Once they sent out two sections of Gurkhas in the dukha (troubled) territory to wipe out the enemy. There were 21 Gurkha 6 British officers and a dog. On our way, we found biscuit and sweet wrappers on the jungle floor and followed the trail and found them camped near a small hill. They were set up in groups and it almost looked like they had a company there. Before we decided what to do, the leading scout fired a SMG ,small machine gun, which managed to hit an Indonesian Haldar Major. He shouted with agony and alerted his troops.
The platoon commander ordered all to drop their bags and charge. After that, all the 21 Gurkhas charged saying , “Ayo Gorkhali, charge! ” The Scottish OC praised us for our work and said that the officers who had only heard and read stories about Gurkhas had the opportunity to witness it first-hand.
In this incident we salvaged many weapons, among them were 19 rifles, 1 machine gun and uncountable pistols, grenades and ammunition. We cleared a small area for the helicopter to drop us some nettings. We filled the nettings and burned all their rations with petrol. The helicopter had to do 3 trips to transport all the guns and ammunitions including radio sets along with other salvaged goods.
We also helped the injured enemy to the helicopter but sadly he died on the way. He was shot with the SMG burst.
Further memories from Som Bahadur Sahi can be read at http://gurkhastories.com/portfolio-view/som-bahadur-sahi/
(Photo: Imperial War Museum)
Gurkha Stories 