Nepal's 1814 Battle of Nalapani and the Gurkha Reputation

The British East India Company's war against the Gorkha kingdom began not in the hills of Kumaon, but at a small mud fort called Nalapani, defended by a handful of Gurkha soldiers under Captain Balbhadra Kunwar. For over a month, fewer than 600 Gurkhas held off a British force of 3,500, including artillery and rocket troops. Even after their water supply was cut and the walls collapsed, the defenders fought hand-to-hand. The British commander, General Robert Rollo Gillespie, was killed leading a charge. The siege became the template for the Gurkha reputation: fierce, disciplined, and utterly loyal. We also explore the Battle of Jaithak, where the Gurkha commander Ranjor Singh Thapa held out until the Treaty of Sugauli ended the war. This episode covers the actual tactics, the weapons used, the role of women defenders, and how the British began recruiting Gurkhas immediately after the war.

#Nalapani #Gurkha #BalbhadraKunwar #RanjorSinghThapa #GeneralGillespie #AngloNepaleseWar #BattleOfJaithak #BritishEastIndiaCompany #Gorkha #SouthAsia #NepalHistory #FexingoHistory #1814 #TreatyOfSugauli #GurkhaRecruitment #Siege #MilitaryHistory #History

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