e of Bhurtpore in 1825-26 that the Gurkhas won their first honor. It was at this siege that the Gurkhas proved their worth and became noted as a fearsome part of the British Army (Farwell 34). It was around this time that the Gurkhas were being used to chase bandits, a very arduous job indeed. There was a fierce army of some 800 bandits, led by the outlaw brothers Kuluna and Bhoora (Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies 223). This group had captured the fort a Koonja and were using it as a focal point for their binge of plundering and killing in the nearby settlements. Captain Frederick Young was sent out with 200 contingents of the Sirmoor battalion, which was later joined by 150 more, to put an end to these trouble makers.Traveling 36 miles in twelve hours, the Gurkhas reached Koonja. Upon seeing the soldiers, the bandits fled to the safety of the fort. A tree was quickly cut down and used as a battering ram. The doors were soon smashed open. The ensuing battle was brief and the final score tallied up to 153 dead and 30 wounded and captured bandits, and 5 dead, 33 wounded Gurkhas (Farwell 37). The brothers had been killed by Gurkhas during the battle. Captain Young thought it was worthy to note that no Gurkhas touched any of the women. These fighters know had the reputations of fighters as well as gentlemen (Masters 106). The Sikh War of 1845-1846 was the next opportunity for the Gurkhas to show their military prowess. The Khalsa army of the Sikhs had invaded India. In the subsequent war there were for major battles, two of which the Gurkhas participated in. These were the battles of Aliwal and Sobraon. At Sobraon the Gurkhas were unchallenged by anyone. In this battle four Indian Orders of Merit were won by Gurkha troopers (Farwell 39). As was noted by General Gough in his report:I must pause in this narrative especially to notice the determined hardihood and bravery with which our two battalions of Gurkhas, the S...
