American Ghurka's

[yulzari]

During the Napoleonic Wars the British recruited troops initially from the occupied Electorate of a Hanover and then other German states as the King's German Legion, they fought overseas and were based on the Isle of Wight as due to legal restrictions they couldn't be based on the British mainland. A similar limitation using say the Philippines and Puerto Rico if after 1898 could help assuage some of their concerns, especially being able to pay them less. Even then it might necessitate a trade off though.

There is a whole long list of other nations from which British regiments were raised from French to Spanish to Chinese and Swiss regiments were being formed for the Crimean War. Not to mention individuals joining normal regiments. One of the best known being the Swiss chappie in the 24th at Rorkes Drift. The Royal Navy went on a warm and upright basis traditionally for recruiting sailors.

It is said that Napoleon's father wanted him to join the Royal Navy as a Midshipman. George Washington was also said to want to a career in the Royal Navy. One could have had a young Midshipman Bonaparte serving under the elderly Captain Washington in the service of the Crown in an AHTL. The over riding principle was that, if you will swear allegiance to the Crown, we don't care where you came from. The German Regiments referred to were different. They were in the armies of their own states, albeit under British command. Not unlike the foreign units of governments in exile in WW2. Thus actually being units of a foreign army.

It would take an American to comment upon what means would be politically plausible to recruit foreigners abroad into the US Army other than immigrants who have gained US Citizenship or drafted in time of war.

 

[Father Maryland]

The link you shared even stated that they were based in Weymouth and Bexhill-on-Sea.

This “general suggestion” would be an excellent way for this unit (whoever they’re formed from) to have terrible morale and discipline problems though. “We fight for them, yet we’re not allowed to set foot within the United States?” How exactly would that set up a long-term arrangement? “Fight for us, darkies - but don’t you dare sully our ground with your filthy feet!” Wait! Where are you going?!”

You're describing virtually every single Colonial military formation raised by the British during the Empire. Besides the odd official revue where a few token units would be paraded the vast majority of British Colonial military formations never set foot in Britain. During WW1 the Brits did deploy Indian units to the Western front but that was somewhat limited. And the quality and morale of British colonial units tended to vary between "Superb" to "utter trash barely useful for labor or policing duties"'

The French however made much more extensive use of Colonial units in France and other European theaters during both WW1/WW2.

For instance I don't think the Phillipine Scouts ever saw any large scale visits or deployments to the US but by WW2 was considered an excellent unit at least the equal to the Regular US army in the Phillipines.

 

[Deleted member 94680]

You're describing virtually every single Colonial military formation raised by the British during the Empire. Besides the odd official revue where a few token units would be paraded the vast majority of British Colonial military formations never set foot in Britain. During WW1 the Brits did deploy Indian units to the Western front but that was somewhat limited. And the quality and morale of British colonial units tended to vary between "Superb" to "utter trash barely useful for labor or policing duties"'

Correct, but for the units that never set foot in Britain during the colonial period, they were employed abroad for their entire careers. Often India but also Africa. Mainly they were ‘local’ to where they served, so there was never the intention to bring them to Britain. Or the need. The Indian Army was mainly for the defence of India, it was only used abroad in larger scale conflicts and the odd expedition (most of which were carried out in the name of British India, so by their “home nation” as it were).

I was replying to the erroneous point that the KGL wasn’t allowed to be on the British mainland (the Isle of Wight counts as Britain, by the way) for some unspecified reason.

That and I thought the idea of the OP’s point was to have a modern foreign national-based military unit in American service. Hence the reference to the Gurkhas. Who very much are allowed on British soil. The same way the Fijians, Kenyans, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans, Zimbabweans and Canadians who serve in the British military are.

In this day and age, the idea that a foreign national regiment fighting for another country’s government wouldn't be allowed into that country during their service is what I was criticising.

Otherwise, this should be pre-1900 or a discussion of colonial forces, no?

 

[Johannes Parisiensis]

Were they? I stand corrected, obviously one of those ‘facts’ which had been knocking about for long that it has taken on a life of its own. My general suggestion about keeping any prospective unit out of the continental United States still stands however .

This is how started the French Foreign Legion: on 1831, to replace the Swiss and the Hohenloe units Louis-Philippe disbanded, he created this Foreign Legion with interdiction to be used on the mainland.

It is said that Napoleon's father wanted him to join the Royal Navy as a Midshipman.

I found nothing about Joseph Bonaparte wanting to have his son join the Royal Navy, although he was originally slated to join the French Royal Navy.

 

[McPherson]

Here.

Now imagine it is 1898. Imagine you are the Chicanes, Teddy Roosevelt and George Dewey. Imagine you have a slush fund in case the balloon goes up with Spain and you eye the Philippine Islands? Imagine you realize the transit time round trip from California to the Philippine Islands is 60 days!

Imagine the same transit time is 14 days from Shanghai.

Imagine that Dewey realizes in his planning, that he needs marines, about 3,000 of them, to secure Cavite and Subic Bay, but he does not have enough lift to transport 3,000 of them to Hong Kong or to maintain the illusion that they are just "there" for grins and giggles.

But he can rent/buy ships and he can open recruiting stations in SHANGHAI about 90 days out to the start of hostilities which is about the RTL planning allotment of time he had.

Recruit Chinese nationals from the Shanghai area into the USMC and constitute them as regiments and set off for Manila Bay. Post war, the 4 regiments stick around as part of Mister Roosevelt's navy. There are your "Gur_k_Has.

 

[edgeworthy]

The American Revolution saw the recruitment of two Canadian regiments who fought on the Patriot side, who after the war were mostly settled in upstate New York. It is possible that some kind of long standing attachment between Canadian border regions and the US Army leads to the permanent establishment of such a Canadian Legion or something like that, perhaps akin to the Irish units in the French and Spanish Armies as a quasi hereditary exile unit.

The British Army recruited Five American Loyalist Regiments onto the Regular Establishment during the American Revolution.
(That's Regulars not local volunteer or militia units)
And the British Army still technically has a Regiment raised in America on the Regular Establishment. The 2nd Battalion of The Rifles is the descendant of the 60th Royal American Regiment raised in the 13 Colonies for the Seven Years War.