153 Gurkha Parachute Battalion

The 153 Gurkha Parachute Battalion formed in Delhi on October 29, 1941 and was part of the newly created 50th (Indian) Parachute Brigade.

153 Gurkha Parachute Battalion was just one of the three new Battalions in the Brigade. It was to be the British Army’s first airborne unit of Gurkhas. It recruited exclusively from the warrior clans of Nepal, although volunteers mostly arrived from the ten existing Gurkha regiments which were already under the control of the British Army. By agreement with the Maharajah of Nepal all the senior officers were actually required to be British (although Gurkhas could become Viceroy's Commissioned Officers). This was because there were fears one particular Gurkha clan could otherwise be promoted over the others, causing friction in the battalion. Since all the Gurkhas were considered equal to one another, the Battalion’s medical officer stated there was “an extremely strong composite feeling amongst all ranks” of the Battalion.

The new Gurkha Parachute Battalion could not have arrived at a better time. There were numerous seasoned Gurkhas available who had already served in the British Army for five or six years. Moreover, after two years of war without seeing any action, the Gurkhas were becoming restless. Parachuting seemed the obvious answer to keep the men sharp and prepare them for the looming entry of Japan into the conflict, who were not officially at war with the Allies until December.

Due to the lack of aircraft, the Gurkhas were trained to drop deep behind enemy lines before making a getaway on foot over hundreds of miles. There was a large amount of ground training, including endurance marches of up to 50 miles. The Gurkhas were taken around waterworks and power stations in Delhi to be taught how to sabotage the enemy’s power and infrastructure, and were originally seen as a disruption force. In the early days Gurkhas would also jump out of hired lorries to simulate a real drop.  

To begin with, 153 Battalion only took part in small-scale operations. The first was Operation Puddle, which involved just seven Gurkhas and four Brits led by Captain Jimmy Roberts, and took place in July 1942. This was a response to the invasion of Burma by Japan in December 1941. Little was known about the extent of Japanese penetration into the north of the country as a forested mountain range blocked intelligence gathering efforts from the Indian side. The Gurkhas were to fly over and drop from a Lockheed Lodestar over Myitkyina in Burma, to gather intelligence on airstrips and airfields and find out how far north the Japanese had progressed. After dropping, they had to march 150 miles to reach and reoccupy the recently abandoned Fort Hertz. Hertz was envisioned by the allies as a crucial staging post for aircraft flying along the route of the Hump (the supply line between India and China). A wartime record noted cryptically: "One Lodestar detached for special operation to be done in Burma from Assam. Returned 7 July [to the New Delhi Air Landing School] and attached to AHQ Comn Flight". 

Reaching Dinjan airfield in Assam on June 24, the Gurkhas were delayed by bad weather for over a week; the monsoon season had already begun. They eventually took off at 1615 hours on July 3. After contact was lost with the paratroopers in the remote jungles of Burma, Major Hopkinson from the 152 Battalion was sent on a flight over Fort Hertz on August 12. He was relieved to see that the Gurkhas had captured the Fort, although they were skeletal in appearance and in desperate need of food. Hopkinson refuelled and returned with supplies promptly. After marching for days through the jungle without sustinence, three Gurkhas received the Indian Distinguished Service Medal for their efforts. The next day more Gurkhas, who were under the command of Captain G.E.C. Newland, dropped on the Fort as part of Operation Firepump and helped repair its walls. A more complete account of Operation Puddle can be found on the page of Captain Roberts, who was awarded the Military Cross. 

In September 1943, Boy Browning visited the Battalion with designs to reform it into a new Division. During his visit, the Hindu festival of Dussehra was approaching, and the 153rd Battalion gave a performance of Nepalese dances. Browning himself joined in by performing some Cossack dancing. 

Unfortunately, following Browning's visit a number of Indian airborne operations were cancelled due to Japanese offensives. The largest of these was Operation Bulldozer, which foresaw an airborne assault into the city of Akyab in Burma. A push was made to get the brigade ready for the operation, with the 152 and 153 Battalions rushed through the Jungle Warfare School. On their way to the jungle, the 153 Battalion completed the largest Indian airborne drop yet recorded. With General Auchinleck and General Giffard in attendance, they arrived at a jungle clearing near Raiwala by jumping out of 32 Dakotas. They completed their jungle training in December. However, Operation Bulldozer was cancelled after the enemy invaded the Arakan region of Burma during Operation Ha-Go. Thereafter, 50th Brigade was allotted to IV Corps to be used in a defensive role, as the allies now anticipated an invasion of India itself. Warning signs were already appearing, with the Japanese building roads and driving cattle and elephants north through Burma. Then, in early March 1944, the two Battalions moved to Chakabama, 10 miles east of Kohima, to complete what they thought would be routine patrols. The 154 Battalion, left behind in Campbellpur as it was understrength, would be spared the wrath of thousands of Japanese soldiers descending upon Sangshak. 

Sangshak (March 21-March 26)

In March 1944, the Japanese launched an invasion of India's Manipur State with three divisions (the U-Go offensive). They were hoping to reach the Allied bases of Imphal and Kohima and cut off a planned counteroffensive into Burma before it even began. Their advance caught the allies off guard and a series of movements forced the 50th Brigade south to cover the space vacated by the 23rd Indian Division, who had only left one battalion behind (4/5 MLI). Occupying a large area around Sangshak to fill a gap in the defensive line, the brigade's task was to hold off the enemy while the Allied Divisions reached the safety of Imphal. This set the scene for a bloody fortnight.

Rushing south, the 23rd Indian Division had taken almost all the mechanised transport available. 152 Battalion reached Sangshak and were dug in at Sheldon's corner by March 15, but they had actually covered most of the ground by foot. Meanwhile, the 153 Battalion had been left behind at Kohima and would not reach their allies until much later. Marching to Milestone 36 on March 20, they were still without their support Company. They finally reached Sangshak on the evening of March 21, and were reunited with a devastated 152 Battalion just before sunset on March 22. With the 152 depleted, the 153 would now be expected to bolster large parts of Sangshak's perimeter. Meanwhile their Support Company under second in command Major Newland had been ordered to form a defensive box at Litan, about 30 miles away, together with the 411 Para Squadron, the rear brigade HQ and the brigade's pathfinders. 

On March 22, the 153 Battalion began to improve their defensive prospects at Sangshak, but discovered the soil was only 3 feet deep. At 2.30 in the afternoon, a Japanese column of 300 men was spotted marching down the main road to Milestone 36, where the 153 had been just days before. Whilst Captain Steele's Mahrattas ambushed them, Major J.P. Locke got the men of 15th Battery to line up their howitzers and unleashed "the best day's shoot of his life". Reeling from this attack, the Japanese retreated towards Sangshak itself. 

At half past midnight on March 23, the enemy made probing attacks towards the 153 Battalion, who had been assigned the southwestern edge of Sangshak's defensive perimeter. However, this was merely to disguise a stronger attack on the Mahrattas, which briefly succeeded in occupying some of their trenches. 

The next few days were particularly difficult for all those involved in the defence of Sangshak, including 153 Battalion. With the Brigade watering point overrun on the 23rd, supplies were desperately needed but mostly dropped wide. The men were eventually limited to half a bottle of water a day, and the field ambulance had been completely overwhelmed, unable even to guarantee shelter for the wounded. 

Finally, on the morning of March 26 the 152 Battalion was driven out of the church. With nowhere near the strength required to recapture it, a platoon of the 153 Battalion was called upon to make a counterattack. Setting off at 9 AM, the platoon was turned away with withering fire. It therefore fell to 153's A Company, under command of Major Roberts, to put in an inspired effort and ensure Sangshak did not fall. Using borrowed hand grenades, Roberts and the Gurkhas put themselves at great personal risk and recaptured the church. Thereafter, 153 Battalion took over part of the 152's perimeter, as the latter unit had been engaged with the enemy since March 19 and suffered many more casualties. 

At 6 PM on March 26, a wireless message finally arrived from the 23rd Division ordering the 50th Brigade to withdraw. They were to march from Sangshak to Imphal, around 35 miles away. Hope-Thompson decided that speed was of the essence, with the men marching out at 1030 that night. This left them four hours to figure out which casualties could survive the journey. Lt Col. Davis, OC of 80 Para Field Ambulance, personally volunteered to stay behind and evacuate as many wounded as possible whilst tending to the safety of those who remained. But Hope-Thompson knew this would get him killed and refused the gesture, instead ordering men of all units to help with the evacuation. Thereafter they left Sangshak through the southern perimeter, where the Mahrattas were stationed. However, 100 men who were seriously wounded had to be left behind.

Withdrawal to Imphal

While the battle of Sangshak had been devastating for all involved, the 153 Battalion was fortunate to have been the rear airborne formation. Still, it had been subjected to a devastating and unsustainable rate of attrition. In five days, it had suffered 141 killed, wounded or missing, consisting of 3 Officers, 4 VCOs and 134 Indian ORs. The dense jungle they now had to traverse to reach Imphal would offer them no reprieve. Wounded and starving, the men ate "leaves, bark off trees and wild berries". They were hounded relentlessly by the enemy, leading to further losses, as well as a few miraculous tales of escape. The story of 153's Lieutenant Robin Shand was recalled by the battalion's medical officer, Major Eric Neild, who relates: "He had been captured by the Japs, stripped of most of his clothing and his boots. He was held for interrogation and taken with them on the move, led by a rope, with his hands tied behind his back. During the night, while rounding a bend, the guard had dropped the halter. Instantly Robin threw himself over the khud-side and rolled over and over several hundred feet below to a fusillade of shots. For two days he wandered in the jungle in bare feet, with his hands tied behind his back. Eventually he met an old Naga, who cut his hands free, and so at length he managed to reach Imphal". 

But Imphal had problems of its own. Already cut off from allied Kohima on March 30, it now faced the Japanese 15th Division, the 33rd Division and the Yamamoto force all descending upon it at once. Spared the mauling endured by its sister unit at Sangshak, the 153 Battalion was expected to bear the brunt of the Japanese offensive that would shortly arrive. It was therefore in high demand and moved rapidly around the 'boxes' that composed the defensive area. On April 9, the 153rd was moved to 'Oyster Box' under command of 48th Brigade of the 17th Division. Thereafter it was was sent to Sengmai on April 20 to come under command of the 63rd Brigade. On April 24 it joined 49th Brigade, but on April 25 it joined 123rd Brigade instead. It then moved north of Imphal to take over Nungshigum from the 2nd Suffolks, where it was heavily engaged with the Japanese invaders. Finally, it returned under command of 49th Brigade after that. 

On May 22, 1944, Brigadier E.G. Woods took over command of 50th Indian Parachute Brigade. He was ordered to move his brigade HQ to milestone 10 in the vicinity of the 17th Division, whose forward brigades had been cut off by a last ditch Japanese attack. The forces at Brigadier Woods' disposal became known as Woodforce, and fought from May 27 to July 5. During this time, the 153 Battalion was required to loan away many of its officers due to losses in the Woodforce. 50th Para Brigade HQ returned to Imphal on July 8. 

Meanwhile, 153 Battalion itself was under command of 20th Division and deployed near Mung Ching as the Division attacked towards Litan. On June 25, A column of 153's C Company under command of Major John Saunders was formed into 'Sancol'. Lightly equipped with only two days rations, Sancol was tasked with tracking Japanese soldiers around Tangkhul Hundung and preventing them from escaping to the southeast. It had support from the RAF in destroying the retreating forces and was instructed to keep a low profile to avoid giving itself away. On June 30 it was supplemented with the formation of 'Tarforce' under Lieutenant Colonel G.L. Tarver from the Baluch Regiment. This had much the same purpose except it encompassed the 152 Battalion and the remaining companies of the 153rd. Those companies in Tarforce reached Tangkhul Hundung on July 5, whilst Sancol moved to Khongjan. 

Massive losses were inflicted on the Japanese as they retreated. Major Neild summed up the situation with the comment "reading the wireless signals (from patrols) was like listening to cricket scores". Tarforce was disbanded on July 23 and the 50th Para Brigade moved back to Imphal on July 26. Their return march through the Naga villages revealed how badly the local population had suffered during the invasion. Although both villagers and paratroopers were depleted by months of fighting, instances of sharing and hospitality were widespread. Nevertheless, the 152 and 153 Battalions were dirty, hungry and tired, and Praval records that a mobile bath unit was set up in Imphal to welcome them, along with new clothes. Thereafter they were withdrawn to Secunderabad. 

In March 1945 the Battalion was re-designated the 2nd Battalion Indian Parachute Regiment.

Article currently under development.

Commanding Officers:

1941-2        Lt Col FJ Loftus-Tottenham
1942-5        Lt Col HRE Willis

Compiled with information from:

India's Paratroopers, A History of the Parachute Regiment of India (London, 1975), K.C. Praval 

The Story of the Indian Airborne Troops, Major-General Afsir Karim 

Airborne Assault Archive (Boxes 3 H4 20.1.1, 3 H4 20.1.2 and 3 H4 20.1.3)

With Pegasus in India - the Story of 153 Gurkha Parachute Battalion, Major Eric Neild

Article written by Alex Walker