The Gurkhas Sharpen Up

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A  number of new reasons for the Argentines to regret their rash gesture walked aboard ship in Britain on 12 May. they came in the shape of the amiably smiling men of the Gurkha Rifles. Rumour would spread to the hapless Argentine conscripts that the Gurkha’s did not stop at taking prisoners; they ate them.

The Gurkha’s delay in joining the fray was not because authority regarded them ,or anyone else in the 5 Infantry Brigade, as some kind of second eleven. When the crisis first broke, the Task Force that was tumbled into shape in the first hectic week looked quite large enough to deal with a blustering bully at the other end of the ocean.But day by day the chances of peaceful settlement had slipped by and many more Argentine reinforcements had slipped into the hostage islands. The Ministry of Defence came quickly to the decision.More men would be needed down there ,to ensure victory in battle if necessary and to stay there after the battle to discourage any notions of return match. Thus , while the first Task Force sailed, a whole new round of activity began to make ready a backup to follow them south.

The Limited options.

The choice of who should take on the task was a limited one. The Royal Marines and the Paras were already on their way. To steal troops earmarked for NATO alliance duties in Europe might have please Russia but upset our allies. To remove men on duty in Ulster would have its own dangers. There is, however, one Regular Army Brigade which is not committed to NATO and is designed as a quick-reaction force for tasks outside NATO. Its name is 5 Infantry Brigade . Although its main role in time of general war is that of the Commander-in Chief United Kingdom Land Force’s reserve for home defence, 5 Infantry Brigade is also trained and organized to deploy anywhere in the world,and this is its main peacetime role. Despite having been theoretically only constituted as a result of the Army reorganization of 1981,5 Inf.Bde can claim to be a direct descendant of the  famous 16 th Parachute Brigade, and like its ancestor has its headquarters at Aldershot. ‘ Hardly more than a skeleton . In April 1982 ,5 Bde had three battalions under command,2 and 3 Bns The Parachute Regiment, also based at Aldershot, the traditional home of the Paras, and 1 Btn 7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles,who were located at Church Crookham. ( For some years there has been one Gurkha battalion based in this country). However ,as the two Parachute battalions were already on their way to the South Atlantic, 5Bde was now hardly more than a skeleton. But as its headquarters was geared to this type of out-of-area operation, and it still retained its supporting artillery and engineers as well as its infantry battalions to join it ,Rather than try and form an ad hoc force from elsewhere. These two battalions should be stationed reasonably close to Aldershot and should not have a prime operational commitment elsewhere. The MOD planners looked to Brigade of the Guards ,which always has two battalions in London at Chelsea Barracks and one  at Pirbright in Surrey.