5 Gorkha Rifles was originally raised as the 25th Punjab Infantry (or the Hazara Gorkha Battalion) on 22 May 1858 at Abbotabad. Later rechristened as 5th Gorkha (Rifle) in 1891, the Regiment has since acquitted itself with a dazzling record of military victories, valour and array of awards not forgetting the unique feature of winning two Victoria Cross on a single day. It is the only Regiment to have won nine Victoria Crosses in the Great Wars and has 49 battle honours to its credit. It saw hard fought actions in the scorched deserts of Gallipoli and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and rugged clime of Afghanistan during the First World War with an enviable martial account. The British conferred the title 'Royal' on the Regiment in 1921 in recognition of its superlative combat services in the Great War. The Second World War too bore the testimony of sustained military glories with the 'Fighting Fifth' fighting their way through Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Italy, Lebanon, Burma, Java, Malaya and Siam. In the post independence era, the battalions of the Regiment continued with their forays in all the wars with ??lan and heroism now typical to the Regiment.
In the Hyderabad action the Regiment claimed one Ashoka Chakra. Zojila pass was captured paving the way for link up with Leh in 1948 and Dera Baba Nanak Bridge was captured in 1965. The 1971 war with Pakistan yet again endorsed the stoic resilience and fortitude of the Regiment when a battalion executed the first ever heli-borne operations well behind the enemy lines, where it fought one of the fiercest battles in Sylhet. Concurrently, another battalion captured 'Sehjra Bridge' in Bangladesh. On the Western frontier infiltration was undertaken in the Chicken Neck Sector with a masterly technique that completely surprised the enemy. The Regiment was honoured with four MVCs together with five Battle Honours. In the IPKF Operations in Sri Lanka the Regiment earned one Maha Vir Chakra and two Vir Chakras. The eminent personalities associated with the Regiment include Lt. Gen. (retd.) Z.C. Bakshi, PVSM, MVC, VrC, VSM, till date considered one of the highly decorated fighting Generals and Lt. Gen. (retd.) S.K. Sinha, PVSM, ADC the former Vice Chief of Army Staff, Ambassador of Nepal and Governor of Assam.
