Why Germans Said the Gurkhas Were 'Not Human'

In the early hours of May 1945, a single Gurkha rifleman stood alone in a jungle trench in Burma, one hand destroyed by a grenade, and held off over two hundred enemy soldiers for four hours. This is the story of why hardened German veterans in Italy and Japanese forces in Burma whispered that the Gurkhas were not human. From the mountains of Nepal to the killing grounds of Monte Cassino, from the monsoon mud of Mogaung to the ridgelines of Tunisia, this video tells the full documented history of the Gurkhas in the Second World War. We follow the ten Nepalese soldiers who won the Victoria Cross between 1943 and 1945, including Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung, Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun, Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung, Havildar Gaje Ghale, and Naik Agansing Rai, examining the verified London Gazette citations behind each act of extraordinary courage. We explore where the Gurkhas came from, why they fought for a foreign crown, what the kukri meant as both tool and weapon, and how their night infiltration tactics broke enemy morale across two theatres of war. We also tell the story of what Britain owed these men after the war ended, and how long it took to begin paying that debt. This is British military history, Nepalese warrior tradition, and one of the most remarkable untold stories of the entire Second World War.