LACHHIMAN GURUNG

Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung is in shock. Moments earlier, a Japanese grenade blew up in his right hand. His comrades lie on the floor groaning, but Gurung cannot hear them for the ringing in his ears. Flashes punctuate the pitch-black darkness beyond, but he can only see out of his left eye. Waves of desperate Japanese soldiers emerge from the jungle, roaring and firing their guns. Gurung reaches for his rifle, but his right hand has been blown apart. His body is in utter shock, but the 17-inch ‘kukri’ Gurkha fighting knife fixed to his right hip reassures him. Drawing a slow breath, he responds to the chaos with calm, loading and raising his rifle with his left hand, and aiming with deadly accuracy at the darkness beyond.

This was no ordinary engagement – for the Japanese it was a matter of life and death. Just days earlier, the Burmese capital of Rangoon had fallen