Brigade of Gurkhas in the context of "Gurkha"

The British Army is the land warfare force of the United Kingdom responsible for defending the UK, the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. The British Army has seen involvement in most of the world's major wars throughout history, including both world wars and was founded in 1707. As of 1 January 2025, the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Gurkhas, 25,742 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,413.

The British Army traces back to 1707 and the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army. The English Bill of Rights 1689 and Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff.

The Battle of Bagh was fought between British and Afghan forces in British India's Northwest Frontier during the Third Anglo-Afghan War. On 3 May 1919, British troops suffered a setback in the northern theatre when Afghan forces captured the town of Bagh in Landi Kotal. Despite efforts to reinforce and launch a counterattack, the British failed to recapture Bagh on 9 May 1919. The attack, led by Brigadier-General George Crocker, involved the 1/15th Sikhs and the 1/11th Gurkha Rifles, but the majority of the brigade was held in covering positions and unable to support the advance effectively. As a result, the attack stalled, and the British forces had to dig in short of their objective.