Second Five Gorkhas

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd)

OF the many epic infantry battles in history, Porkchop Hill, battle of Imjin, Saragarhi, Rorke’s Drift, Basha Hills, Mortar Bluff and Water Picquet are some. The raw courage and tenacity displayed in close quarter battle is conspicuous when compared with contemporary stand-off attacks or drone attacks, which delete human qualities of valour and courage. Three such battles were fought during the first and second Burma Campaigns of World War II by Second Fifth Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), earning it three Victoria Crosses, two in one single action — in less than 24 hours. These small unit infantry actions prevented the Japanese from reaching Imphal in 1943-44.

The battles were fought astride Tiddimpur-Bishenpur-Imphal road after the battalion had suffered a terrible mauling while retreating across the Sittang river in February 1942, as the bridge was prematurely blown off in the fog of war, reducing the unit’s strength during the fighting withdrawal to half its original. The first Victoria Cross was won by Havaldar Gaje Ghale on May 26, 1943 for capturing Basha Hill occupied by the Japanese. Ghale led a platoon of raw soldiers when neither had been under fire. The approach to Basha Hill was along a narrow ledge devoid of foliage, covered by a dozen machine guns and subjected to artillery and mortar fire. Entering this killing zone and leading his men through it twice unscathed was a miracle. Crossing it a third time, he suffered multiple wounds but charged the Japanese positions shouting ‘Ayo Gorkhali’. He stormed enemy fortifications, refusing to be evacuated. This inspired his men to press the assault, forcing the Japanese to flee.

The next two Victoria Cross actions were fought around Bishenpur on June 25/26, 1944, where the Japanese were attempting to outflank defences astride the road to Imphal and also dominate the track to Silchar. This happened after the Japanese had been repulsed in Kohima and Japanese 15 Army then turned to Imphal. On June 25, Second Fifth was ordered to take hill features Water Picquet, Mortar Bluff and BP Picquet. Subedar Netra Bahadur Thapa led a reinforced platoon of 41 men and occupied Mortar Bluff.

The Japanese started their first assault on Mortar Bluff in overwhelming strength, but were beaten back. Heavier attacks led to their gaining a foothold near the post. Two machine guns going out of action and depletion of ammunition among the defenders led to a dangerous situation. Six ammunition reinforcement couriers were hit but Thapa personally retrieved the ammunition. Two of his posts were overrun but Thapa rallied his men to fight back. They held on even as he was mortally wounded. His body was found the next day, khukri in one hand and the head of a Japanese soldier nearby.

 After Mortar Bluff came the epic battle for Water Picquet. It entailed first recapturing Mortar Bluff and then taking Water Picquet. Naik Agan Singh Rai’s section was the first to reach the barbed wire but they were pinned down by machine guns. Rai instantly charged and silenced the machine gun, which inspired his men to advance and capture Mortar Bluff, which was under fire from a 37-mm anti-tank gun from the nearby Water Picquet. Without waiting, Rai and Charlie Company charged towards Water Picquet and destroyed the gun emplacement. So stunning was the action and so resolute the spirit of his company that Water Picquet was seized. The recapture of Mortar Bluff followed so swiftly after its epic defence as to make it one historic battle and in less than 24 hours. 

In 2015, 70 years after its two VC actions, Second Fifth returned to Bishenpur to Mortar Bluff and Water Picquet, this time, chasing Nagas and Kukis and occasionally paying homage to the Japanese war memorial nearby. Now, at Dehradun, veterans from India and Nepal have joined to remember the three winners of the Victoria Cross and other brave Bahadurs, who collectively have made Second Five a name to reckon with.