The fame of Gurkha mercenaries is far from reaching its peak.
In 1814, a war broke out between the Kingdom of Nepal and the United Kingdom. Thirty thousand British troops with advanced equipment fought for two years before defeating the poorly equipped Nepalese army, which had a total strength of only 12,000.
This Nepali army is mainly composed of Gurkhas.
After the war, the British government thought highly of the Gurkhas and recruited mercenaries from Gurkhas west of Kathmandu. From then on, the Gurkha mercenaries followed the footsteps of the British Empire and participated in the two world wars and after the world war.
All wars in which Britain participated.
The Gurkhas are infinitely loyal to their employers, that is, to the British government. They are taciturn and fearless of death. No matter what kind of combat mission they are given, the Gurkha mercenaries will resolutely complete it.
During the two wars, many British Gurkha mercenary units were completely destroyed and then continued to be rebuilt. Before 1962, the Gurkha mercenaries almost never lost a battle. Until 1962, the Gurkha mercenaries
The mercenaries faced off against another legendary army and were beaten to pieces.
After India became independent, it also recruited Gurkha mercenaries from Nepal. From then on, the number of Gurkha mercenaries serving was not limited to the British.
In this era, Gorkha mercenaries can only serve the British, and the British only recruit mercenaries from Gorkha west of Kathmandu. The number of recruits each year is also very limited. Rock and Mars Howard came to Kathmandu.
The annual recruitment season has already missed, so Rock has to solve this problem by himself.
"It doesn't matter if we don't have soldiers. Let's open up the recruitment. All Nepalis, as long as they are between 20 and 25 years old, can come and sign up. This time we will select 500 people to recruit a brand new combat camp, treatment and other troops.
It's exactly the same, the station is in Dhaka, that's it." Rock is not superstitious. There are only a few hundred people in Gorkha Village, but it can provide tens of thousands of mercenaries to the British government?
It's just self-deception.
I'm afraid the British government also knows this, but the characteristics of the corrupt government will not change this. It would rather force the people below to fake it than stick to the so-called tradition.
"If you want to relax your qualifications, Lord, you have to think carefully," the British government's local recruitment director in Nepal kindly reminded.
"It doesn't matter, I just want the best." Roark was decisive. Rebuilding the 35th Battalion this time was just an attempt. If the effect is good, Roark will also consider recruiting Gurkha mercenaries, the new 1st Cavalry Division, and Rhodes.
Compared with the Northern Division of West Asia, Gurkha mercenaries are more useful and cheaper.
The British government's comment that the Gurkha mercenaries are "fearless of death" is not an exaggeration. They are truly fearless on the battlefield. It is said that this is because the Gurkhas are relatively slow to react and emotionally indifferent. It is precisely because of this
This is what makes them outstanding soldiers, allowing them to remain calm and calm in fierce battles.
Gurkha mercenaries do not have much sense of right and wrong. As soldiers, they must sometimes perform combat missions that violate their moral bottom line, so many soldiers need psychological counseling after the war.
Gurkha mercenaries do not have this problem. They never care whether the orders they receive are just or not. As long as they are orders, they will resolutely complete them. The most famous achievement is that in Amritsar, they fired machine guns at civilians for an hour.
Another most important issue is that compared with Chinese soldiers, Gurkha mercenaries are really cheap. Hiring a Gurkha mercenary only requires a salary of ten pounds per year at most, and now the new First Cavalry
The average salary of the division and the Northern Rhodesian Division has reached more than 50 pounds. If all Gurkhas are hired, the size of the new First Cavalry Division can now be expanded to more than 10,000 people.
Of course, this salary is relative. Compared with the Chinese, the salary of Gurkha mercenaries is very cheap. Compared with Nepal, becoming a mercenary is one of the rare high-income professions. There is no statistics on the current GDP of Nepal. Ordinary people have no statistics.
It is estimated that you can't even earn a pound a year. In Nepal, being a soldier is the job that can really support your family. As long as one person in a family serves as a soldier, it can basically ensure that the whole family has food and clothing.
This was immediately reflected in the reconstruction of the 35th Battalion.
After the British government released the news at the local recruitment office in Nepal, 1,500 people signed up to join the army in just one day.
In a place like Nepal where information is relatively secluded, it takes a certain amount of time for information to spread. Within three days, more than 5,000 people signed up to join the army, and a week later, the number reached 20,000.
Only 500 people are needed to rebuild the 35th Battalion, and more than 20,000 people have signed up. Most people will definitely be disappointed. Even the British government's local recruitment director in Nepal did not expect that there was such a raging public outcry. The pressure was all over the place for a while.
On Rock's side.
"What should we do? If we only say that we will recruit 500 people, will the disappointed Gurkhas rebel?" Mars Howard was very worried. Rock and Mars Howard only brought one platoon to Nepal.
Guards, if something happens, dozens of people may not be able to control the situation.
"Lord, if possible, I suggest increasing the number of conscripts. These Nepalis are all brave and good at fighting. In the past, due to some reasons, they were unable to become mercenaries. Now that they have this opportunity, they will definitely burst out with the greatest enthusiasm." The person in charge of the conscription.
Hilton Robert suggested to Rock.
This suggestion is a bit of a no-brainer. The establishment of each battalion of the British army in India is fixed, and Rock does not have the power to change it at will.
However, one of Rock's biggest advantages is that as a Baron of Nyasaland, Rock is also the commander of the new 1st Cavalry Division. Rock has the final say on the establishment of the new 1st Cavalry Division. The British
The government can't control it either.
So Rock simply sent a telegram directly to Lord Belloc. In any case, the troops in southern Africa are not considered British troops. The Gurkha mercenaries serving in Southern Africa are not out of the category of the British army.
Lord Belloc's reply to Rock was very simple. The 35th Battalion only needs 500 men. It is up to Rock to decide how many people the new 1st Cavalry Division wants. If Rock is not afraid of spending money, even if he has 20,000 people
Go, Lord Belloc has no objection.
What else is there to say? Expansion, expansion, Roque added 1,500 places with a stroke of his pen. Picking 500 for 20,000 people is really too few, but picking 2,000 is very suitable, and those who were unsuccessful will not have much objection.
According to the British government's standards for hiring Gurkhas at this time, as long as they are in good health, there are no other special requirements.
This time, 20,000 people signed up, and Roque could take a good look, so Roque made all the rules.
Rock's requirements are relatively strict. In addition to physical health, Rock also requires basic obedience, good coordination, and excellent physical fitness.
As for tactical ability, this is not important. You can train slowly after entering the army. As long as your foundation is not bad, you can always develop it.
The first step for Rock to select people is physical fitness. Twenty thousand people run circles in the military camp in Kathmandu in units of a hundred people. Rock does not require time or distance, but only half of the people in each unit can qualify. Twenty thousand people seem like a lot.
, 10,000 were wiped out in three days.
Then there is obedience and coordination. These two points are more troublesome and require time to observe slowly. Fortunately, Lord Belloc did not ask for time, so Rock and Mars Howard can take their time.
All those who successfully passed the physical fitness test were organized into a temporary company of 100 people. All the officers who served as officers were soldiers from Company A. These soldiers were originally trained as officers. Of course, their personal qualities are not to mention. They are very conscientious in their duties.
, all the Gurkhas who performed poorly the previous day were sent away after lunch the next morning, and each of them also had a daily subsidy of five pence. This subsidy was of course sponsored by Rock himself.
As a result, the Gurkhas were so happy that even the Gurkhas who were sent away were full of gratitude to Rock. He paid five pence a day, which was about the same as the salary of Gurkha mercenaries serving in the British army.
Of course, due to limited conditions, the cooks brought by Rock and others during their stay in Kathmandu could only serve Rock, Mars Howard and other Chinese officers and soldiers, and those Gurkhas could not be taken care of.
Only then did Rock see the level of Indian chefs.
Speaking of which, Indian chefs are also weird. They have a habit of making everything into a sticky paste, making it impossible to distinguish the original ingredients. Rock maliciously speculated that the purpose of the chef is to make people confused.
As for the types of ingredients, it’s enough to satisfy your stomach.
Even though they smell bad and probably don't taste very good, these Gurkhas still eat them with gusto.
It seems that what Visakam said is right. There is indeed not enough food in India. Johannesburg has already used the extra potatoes to feed pigs. There are still many people in India who are hungry. No wonder those Indians who left India,
No matter what, I don't want to go back to India.
Although Rock's requirements were very strict, half a month later, Rock was surprised to find that the last 2,800 Gurkhas were qualified to become real soldiers even based on Rock's requirements.
"Keep them all, leave 500 for the 35th Battalion, and the rest will go to the new First Cavalry Division." Roque made a decision. Don't be afraid of more people. Some squad leaders of the new First Cavalry Division have already held the rank of second lieutenant.
There were still only a dozen or so people down there, and it was really shabby.
Mars Howard did not have Rock's courage and was able to get 500 excellent Gurkha mercenaries. Mars Howard was already satisfied. Rock's requirements were more stringent than those of the British government. The remaining 2,800 Gurkhas
, all can become the best soldiers, Mars Howard’s biggest headache now is learning Gurkha language.
