263 lines
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263 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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obituaries
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military-obituaries
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gurkha-obituaries
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1366817
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-----
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# Agansing Rai, VC
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## Agansing Rai, who has died in Kathmandu aged 80, was awarded the VC when
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serving with the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) in Burma in 1944.
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12:00AM BST 30 May 2000
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[Comments][1]
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In June 1944 the 5th Gurkhas were under great pressure to stem the fanatical
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Japanese assault on Imphal, where success would have enabled them to break
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through into India. The Gurkhas were holding the Bishenpur-Silchar track,
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which had already been the scene of much hard fighting.
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![Agansing Rai][2]
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On 26 June, C Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Gurkhas was ordered to
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capture an enemy position which dominated the track and had already changed
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hands several times. It consisted of two strong points, 200 yards apart and
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mutually self-supporting. Whereas there was dense jungle on the west of the
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enemy position, the hillside on the other sides was completely bare. Any
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assault would have to be launched in full view of the enemy for a least 80
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yards up a slippery, precipitous ridge rising to a crest.
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When the Gurkha company reached the crest they were immediately pinned down by
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fire from machine-guns and a 37 mm gun, suffering many casualties. Agansing
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Rai (at that time a Naik or Corporal) realised that delay would only lead to
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more casualties. So he led his section immediately at the machine-gun, firing
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as he charged. He killed three of the enemy machine-gun's crew of four.
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Inspired by this example the Gurkha company swept forward and drove the
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remaining Japanese off the strong point which they then occupied.
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However the Gurkhas now came under heavy fire from the other strong point, as
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well as from the 37 mm gun concealed in the jungle. Once again Agansing Rai
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led his section towards the gun. Half the men were killed on the way, but Rai
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reached the gun and personally killed three of the five-man crew; his section
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killed the other two.
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Rai then returned to his former position, took over the rest of the platoon,
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and in spite of heavy machine-gun fire and a shower of grenades, rushed
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forward with a grenade in one hand and a Thompson sub-machine gun in the
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other. Having reached the position, he killed all the occupants of a bunker
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with his grenade and bursts of Tommy-gun fire. The remaining Japanese,
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thoroughly demoralised, fled into the jungle, leaving these two vital
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positions in the hands of the Gurkhas.
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Apart from Rai, another member of the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles, Subedar
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Netrabahadur Thapa, also won a VC for his part in the action, which proved to
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be a turning point in the struggle for Imphal.
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Agansing Rai was born in the village of Amsara, in the Okhaldhunga district of
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Nepal on 24 April 1920. He enlisted in the 5th Gurkhas in 1941 and was posted
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to the second Battalion. In 1943 he was promoted to section commander with the
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rank of Naik and saw action in early 1944 in the Chin Hills, where he was
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awarded a Military Medal.
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He was presented with the VC by the Viceroy, Field Marshal Lord Wavell, in
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1945. Besieged by reporters, who asked him how he felt and what he thought
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during the battle, he smiled disarmingly and said: "I forget." After the war
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he became an Instructor at the Regimental Centre and took part in the Victory
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Parade in London in 1946. He then served with the 2nd/5th Gurkhas in the army
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of occupation in Japan and was promoted to Subedar (company commander).
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After Independence in 1947, Agansing Rai remained with the regiment in India,
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and in 1962-63 served in the Congo as part of the UN peacekeeping force. On
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retirement from the Army he was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant. He
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was presented to the Queen during her visit to Nepal in 1986.
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He attended many reunions of holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross in
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London, where he was much admired as a man of stature and presence. He is
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remembered as a wise and quiet man, but one with a sense of humour and an
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ability to enjoy life.
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Agansing Rai leaves three daughters and two sons.
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_Published May 30 2000_
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obituaries/1366817/Agansing-Rai-VC.html
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Telegraph
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## [Gurkha Obituaries][8]
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* ### [News »][9]
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* ### [Obituaries »][10]
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* ### [Military Obituaries »][11]
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In news
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[![Lachhiman Gurung ][12] ][13]
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### [Havildar Lachhiman Gurung, VC][13]
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[![Bhanubhakta VC][14] ][15]
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### [Bhanubhakta Gurung, VC][15]
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[![Agansing Rai][16] ][17]
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### [Agansing Rai, VC][17]
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[![Gaje Ghale][18] ][19]
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### [Captain Gaje Ghale, VC][19]
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[![Ganju Lama][20] ][21]
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### [Ganju Lama, VC][21]
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