Nepal's single major unifying force at this stage in its history is the Gurkha-led army and its supply system.

Prithvi Narayan Shah and his successors had done the best they could to borrow military techniques used by the British in India, including modern ordnance, command structures, and even uniforms.

An entire munitions and armaments industry has been created in the hills, based on locally mined and processed raw materials, and supported by a system of forced labor to transport commodities.

The soldiers in the army are renowned for their ability to move relatively fast with their supplies and to fight with discipline under tough conditions.

They also know their terrain better than the British, who have little experience here.

Although the Nepalese army of an estimated sixteen thousand regulars will have to fight on a wide front, it has great logistical advantages and a large reservoir of labor to support it.