Third Battle of Panipat

Third Battle of Panipat
Part of Maratha Empire, Durrani Empire
The Third Battle of Panipat, 14 January 1761, Hafiz Rahmat Khan, standing right of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is shown on a brown horse.
Date 14 January 1761 Location Panipat, modern-day Haryana, India 29.39°N 76.97°E / 29.39; 76.97 Result Victory of the Durraniand allies with heavy casualties on both sides.
Belligerents
Durrani Empire Nawabs of Awadh Rohillas	Maratha Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani Wazir Wali Khan Shah Pasand Khan Barkhurdar Khan Wazirullah Khan Shuja-ud-Daula Najib-ud-Daula Amir Beg Jahan Khan Zain Khan Sirhindi Murad Khan Shuja Quli Khan Hafiz Rahmat Khan Dundi Khan Banghas Khan Nasir Khan Baluch Ahmad Khan Bangash	Sadashivrao Bhau † Vishwasrao † Malharrao Holkar Mahadji Shinde Jankoji Shinde Gardi † Bhivrao Panse Bhoite Purandare Vinchurkar (Infantry & Cavalry) Sidoji Gharge Ibrahim Khan Gardi
Strength
110,000 Total 42,000 cavalry 38,000 infantry 10,000 reserves 4,000 Gendarmes 5,000 Qizilbash 130 cannons 40,000 Matchlocks	40,000 cavalry, 15,000 infantry, 15,000 Pindaris and 200 pieces of artillery,. The force was accompanied by 300,000 non-combatants (pilgrims and camp-followers). Thus, totally an army of 70,000.
Casualties and losses
Estimates between 20,000-40,000 combatants killed.	Estimates between 30,000 and 40,000 combatants killed in the battle. Another 40,000-70,000 non-combatants massacred following the battle.

The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat (Haryana State, India), about 60 miles (95.5 km) north of Delhi between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and a coalition of Muslim powers led by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Mughals, Muslim nobles and chiefs and the Nawabs.

The main battle was fought at Panipat on June 14, 1761. According to historians it was the most desperate of the three historic battles of Panipat (the first fought by Babur in 1526, and the second by Humayun in 1556), and its results were of great significance for Indian history and the overall history of South Asia. During the battle the Marathas under the Sadashivrao Bhau, were trapped and destroyed by the forces under the command of Ahmad Shah Durrani. As an overwhelming result of the confrontation the Marathas were completely defeated and routed and their chiefs were forced to retreat into Central India soon after the battle by various Muslim nobles and indeed the centralizing power of the Peshwa had come to an end. The battle ended all the ruthless generations of conflict in which the Marathas attempted to ruin and abolish the Mughal Empire.

After Ahmad Shah Durrani decisively defeated the Marathas he was warmly welcomed in Delhi and thereafter recognized Shah Alam II as the rightful heir to the throne of the Mughal Empire, he also offered his services to the Grand Vizier Shuja-ud-Daula and the Imperial Chief Representative Najib-ud-Daula. Ahmad Shah Durrani ambitions to mount and further a major campaign against the Maratha in the Deccan was objected by his troops and advisers, the victorious leader of the Durranis soon returned to Kabul.

Mughal Empire

Main article: Mughal Empire

Shuja-ud-Daula served as the leading Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the Third Battle of Panipat, he was also the Nawab of Awadh, and a loyal ally of Shah Alam II.

After defeat during the Battle of Karnal the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah dispatched his son Ahmad Shah Bahadur and the Grand Vizier Asaf Jah I in the year 1748 to check the advancement of Ahmad Shah Durrani a former serviceman of Nadir Shah.

After his victory Ahmad Shah Bahadur was soon to become the Mughal Emperor, however his reign was marked by the corruption of his handpicked Grand Vizier Safdarjung and the cunning young aristocrat named Imad-ul-Mulk. After a fierce ethnic rift in the Mughal court, Imad-ul-Mulk allied himself with the notorious Sadashivrao Bhau and the vengeful Marathas, together they massacred the Mughal Army during the Battle of Sikandarabad and planned assert their supremacy over the Mughal Empire.

Very soon with the help of the Maratha chiefs, Imad-ul-Mulk made himself Grand Vizier and in June, 1754, expressed his grandiose insolence by deposing and blinding his master the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Imad-ul-Mulk then placed the devout and austere Alamgir II as the Mughal Emperor and severely curbed his liberties and prestigious authority.

Unwilling to accept the authoritarian usurper; the Mughal Subedar of Punjab Moeen-ul-Mulk and his wife Mughlam Begum sought the collaboration of once feared Ahmad Shah Durrani, who in the year 1756 waged a campaign against the Marathas, who had grown more powerful because of their collaboration with Imad-ul-Mulk. Ahmad Shah Durrani successfully gained the alliance of Najib-ud-Daula, who was officially recognized as the administrator of Delhi and Ahmad Shah Durrani also vowed to protect the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II from any forms of aggression.

Maratha efforts to dominate the Mughal court were, however, fiercely contested by the new alliance between Ahmad Shah Durrani, Najib-ud-Daula, Shah Waliullah and Alamgir II. Ahmad Shah Durrani than dispatched his armies to strengthen his new found allies and even declared Imad-ul-Mulk an apostate. In response to their assertiveness Imad-ul-Mulk and Sadashivrao Bhau organized a ferocious assault upon Delhi, which lasted for 15 days and eventually led to the defeat of Najib-ud-Daula. Imad-ul-Mulk then feared strict opposition expressed by the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, and was intimidated by the possible arrival of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who would undoubtedly attempt to dispossess him of his new found power with the Marathas. In fact even Imad-ul-Mulk's own brother Salabat Jung began to advance against him and his allies in the Deccan.

In 1758 the Marathas occupied Lahore and drove out Jahan Khan and Timur Shah Durrani, the son and viceroy of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Timur Shah Durrani and his forces were forced to retreat from Lahore to Peshawar under the force of attacks from Sikhs and Marathas. This victory made the belligerent Peshwa, grandiosely sack Delhi and hype their intentions of placing Vishwasrao on the Mughal throne..

Suddenly in the summer of the year 1759 Prince Ali Gauhar escaped from Delhi. Agitated by the daring escape Imad-ul-Mulk and Sadashivrao Bhau reckoned that Alamgir II was about to advance his son Prince Ali Gauhar, to dispossess and overthrow their authority. After detailed consideration Imad-ul-Mulk and Sadashivrao Bhau plotted to murder the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II and the assassinations of prominent his family in the winter of 1759. Sadashivrao Bhau then personally chose the usurping, Shah Jahan III as the new Mughal Emperor and began a campaign of plundering the Jewels and ornaments of the Mughal imperial court, he also defaced mosques, tombs and shrines that the Mughals had built in Agra and Delhi, he then desecrated the imperial Moti Masjid and looted its exquisite jeweled decorations into booty for the ravaging Marathas.

The sudden defeat of Alamgir II's son-in-law, Timur Shah Durrani by the Marathas in the year 1760, provoked the wrath of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who launched a massive campaign gathering more troops than ever before. In response to the atrocious crimes committed by Imad-ul-Mulk and Sadashivrao Bhau; Najib-ud-Daula and his firm alliance of principal Muslim nobles in the Mughal Empire recaptured Delhi and placed it under the nominal authority of Shah Alam II. In the south Hyder Ali and his Mysore Army ferociously attacked the Maratha. Meanwhile Shah Alam II anticipated the collapse of the Maratha and declared Shuja-ud-Daula his Grand Vizier and Najib-ud-Daula as his honorary Mukhtar Khas (Chief Representative). These developments eventually culminated into rise of relegious and political loyalties that eventually clashed at the "Third Battle of Panipat" in the year 1761.

Maratha Empire

Main article: Maratha Empire

The Marathas had gained control of a considerable part of India in the intervening period (1707–1757). In 1758 they occupied Delhi, captured Lahore and drove out Timur Shah Durrani, the son and viceroy of the Afghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Abdali. This was the high-water mark of the Maratha expansion, where the boundaries of their empire extended in the north to the Indus and the Himalayas, and in the south nearly to the extremity of the peninsula. This territory was ruled through the Peshwa, who talked of placing his son Vishwasrao on the Mughal throne. However, Delhi still remained under the nominal control of Mughals, key Muslim intellectuals including Shah Waliullah and other Muslim clergy in India who were alarmed at these developments. In desperation they appealed to Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan, to halt the threat.

Prelude

Main article: Durrani Empire

"The lofty and spacious tents, lined with silks and broadcloths,

were surmounted by large gilded ornaments, conspicuous at a distance... Vast numbers of elephants, flags of all descriptions, the finest horses, magnificently caparisoned ... seemed to be collected from every quarter ... it was an imitation of the more becoming and tasteful array of the Mughuls in the zenith of their glory."

– Grant Duff, describing the Maratha army.

Ahmad Shah Durrani (Ahmad Shah Abdali), angered by the news from his son and his allies, was unwilling to allow the Marathas' spread go unchecked. By the end of 1759 Abdali with his Afghan tribes and his Rohilla ally Najib Khan had reached Lahore as well as Delhi and defeated the smaller enemy garrisons. Ahmed Shah, at this point, withdrew his army to Anupshahr, on the frontier of the Rohilla country, where he successfully convinced the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula to join his alliance against the Marathas—in spite of the Marathas time and again helping and showing sympathy towards Shuja-ud-daula. The Nawab’s mother was of the opinion that he should join the Marathas. The Marathas had helped Safdarjung (father of Shuja) in defeating Rohillas in Farrukhabad. However, Shuja was very much ill-treated in the Abdali camp. Abdali was an Afghan Sunni Muslim and Shuja was a Persian Shia Muslim.

The Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau (referred to as the Bhau or Bhao in sources) responded to the news of the Afghans' return to North India by raising a big army, and they marched North. Bhau's force was bolstered by some Maratha forces under Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundela. Suraj Mal, the Jat ruler of Bharatpur, also had joined Bhausaheb but left midway. This combined army of over 100,000 regular troops captured the Mughal capital, Delhi, from an Afghan garrison in December 1759. Delhi had been reduced to ashes many times due to previous invasions, and in addition there being acute shortage of supplies in the Maratha camp. Bhau ordered the sacking of the already depopulated city. He is said to have planned to place his nephew and the Peshwa's son, Vishwasrao, on the Mughal throne. The Jats did not support the Marathas. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle was to play a crucial role in its result.

Initial skirmishes

Engraving of a Maratha soldier by James Forbes.

With both sides poised for battle, there followed much maneuvering, with skirmishes between the two armies fought at Karnal and Kunjpura. Kunjpura, on the banks of the Yamuna River 60 miles to the north of Delhi, was stormed by the Marathas and the whole Afghan garrison was killed or enslaved. Marathas achieved a rather easy victory at Kunjpura, although there was a substantial army posted there. Some of Abadali's best generals were killed. Ahmad Shah was encamped on the left bank of the Yamuna River, which was swollen by rains, and was powerless to aid the garrison. The massacre of the Kunjpura garrison, within sight of the Durrani camp, exasperated him to such an extent that he ordered crossing of the river at all costs. Ahmed Shah and his allies on 17 October 1760, broke up from Shahdara, marching south. Taking a calculated risk, Abdali plunged into the river, followed by his bodyguards and troops. Between 23 and 25 October they were able to cross at Baghpat(a small town about 24 miles up the river), as a man from the village, in exchange for money, showed Abdali a way through Yamuna, from where the river could be crossed, unopposed by the Marathas who were still preoccupied with the sacking of Kunjpura.

After the Marathas failed to prevent Abdali's forces from crossing the Yamuna River, they set up defensive works in the ground near Panipat, thereby blocking his access back to Afghanistan, just as his forces blocked theirs to the south. However, on the afternoon of 26 October Ahmad Shah's advance guard reached Sambalka, about halfway between Sonepat and Panipat, where they encountered the vanguard of the Marathas. A fierce skirmish ensued, in which the Afghans lost 1000 men killed and wounded but drove the Marathas back to their main body, which kept retreating slowly for several days. This led to the partial encirclement of the Maratha army. In skirmishes that followed, Govind Pant Bundele, with 10,000 light cavalry who weren’t formally trained soldiers, was on a foraging mission with about 500 men. They were surprised by an Afghan force near Meerut, and in the ensuing fight Bundela was killed. This was followed by the loss of another 2,000 Maratha soldiers who were delivering the army's payroll from Delhi. This completed the encirclement, as Ahmad Shah had cut off the Maratha army's supply lines.

With supplies and stores dwindling, tensions rose in the Maratha camp as the mercenaries in their army were complaining about not being paid. Initially the Marathas moved in almost 150 pieces of modern long-range, French-made artillery. With a range of several kilometres, these guns were some of the best of the time. The Marathas' plan was to lure the Afghan army to confront them while they had close artillery support.

Before the battle

During the next two months of the siege constant skirmishes and duels took place between units and individual champions from either side. In one of these Najib lost 3,000 of his Rohillas and was very nearly killed but ran away. Facing a potential stalemate, Abdali decided to seek terms, which Bhau was willing to consider. However, Najib Khan delayed any chance of an agreement with an appeal on religious grounds and sowed doubt about whether the Marathas would honour any agreement.

After the Marathas moved from Kunjpura to Panipat, Diler Khan Marwat, with his father Alam Khan Marwat and a force of 2500 Pashtuns, attacked and took control of Kunjpura, where there was a Maratha garrison of 700–800 soldiers. At that time Atai Khan Baluch, son of the Wazir of Abdali, came from Afghanistan with 10,000 cavalry and cut off the supplies to the Marathas. The Marathas at Panipat were surrounded by Abdali in the south, Pashtun Tribes (Yousuf Zai, Afridi, Khattak) in the east, Shuja, Atai Khan and others in the north and other Pashtun tribes (Gandapur, Marwat, Durranis and Kakars) in the west. Abdali had also ordered Wazir Shaha Wali Khan Afridi and others to keep a watch in the thorny jungles surrounding Panipat. Thus, all supplies lines were cut.

The Marathas’ difficulty in obtaining supplies worsened as the local population became hostile to them, since in the Marathas' desperation to secure provisions they had pillaged the surrounding areas.

While Sadashivrao Bhau was still eager to make terms, a message was received from the Peshawa insisting on going to war and promising that reinforcements were under way. Unable to continue without supplies or wait for reinforcements any longer, Bhau decided to break the siege. His plan was to pulverise the enemy formations with cannon fire and not to employ his cavalry until the Afghans were thoroughly softened up. With the Afghans broken, he would move camp in a defensive formation towards Delhi, where they were assured supplies.

Battle

Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire.

Formations

The Maratha lines began a little to the north of Kala Amb. They had thus blocked the northward path of Abdali's troops and at the same time were blocked from heading south—in the direction of Delhi, where they could get badly needed supplies—by those same troops. Bhau, with the Peshwa's son and the household troops, was in the centre. The left wing consisted of the gardis under Ibrahim Khan. Holkar and Sindhia were on the extreme right.

The Maratha line was to be formed up some 12 km across, with the artillery in front, protected by infantry, pikemen, musketeers and bowmen. The cavalry was instructed to wait behind the artillery and bayonet-wielding musketeers, ready to be thrown in when control of the battlefield had been fully established. Behind this line was another ring of 30,000 young Maratha soldiers who were not battle-tested, and then the roughly 30,000 civilians entrained. Many were middle-class men, women and children on their pilgrimage to Hindu holy places and shrines. Behind the civilians was yet another protective infantry line, of young, inexperienced soldiers.

On the other side the Afghans formed a somewhat similar line, probably a few metres to the south of today's Sanauli Road. Their left was being formed by Najib and their right by two brigades of Persian troops. Their left centre was led by two Viziers, Shuja-ud-daulah with 3,000 soldiers and 50–60 cannons and Ahmad Shah's Vizier Shah Wali with a choice body of 19,000 mailed Afghan horsemen. The right centre consisted of 15,000 Rohillas under Hafiz Rahmat and other chiefs of the Rohilla Pathans. Pasand Khan covered the left wing with 5,000 cavalry, Barkurdar Khan and Amir Beg covered the right with 3,000 Rohilla cavalry with the choicest Persian horses. Long-range musketeers were also present during the battle. In this order the army of Ahmed Shah moved forward, leaving him at his preferred post in the centre, which was now in the rear of the line, from where he could watch and direct the battle.

Early phases

Prince Mirza Jawan Bakht coordinated and commanded various contingents of Mughal troopers, who cut off the supply lines of the Marathas prior to the Third Battle of Panipat and eventually overthrew the usurping Jahan Shah III after the victory of the coalition of Ahmad Shah Durrani and proclaimed Shah Alam II as the rightful ruler of the Mughal Empire.

Before dawn on 14 January 1761, the Maratha troops broke their fast with the last remaining grain in camp and prepared for combat, coming from their lines with turbans disheveled and turmeric-smeared faces. They emerged from the trenches, pushing the artillery into position on their prearranged lines, some 2 km from the Afghans. Seeing that the battle was on, Ahmad Shah positioned his 60 smooth-bore cannon and opened fire. However, because of the short range of the Afghan weapons and the static nature of the Maratha artillery, the Afghan cannons proved ineffectual.

The initial attack was led by the Maratha left flank under Ibrahim Khan, who in his eagerness to prove his worth advanced his infantry in formation against the Rohillas and Shah Pasand Khan. The first salvos from the Maratha artillery went over the Afghans' heads and did very little damage. Nevertheless, the first Afghan attack was broken by Maratha bowmen and pikemen, along with a unit of the famed Gardi musketeers stationed close to the artillery positions. The second and subsequent salvos were fired at point-blank range into the Afghan ranks. The resulting carnage sent the Rohillas reeling back to their lines, leaving the battlefield in the hands of Ibrahim for the next three hours, during which the 8,000 Gardi musketeers killed about 12,000 Rohillas.

In the second phase, Bhau himself led the charge against the left-of-center Afghan forces, under the Afghan Vizier Shah Wali Khan. The sheer force of the attack nearly broke the Afghan lines, and soldiers started to desert their positions in the confusion. Desperately trying to rally his forces, Shah Wali appealed to Shuja ud Daulah for assistance. However, the Nawab did not break from his position, effectively splitting the Afghan force's center. Despite Bhau's success, the overenthusiasm of the charge and a phenomenon called "Dakshinayan" on that fateful day, the attack itself failed because the sunlight shone directly into the eyes of the attackers' horses, many of them half-starved Maratha mounts who were exhausted long before they had traveled the two kilometers to the Afghan lines; some simply collapsed.

Final phase

Mahratta Light Horseman

In the final phase the Marathas, under Scindia, attacked Najib. Najib successfully fought a defensive action, however, keeping Scindia's forces at bay. By noon it looked as though Bhau would clinch victory for the Marathas once again. The Afghan left flank still held its own, but the centre was cut in two and the right was almost destroyed. Ahmad Shah had watched the fortunes of the battle from his tent, guarded by the still unbroken forces on his left. He sent his bodyguards to call up his 15,000 reserve troops from his camp and arranged them as a column in front of his cavalry of musketeers (Qizilbash) and 2,000 swivel-mounted shutarnaals or Ushtranaal—cannons—on the backs of camels. The shaturnals, because of their positioning on camels, could fire an extensive salvo over the heads of their own infantry at the Maratha cavalry. The Maratha cavalry was unable to withstand the muskets and camel-mounted swivel cannons of the Afghans. They could be fired without the rider having to dismount and were especially effective against fast-moving cavalry. He therefore sent 500 of his own bodyguards with orders to raise all able-bodied men out of camp and send them to the front. He sent 1,500 more to any those front-line troops who attempted to flee the battle and kill without mercy any soldier who would not return to the fight. These extra troops, along with 4,000 of his reserve troops, went to support the broken ranks of the Rohillas on the right. The remainder of the reserve, 10,000 strong, were sent to the aid of Shah Wali, still labouring unequally against the Bhao in the centre of the field. These mailed warriors were to charge with the Vizir in close order and at full gallop. Whenever they charged the enemy in front, the chief of the staff and Najib were directed to fall upon either flank.

With their own men in the firing line, the Maratha artillery could not respond to the shathurnals and the cavalry charge. Some 7,000 Maratha cavalry and infantry were killed before the hand-to-hand fighting began at around 14:00. By 16:00 the tired Maratha infantry began to succumb to the onslaught of attacks from fresh Afghan reserves, protected by armoured leather jackets.

Outflanked

Sadashivrao Bhau, seeing his forward lines dwindling and civilians behind, had not kept any reserves, and upon seeing Vishwasrao disappear in the midst of the fighting, he felt he had no choice but to come down from his elephant and lead the battle. Taking advantage of this, some Afghan soldiers who had been captured by the Marathas earlier during the siege of Kunjpura revolted. The slaves deliberately spread rumours about the defeat of the Marathas. This brought confusion and great consternation to loyal Maratha soldiers, who thought that the enemy had attacked from their rear. Some Maratha troops, seeing that their general had disappeared from his elephant, panicked and began to flee.

Abdali had given a part of his army the task of surrounding and killing the Gardis under Ibrahim Gardi, who were at the leftmost part of the Maratha army. Bhausaheb had ordered Vitthal Vinchurkar (with 1500 cavalry) and Damaji Gaikwad (with 2500 cavalry) to protect the Gardis. However, after seeing the Gardis fight, they lost their patience, became overenthusiastic and decided to fight the Rohillas themselves. Thus they broke the round—they didn’t follow the idea of round battle and went all out on the Rohillas, and the Rohilla riflemen started accurately firing at the Maratha cavalry, which was equipped only with swords. This gave the Rohillas the opportunity to encircle the Gardis and outflank the Maratha centre while Shah Wali pressed on attacking the front. Thus the Gardis were left defenceless and started falling one by one.

Vishwasrao had already been killed by a shot to the head. Bhau and his loyal bodyguards fought to the end, the Maratha leader having three horses shot out from under him. At this stage Holkar, realising the battle was lost, broke from the Maratha left flank and retreated. The Maratha army was routed and fled under the devastating attack. While 15,000 soldiers managed to reach Gwalior, the rest of the Maratha forces—including large numbers of non-combatants—were either killed or captured.

Rout

The Afghans pursued the fleeing Maratha army and civilians. The Maratha front lines remained largely intact, with some of their artillery units fighting until sunset. Choosing not to launch a night attack, many Maratha troops escaped that night. Bhau's wife Parvatibai, who was assisting in the administration of the Maratha camp, escaped to Pune with her bodyguard (Janu Bhintada).

Massacres after the battle

Mass of surrendered Maratha soldiers were handcuffed and then murdered, their heads chopped off by Afghans. The Afghan cavalry and pikemen ran wild through the streets of Panipat, killing tens of thousands of Maratha soldiers and civilians. The women and children seeking refuge in streets of Panipat were hounded back in Afghan camps as slaves. Children over 14 were beheaded before their own mothers and sisters. Afghan officers who had lost their kin in battle were permitted to carry out massacres of 'infidel' Hindus the next day also, in Panipat and the surrounding area. They arranged victory mounds of severed heads outside their camps. According to the single best eye-witness chronicle- the bakhar by Shuja-ud-Daula's Diwan Kashi Raj, about 40,000 Maratha prisoners were slaughtered in cold blood the day after the battle. According to Mr. Hamilton of Bombay Gazette about half a million Marathi people were present there in Panipat town and he gives a figure of 70,000 prisoners as executed by Afghans. Many of the fleeing Maratha women jumped into the Panipat wells rather than risk rape and dishonour.

Abdali's soldiers took about 22,000 Hindu women and young children and brought them to their camps. The women were raped in the camp, many committed suicide because of constant rapes perpetrated on them. All of the prisoners were exchanged or sold as sex slaves in Afghanistan, transported on bullock carts, camels and elephants in bamboo cages.

Siyar-ut-Mutakhirin says:

The unhappy prisoners were paraded in long lines, given a little parched grain and a drink of water, and beheaded... and the women and children who survived were driven off as slaves - twenty-two thousand, many of them of the highest rank in the land.

Reasons for the outcome

Sir Jadunath Sarkar the eminent Historian curtly put that "Maratha was defeated by a Larger and not a Superior army". The same views are expressed by British Historian Sir HG Rawlinson who wonders whether Ahmad Shah Abdali would have met Maratha Empire alone in the Battle of Panipat or not, and it was the Numerical Advantage of Afghan Armies which resulted in the victory of Afghans rather than a Brilliant general or superior tactics.

Durrani had numeric superiority over Marathas. The combined Muslim army was much larger than that of Marathas. Though the infantry of Marathas was organized along European lines and their army had some of the best French-made guns of the time, their artillery was static and lacked mobility against the fast-moving Afghan forces. The heavy mounted artillery of Afghans proved much better in the battlefield than the light artillery of Marathas.

The main reason for the failure of the Marathas was that they went to war without good allies. They were expecting support from their allies- Rajputs, Jats and Sikhs, but none of them supported Marathas in the battle. The Marathas had interfered in the internal affairs of the Rajputana states (present-day Rajasthan) and levied heavy taxes and huge fines on them. They had also made large territorial and monetary claims upon Awadh. Their raids in the Jat territory had resulted in the loss of trust of Jat chiefs like Suraj Mal. They had, therefore, to fight their enemies alone. Moreover, the senior Maratha chiefs constantly bickered with one another. Each had ambitions of carving out their independent states and had no interest in fighting against a common enemy. Some of them didn't support the idea of a round battle and wanted to fight using guerilla tactics instead of charging the enemy head-on. The Marathas were fighting alone at a place which was 1000 miles away from their capital Pune.

The Maratha army was also burdened with over 300,000 pilgrims who wished to worship at Hindu places of worship like Mathura, Prayag, Kashi, etc. The pilgrims wanted to accompany the army, as they would be secure with them. Apart from just fighting the battle, the Maratha troops had the responsibility to protect the non-combatants from Afghans. That was the reason why Marathas suffered heavy losses even after the battle. They could not retreat quickly as they were to protect the non-combatants who were accompanying them.

Peshwa's decision to appoint Sadashivrao Bhau as the Supreme Commander instead of Malharrao Holkar or Raghunathrao proved to be an unfortunate one, as Sadashivrao was totally ignorant of the political and military situation in North India.

If Holkar had remained in the battlefield, the Maratha defeat would have been delayed but not averted. Ahmad Shah’s superiority in pitched battle could have been negated if the Marathas had conducted their traditional ganimi kava, or guerrilla warfare, as advised by Malharrao Holkar, in Punjab and in north India. Abdali was in no position to maintain his field army in India indefinitely. Marathas had used guerrilla warfare in North India. The Turki horses could not have handled the plundering and cutting of supply lines by the Marathas.

Najib, Shuja and the Rohillas knew North India very well and that most of North India had allied with Abdali. Abdali used shaturnals, camels with mobile artillery pieces at his disposal. He was also diplomatic, striking agreements with Hindu leaders, especially the Jats and Rajputs, and former rivals like the Nawab of Awadh, appealing to him in the name of religion. He also had better intelligence on the movements of his enemy, which played a crucial role in his encirclement of the enemy army.

Aftermath

File:Kims Gun in Lahore Pakistan.jpg

"Kim's Gun", also known as the Zamzama was used in the Third Battle of Panipat.

Immediately after the Third Battle of Panipat: Mirza Najaf Khan, Hyder Ali, Nizam Ali Khan, Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah and Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro, began to attack the Marathas and drove them back to the regions around Puna.

The bodies of Vishwasrao and Bhau were recovered by the Marathas and were cremated according to Hindu custom. Bhau's wife Parvatibai was saved by Holkar, per the directions of Bhau, and eventually returned to Pune.

Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, uninformed about the state of his army, was crossing the Narmada with reinforcements when a tired charkara arrived with a cryptic message: "Two pearls have been dissolved, 27 gold coins have been lost and of the silver and copper the total cannot be cast up". The Peshwa never recovered from the shock of the total debacle at Panipat. He returned to Pune and died a broken man in a temple on Paravati Hill.

Jankoji Scindia was taken prisoner and executed at the instigation of Najib. Ibrahim Khan Gardi was tortured and executed by enraged Afghan soldiers, when they caught him performing the last rites of his master Sadashivraobhau and Vishwasrao. The Marathas never fully recovered from the loss at Panipat, but they remained the predominant military power in India and managed to retake Delhi 10 years later. However, their claim over all of India ended with the three Anglo-Maratha Wars, almost 50 years after Panipat.

The Jats under Suraj Mal benefited significantly from not participating in the Battle of Panipat. They provided considerable assistance to the Maratha soldiers and civilians who escaped the fighting. Suraj Mal himself was killed in battle against Najib-ud-Daula in 1763. Ahmad Shah's victory left him, in the short term, the undisputed master of North India. However, his alliance quickly unravelled amidst squabbles between his generals and other princes, the increasing restlessness of his soldiers over pay, the increasing Indian heat and arrival of the news that Marathas had organised another 100,000 men in the south to avenge their loss and rescue captured prisoners. Before departing, he ordered the Indian chiefs, through a Royal Firman (order) (including Clive of India), to recognise Shah Alam II as Emperor.

Ahmad Shah also appointed Najib-ud-Daula as ostensible regent to the Mughal Emperor. In addition, Najib and Munir-ud-daulah agreed to pay to Abdali, on behalf of the Mughal king, an annual tribute of four million rupees. This was to be Ahmad Shah's final major expedition to North India, as he became increasingly preoccupied with the increasingly successful rebellions by the Sikhs.

Shah Shuja was to regret his decision to join the Afghan forces. In time his forces became embroiled in clashes between the orthodox Sunni Afghans and his own Shia followers. He is alleged to have later secretly sent letters to Bhausaheb through his spies regretting his decision to join Abdali.

Maratha armies under Peshwa Madhav Rao made a sudden dash upon North India in 1769, destroying the Afghan outposts, Najib Ud Daula once again appealed to Abdali , who this time however refuse to Intervene because of his ill-health. Peshwa Madhav Rao then routed Muslims of south and central India . Muslim rulers such as Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and Nizam of south India were reduced to Puppet under Maratha Rule. After defeating this own Uncle Raghunath Rao in 1768, Madhav Rao led a giant Maratha army which routed Rohillas, Jats, Afghans, Rajputs, Nawab of Oudh to bring whole of Modern North India under Maratha Rule once again. Najib-ud-daula who was the leading "Jihad" against Maratha, prayed for mercy from Maratha general . Mahadji Sindhia however was in no mood to pardon and rejected his plea , however Tukoji Holkar saved Najib from death penalty. Najib who was leading Jihad against Maratha now asked for the support of the same Maratha for looking after his son Zabita Khan. Maratha accept Zabita Khan into their camp and gave him command of 7000 horse.Many Maratha general was angered by this decision of accepting Najib-Ud-Daula son into Maratha army whom many Maratha considered as responsible for the defeat of Maratha in panipat. Marathas re-captured Delhi and restored their power in North India after ten years of the battle by 1771 under Peshwas Madhavrao.

Legacy

Further information: Anglo-Maratha Wars

The Third Battle of Panipat saw an enormous number of deaths and injuries in a single day of battle. It was the last major battle between indigenous South Asian military powers until the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

To save their kingdom, the Mughals once again changed sides and welcomed the Afghans to Delhi. The Mughals remained in nominal control over small areas of India, but were never a force again. The empire officially ended in 1857 when its last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was accused of being involved in the Sepoy Mutiny and exiled.

The Marathas' expansion was stopped in the battle, and infighting soon broke out within the empire. They never regained any unity. They recovered their position under the next Peshwa Madhavrao and by 1771 were back in control of the north, finally occupying Delhi. However, after the death of Madhavrao, due to infighting and increasing pressure from the British, their claims to empire only officially ended in 1818 after three wars with the British.

Meanwhile the Sikhs—whose rebellion was the original reason Ahmad invaded—were left largely untouched by the battle. They soon retook Lahore. When Ahmad Shah returned in March 1764 he was forced to break off his siege after only two weeks due to a rebellion in Afghanistan. He returned again in 1767, but was unable to win any decisive battle. With his own troops complaining about not being paid, he eventually abandoned the district to the Sikhs, who remained in control until 1849.

The Marathi term "Sankrant Kosalali" (सक्रांत कोसळली), meaning "Sankranti has befallen us", is said to have originated from the events of the battle. There are some verbs in the Marathi language related to this loss as "Panipat zale" (पानिपत झाले) [a major loss has happened]. This verb is even today used in Marathi language. A common pun is "Aamchaa Vishwaas Panipataat gela" (आमचा विश्वास पानीपतात गेला) [we lost our own (Vishwas) faith since Panipat]. Many historians, including British historians of the time, have argued that had it not been for the weakening of Maratha power at Panipat, the British might never have gotten a strong foothold in India.

The battle proved the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling's poem "With Scindia to Delhi".

"Our hands and scarfs were saffron-dyed for signal of despair,
When we went forth to Paniput to battle with the ~Mlech~ (Muslims),
Ere we came back from Paniput and left a kingdom there."

It is, however, also remembered as a scene of valour on both sides. Santaji Wagh's corpse was found with over 40 mortal wounds. The bravery of Vishwa Rao, the Peshwa's son, was acknowledged even by the Afghans. Yashwantrao Pawar also fought with great courage, killing many Afghans.

Afghan military prowess was to inspire hope in many orthodox Muslims and Mughal royalists and fear in the British.

See also

• Descendants of Maratha prisoners of war (1761)
• Zamzama

Further reading

• Britannica "Panipat, Battles of" (2007) Retrieved 24 May 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
• T S Shejwalkar, Panipat 1761 Deccan College Monograph Series. I., Pune (1946)
• H. G. Rawlinson, An Account Of The Last Battle of Panipat and of the Events Leading To It, Hesperides Press (2006) ISBN 978-1-4067-2625-1
• Vishwas Patil, Panipat" – a novel based on the 3rd battle of Panipat, Venus (1990)
• Uday S. Kulkarni, A Non Fiction book - 'Solstice at Panipat - 14 January 1761' Mula-Mutha Publishers, Pune (2011). ISBN 978-81-921080-0-1 An Authentic Account of the Campaign of Panipat.

External links

• Panipat War memorial Pictures
• With Scindia to Delhi 1890 Rudyard Kipling
• The Maratha community
• The Saraswathi Mahal Library at Thanjavur
• District Panipat
• Was late mediaeval India ready for a Revolution in Military Affairs?- Part II Airavat Singh
• Invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Detailed genealogy of the Durrani dynasty
• Famous Diamonds: The Koh-I-Noor
• Rampur
• Historical maps of India in the 18th century