurkha during the march to Kabul.

In 1878 the

Major-General Roberts force in an attempt to consolidate their situation in the country. During the journey, near Ghaziri, the force were attacked by a large force of Afghan tribesmen at Ahmad Khel on 19 April 1880. The fighting that ensued was intense and the field force's situation was in the balance until the Afghan forces were successfully repulsed when the 3rd Gurkha formed an infantry square
.

1885–1914

The regiment took part in the

Third Burmese War after it began in 1885 and operations concluded by the following year under First Brigade.[3] In 1887 the 2nd Battalion was formed, consisting entirely of Garhwalis, but this was separated from the regiment in 1890 to form the 39th (The Garhwal) Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry. A new 2nd Battalion for the 3rd Gurkha was raised that same year and in 1891 the regiment was designated a rifle regiment, becoming the 3rd Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment.[2]

The 3rd Gurkhas took part in numerous campaigns in the volatile

Orakzais, orchestrated by Afghanistan. The 3rd Gurkhas took part in the advance into the Tirah Region, meeting resistance from tribal forces before moving on to help relieve Fort Lockheart and Fort Gulistan. After this was done the force marched on Dargai where they intended to take the heights above Dargai
, controlled by tribal forces.

View of Almora, with soldiers of 3rd Gurkha Rifles, 1895.

The heights had originally been taken by the Tirah force on 18 October but they were ordered to withdraw, coming under attack as they did so and allowing the tribal force to return to the heights and strengthen their positions. The operation to retake the heights began with an artillery bombardment at 10:00 am on 20 October. The regiment took part in the initial assault, positioned at the forefront of the attack with the

1st Gordons, followed by the Gurkhas and 3rd Sikhs
. The tribal defenders wilted in the face of the charge and the heights were taken later that day.

In 1907 the title was changed to become the 3rd The Queen's Own Gurkha Rifles in honour of

Edward VII, and the following year the title became more specific when it became the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles.[2]

First World War

In August 1914 the

Western Front and in the Middle East
.

In 1916, a clerical error gave the regiment a 4th Battalion when 4/3rd, instead of 3/4th, was written on the order for the raising of a battalion for the

4th Gurkha Rifles. The following year a 3rd Battalion for the 3rd Gurkhas was formed.[2]

Western Front

The 2nd Battalion, as part of the

20th (Garhwal) Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Division
, was sent to France a few months after the declaration of war in 1914.

The battalion's first large-scale action came at

Givenchy in December, during a bitter winter that the Gurkhas were no doubt unaccustomed to having spent the pre-war period on the sub-continent
.

The battalion remained on the Western Front until late 1915. At the

Fauquissart, becoming the first Gurkha recipient of the award.[4]

The Battle of Loos was the battalion's last action on the Western Front and it left the 7th Division with the rest of the Garhwal Brigade for Egypt in December 1915 after the brigade became an independent unit.

Middle East

The Gurkha Rifles in front line trenches at the Battle of Mughar Ridge, Palestine, November 1917

After its arrival in Egypt the 2nd Battalion saw active service against the

Theatre Honour
"Palestine 1917–18" after such honours were granted to units in the 1920s.

On 10 April 1918 at El Kefr in Egypt, Karanbahadur Rana of the 2nd Battalion became the regiment's second VC recipient after distinguishing himself in an encounter with Ottoman forces, and was the last VC recipient of the regiment.[5]

Elsewhere the 1st Battalion, from 1917, took part in the

Mesopotamian Campaign (now Iraq), gaining only a single Battle Honour in the process. It was achieved at the last battle of the campaign, at the Battle of Sharqat
(28–30 October 1918).

Interwar period

The First World War concluded with the signing of the

Burma
. The post-war reductions saw the regiment reduced to its pre-war establishment. The 3rd Battalion was disbanded in 1920 and the mistakenly raised 4th Battalion followed in 1922.

Second World War

The regiment was actively involved in

Second World War and, as had happened during the First World War, the regiment was expanded to meet its commitments. The 3rd Battalion was re-raised in 1940, followed by the 4th Battalion in 1941. During the conflict, the regiment fought in a number of theatres, including North Africa, Italy and Burma. During the North African campaign, the 2nd Battalion fought at Tobruk, where they were brought in as reinforcements at the height of the battle and suffered misfortune almost immediately, when they were partially overrun by the Germans, losing almost two hundred men as prisoners of war, although many of these managed to escape later.[6]

Post Independence

3rd Gorkha Rifles Bicentenary postal stamp issued in 2015

India gained its independence in 1947 and the regiment was one of six Gurkha regiments (out of 10) to be allocated to the

Tripartite Agreement between Britain, India and Nepal.[7] The regiment retained its title until 1950 when India was proclaimed a Republic
and the regiment became the 3rd Gorkha Rifles. It remains in existence and consists of five battalions.

The Regiment won the Battle Honour 'Pir Kanthi' in the Uri Sector in

war of 1971. 1/3 GR has the distinction of being the first battalion in the post-independence period to carry out amphibious operations during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Colonel J.R. Chitnis, CO 1/3 GR, was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra
posthumously—India's highest peacetime medal for valour—in Nagaland in 1956.

On 3 December 1997, a statue was unveiled in London in honour of the Gurkhas. A quote from Sir Ralph Turner, a former officer in the 3rd Gurkhas, was inscribed on the memorial: "Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you."

3 Gorkha Rifles marching contingent passes through the Rajpath during the 62nd Republic Day Parade-2011

Uniforms

In its early years as the Kemaoon Battalion, the regiment wore green uniforms with white (after 1828 black)

mess uniforms
and a few other limited categories, the Kilmanock cap survived as a dress item until modern times.

Notes

  1. ^ About the 3rd Gorkha Rifles Archived 2010-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Accessed June 15, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "3rd Gurkha Rifles". Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 13 December 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ Lt.Cardew, F.G., Sketch of the services of the Bengal Native Army, p389-390
  4. ^ Parker 2005, pp. 111–112.
  5. ^ Parker 2005, p. 393.
  6. ^ Parker 2005, pp. 161–163.
  7. ^ Parker 2005, p. 224
  8. ^ Carman 1969, pp. 190 & 203
  9. ^ Carman 1969, pp. 203–204

References

  • Carman, W.Y. (1969). "Indian Army Uniforms Under the British From the 18th Century to 1947: Artillery, Engineers and Infantry", Morgan-Grampian: London.
  • Parker, John. (2005). The Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers. Headline Books Publishing.
    ISBN 978-0-7553-1415-7
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=3rd_Gorkha_Rifles&oldid=1167364947"