Nepali Army


The Nepali Army, formerly Gurkha Army and the Royal Nepalese Army , is the military land warfare force of Nepal that originated from Gorkha Kingdom. The army was formerly known as the "Gurkha Army" during the unification of Nepal and later as "The Royal Nepalese Army " during the monarchy period in Nepal. It was renamed the Nepalese Army on 28 May 2008 after the abolition of the 240-year-old Shah dynasty.
The Nepalese Army participated in various battles of the Unification campaign of Nepal, Gurkha-Sikh War, First and Second Sino-Nepalese War, Anglo-Nepalese War, the last Nepalese-Tibetan War, World War I, World War II, and the Nepalese Civil War. As UN peacekeeping forces, the Army has participated in the Somali Civil War, Sierra Leone Civil War, Eritrean–Ethiopian War and Second Sudanese Civil War.
The current headquarters of the Nepalese Army is Bhadrakali Kathmandu. The incumbent Chief of Army Staff of the Nepalese Army is General Purna Chandra Thapa.

History

The Nepal unification campaign was a turning point in the history of the Nepalese army. Since unification was not possible without a strong army, the management of the armed forces had to be exceptional. Apart from the standard Malla era temples in Kathmandu, the army organized itself in Gorkha. Technicians and experts had to be brought in from abroad to manufacture war materials. After the Gorkhali troops captured Nuwakot, the hilly northern part of Kathmandu in 1744, the Gorkhali armed forces came to be known as the Royal Nepalese Army.
Their performance impressed their enemies so much that the British East-India Company started recruiting Nepalese troops into their forces. The native British soldiers called the new soldiers "Gurkhas."
The Gurkha-Sikh War began shortly after, in 1809. In 1946, the Royal Nepalese Army troops were led by Commanding General Sir Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana at the Victory Parade in London.
Prior to 2006, the Nepalese Army was known as the Royal Nepalese Army and was under the control of the King of Nepal. Following the Loktantra Andolan on May 18, 2006, a bill was passed by the Nepalese parliament curtailing royal power, which included renaming the army.
In 2004, Nepal spent $99.2 million on its military. Since 2002, the RNA had been involved in the Nepali Civil War. They were also used to quell the pro-democracy protesters in April 2006 Loktantra Andolan.

Organization

The Nepalese Army has about 95,000 infantry army and air service members protecting the sovereignty of Nepal. In August 2018, The Himalayan Times estimated total army forces to be around 96,000 while The Kathmandu Post estimated it to be 92,000.

Supreme Command

The position of the Supreme Commander of the Nepalese Army is the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Until 2006, the King of Nepal was in control of all military forces in the country. The National Army was renamed from Royal Nepalese Army to Nepalese Army after the recent national conversion from a monarchy to a republic on 28 May 2008.

The National Defence Council

This Council has seven members: the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, the Chief of the Army Staff, Foreign Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister, and the Chief Secretary.
The President of Nepal is the Supreme Commander-In-Chief.

Divisions

The Nepalese Army is divided into eight divisions, one each in the seven states and one in the Kathmandu Valley.
In addition to this, there are 7 independent units:
The first unofficial participation of women in the Nepal Army was during the Anglo-Nepalese War in the Battle of Nalapani. The Battle of Nalapani was the first battle of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–1816, fought between the forces of the British East India Company and Nepal, then ruled by the Gorkha Kingdom. Nepalese women were heavily involved in this battle, supporting the male Gurkha warriors.

Notable Women Officers In Nepal Army

The primary role of the NA is to defend the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Nepal. Their secondary role is to assist the Civilian Government of Nepal in the maintenance of internal security. Other duties include humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations, assisting in national development, nature conservation efforts, and participation in an international peacekeeping mission.

Foreign Involvements

Disarmament of the Khampas – 1974
In 1974, the then Royal Nepalese Army was mobilized to disarm the Tibetan Khampas, who had been using Nepalese soil as a base to engage in guerilla warfare against the People's Liberation Army in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. The Khampas operated mainly from a base secretly established at Mustang in northwest Nepal. The RNA, under diplomatic pressure from China and the international community, moved nine infantry units toward Mustang and gave the Khampas an ultimatum to either disarm themselves and surrender or face attack. The terms and conditions of their surrender were that they would be given Nepalese citizenship, land, and money, and free schooling for their children. The Khampa commander, General Wangdi, agreed to surrender but eventually fled the camp. He was later killed by RNA forces in Doti, in far western Nepal, while trying to loot a Nepal Police post, this was the first time the RNA had mobilized domestically in such large numbers.

International Operations

The Nepalese Army has contributed more than 100,000 peacekeepers to a variety of United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions such as:
The U.S.-Nepali military relationship focuses on support for democratic institutions, civilian control of the military, and the professional military ethic to include respect for human rights.
The US would support Nepal with arms, ammunition and additional commandos and soldiers if war began with its neighboring China but resisted giving any support if war broke out with India as in is an essential ally to the US in the Indo-Pacific against China and has also signed COMCASA with the US in the 2+2 meeting in September 2018. Both countries have had extensive contact over the years. Nepali Army units have served with distinction alongside American forces in places such as Haiti, Iraq, and Somalia.
U.S.-Nepali military engagement continues today through IMET, Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capabilities, Global Peace Operations Initiative, and various conferences and seminars. The U.S. military sends many Nepalese Army officers to America to attend military schooling, such as the Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. The IMET budget for FY2001 was $220,000.
The EIPC program is an inter-agency program between the Department of Defense and the Department of State to increase the pool of international peacekeepers and to promote interoperability. Nepal received about $1.9 million in EPIC funding.
Commander in Chief, Pacific coordinates military engagement with Nepal through the Office of Defense Cooperation. The ODC Nepal is located in the American Embassy Kathmandu.

Bases

Mil Mi-8 helicopter at Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu
Major Base Camps are located in all 77 districts of Nepal, with at least 20 major base camps and 500 Army in each district.

Schools

Major Commands

There were initially six divisions called Pritana in Nepal. Recently, two divisions are added. There is one head of the division known as Pritanapati who is ranked Major General.
InsigniaNameHeadquartersMottoFounded YearFirst General Officer Commanding Current General Officer Commanding Subordinate Unit
Eastern DivisionItahariRastra Rakshya Param KartabyaJanuary 29, 2003 Maj. Gen. Pradip Pratap Bam MallaMaj. Gen. Ananta karki
Mid Eastern Division Province No. 2
Mid DivisionHetaudaAtal Bhakti Desh PratiNovember 16, 2004 Maj Gen Thakur SubbaMaj Gen Tara dhoj pandey
Valley DivisionNarayanhiti Palace, KathmanduShanti Surakshya SarbadaMay 19, 2003 Maj Gen Kiran Shumsher ThapaMaj. Gen. Niranjan kumar Shrestha
Western Division PokharaRakshya Nai Dharma HoFebruary 13, 2003
renamed on September 17, 2004		Lt Gen Chitra Bahadur GurungMaj Gen Kaji Bahadur Khatri
Mid Western Division Province No. 5Maj Gen Rajendra KarkiMaj Gen Sanjay Thapa
North Western Division Surkhet Sadaiba Samarpit Desh Prati29th Nov, 2001
renamed on 23rd Oct, 2005 as Mid-Western Division
renamed as the North Western Division on 16 July 2017 		Maj Gen Sadip Bahadur ShahMaj Gen Karmendra Bikram Limbu
Far Western DivisionDipayalBhakti Nai Sakti HoJuly 5, 2004
flag raised on May 1, 2005 		Maj Gen Rajendra ThapaBrig Gen Nirmal Kumar Thapa

Tactical Units

The first four army units of the Nepalese Army are Shreenath, Kali Baksh, Barda Bahadur, and Sabuj companies in August 1762 by the King Prithvi Narayan Shah. The Purano Gorakh Company was founded on February 1763 as the fifth army unit of Nepal by its founding date.
The majority of equipment used by the Nepalese Army is imported from other countries. India is the army's largest supplier of arms and ammunition as well as other logistical equipment, which are often furnished under generous military grants. Germany, the United States, Belgium, Israel, and South Korea have also either supplied or offered arms to the Nepalese Army.
The army is currently in possession of 160,000 firearms. Its first standard rifle was the Belgian FN FAL, which it adopted in 1960. Nepalese FALs were later complemented by unlicensed, Indian-manufactured variants of the same weapon, as well its British counterpart, the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. Beginning in 2002 these were officially supplemented in army service by the American M-16 rifle, which took the FAL's place as the army's standard service rifle. Nevertheless, the FAL and its respective variants remain the single most prolific weapon in Nepalese army service, with thousands of second-hand examples being supplied by India as late as 2005.
Until 2003, the Nepalese Army's reserve armories housed a large number of rare and antique firearms, some dating back to the early nineteenth century. These were mostly donated to Nepal by the British East India Company and later by the British Raj, although there were also a few previously undocumented, esoteric weapons designed by Nepalese gunsmiths. Most of these were sold to an American firm, International Military Antiques, to raise funds for the army's purchase of modern weapons during the civil war.

Small arms

Heavy weapons

Vehicles

Special Force

The Nepalese Army currently has two types of uniforms.

Formal Uniform

This uniform is used primarily for parading and official duties. In August 2010, the Nepalese Army introduced a new ceremonial uniform replacing those worn by the former Royal Army to make it more relevant to the changing context and time. The new uniform comprises an olive green tunic and trousers of modern style, green-colored shirt and tie, leather belt, and peaked cap.

Combat Uniform

The Nepalese Army uses this uniform for regular operational duties.
Nepalese army uses two types of camouflage patterns:
;Commissioned Officers
;Other ranks

Chiefs of the Nepalese Army

The Chief of the Nepalese Army have been mostly drawn from noble Chhetri families from Gorkha such as "Pande dynasty", "Basnyat dynasty", and "Thapa dynasty" before the rule of "Rana dynasty". During the Shah monarchy, the officers were drawn from these aristocratic families. During the Rana dynasty, Ranas overtook the position as. The first army chief of Nepal was King Prithvi Narayan Shah who drafted and commanded the Nepali Army. The first civilian army chief was Kaji Kalu Pande who had significant role in the campaign of Nepal. He was considered as army head due to the undertaking of duties and responsibilities of the army but not by the formalization of the title.
Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa was the first person to use Commander-in-Chief as the title of army chief. King Rajendra Bikram Shah appointed Bhimsen to the post of Commander-in-Chief and praised Bhimsen for long service to the nation. However, on 14 June 1837, the King took over the command of all the battalions put in charge of various courtiers, and himself became the Commander-in-Chief. Immediately after the incarceration of the Thapas in 1837, Dalbhanjan Pande and Rana Jang Pande were the joint head of military administration. However, Rana Jang was removed after 3 months on October 1837.
Since the regime of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen, only seven army chiefs of Nepal were non-Rana Chhetris including Shahs while others were all Ranas till 2007. Commander-in-Chief was replaced by Chief of the Army Staff from the reign of General Singha Pratap Shah. The Chief of the Army Staff is also known as Chief Saab.

Battles

Nepalese army fought various battles on the unification campaign.

Battles Defending the Kingdom of Nepal

Nepal Army is portrayed in different movies and teleshows throughout Nepal and the world. The film "Ma Timi Bina Marihalchu Ni" featuring Bhuwan K.C. and Jharana Thapa is based on the story of Nepal Army.

Books