Heroic Gurkha Against Hundreds of Japanese Soldiers

In the darkness of the Burmese jungle, surrounded by more than two hundred Japanese soldiers, Gurkha rifleman Lachhiman Gurung was gravely wounded. His right hand mutilated, his body covered in shrapnel. Yet, with his left hand, he continued to load and fire his rifle, defending his position to the last bullet. “I felt I was going to die anyway,” he recalled years later, “so I might as well die standing on my feet.”

Gurung, born on December 30, 1917, in Dahakhani, Nepal, was barely 4 feet 11 inches tall, but possessed a courage that could not be measured. In December 1940, at the age of 23, he enlisted in the British Indian Army, joining the renowned 4th Battalion of the 8th Gurkha Rifles Regiment, a unit known for its bravery since 1815.

In May 1945, when the British army crossed the Irrawaddy River in Burma, the objective was to stop the retreat of Japanese troops. Gurung and two fellow Gurkhas were assigned to an advanced trench, a hundred meters from the main British line. It was May 13, 1:20 a.m., when more than two hundred Japanese soldiers launched their attack.

A grenade landed on the edge of the trench. Gurung, without hesitation, threw it back. Another grenade soon followed; again, he returned it to the enemy. But the third grenade, which exploded before he could throw it, inflicted the injuries that mutilated his right hand, shattered his arm, and left him with shrapnel wounds to his face and body.

His companions, also gravely injured, were helpless. Gurung was on his own.

The cries of the Japanese soldiers echoed in the night as they advanced in waves against the Gurkhas’ position. Gurung, now with only one functional hand, continued to load and fire his rifle, while defiantly challenging the enemy: “Come and fight a Gurkha!”

When the sun finally rose, the scene around Gurung’s trench was apocalyptic. Ninety-one Japanese soldiers’ bodies lay scattered, thirty-one of them directly in front of his position. Gurung, bleeding and exhausted, had managed to hold off the enemy’s advance, saving the British line from probable destruction.

It was only two days later, when reinforcements arrived, that Gurung was evacuated to a hospital. He had lost his right hand and the sight in his right eye, but his unwavering determination and courage earned him the highest British military decoration: the Victoria Cross. The award ceremony took place at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, where Field Marshal Archibald Wavell, Viceroy and Governor-General of India, personally presented the medal to Gurung.

Despite the severe injuries, Lachhiman Gurung continued his military career, remaining in the Indian army after India’s independence in 1947. He retired as a Havildar (sergeant) and returned to his native village, where he worked on a small farm. In 2008, he moved to England, where he spent his final years.

The legacy of Lachhiman Gurung, who passed away on December 12, 2010, continues to inspire, embodying the motto of the 4th Gurkhas: “Better to die than live as a coward.”

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