“Deadliest Warrior: French Foreign Legion vs. Gurkhas” pitted two units of mercenaries with a renowned history of ferocity in combat. Each group was from the World War II era, with appropriate weapons and tactics.
Spoilers surely follow.
The French Foreign Legion, officially composed of men from outside France, has been doing the dirty jobs that Frenchmen will not do for almost two centuries, from the deserts of North Africa to the current wars on terror. The Gurkhas, people from the high mountains of Nepal, have been the point of the spear of the British Army since the days of the Raj.
The weapons tests proceeded with the following results. The French light machine gun was considered easier to handle, more accurate, and more reliable than the Bren gun used by the Gurkhas. The Gurkha bolt action Enfield was a better weapon than the similar rifle used by the French Foreign Legion. The Gurkha kruki knife, a leaf-shaped cleaver that could both slash and thrust, was superior to the combat knife used by the Legion.
The French Foreign Legion’s use of “active defense” tactics was thought to outmatch the Gurkhas’ use of the ambush.
After a lot of trash-talking by experts on each side, which had served in the Legion and with the Gurkhas, respectively, the battle began.
The combat went according to the usual patter, with soldiers from each side being knocked off one by one. But in the end, it was a Gurkha who was the last man standing. The victory was a close one, with only a few dozen or more combats separating the winner from the loser in the 5,000 actions simulated on the computer.
The deciding factor seemed to be the environment, both physical and cultural, that Gurkhas are raised in. Because of the high altitude of the Himalayas, with its thin air, the Gurkhas develop more endurance and strength when fighting in other environments. Furthermore, their martial culture is engrained in them from birth. Gurkha military traditions are passed from father to son.
By contrast, the French Foreign Legion has to mold fighters with one of the most brutal training regimens in modern times. This produces formidable warriors, but the Gurkhas just outmatch them. It is fortunate Britain and France have been pretty much on the same side for the past century and a half.
Source: Deadliest Warrior, French Foreign Legion vs. Gurkhas, TV.Rage