Third Battle of Panipat

Third Battle of Panipat
Part of Maratha Empire, Durrani Empire
Date 14 January, 1761 Location Panipat, modern day Haryana State,India Result Decisive Afghan Victory Territorial changes Northern India
Belligerents
Maratha Empire	Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sadashivrao Bhau, Ibrahim Khan Gardi	Ahmed Shah Durrani, Najib-ud-Daula, Shuja-ud-Daula
Strength
45,000 accompanied by 200,000 non-combatants (pilgrims and camp-followers	75,000 in addition to 10,000 reserves + 4,000 personal guards and 5,000 Qizilbash

The Third Battle of Panipat took place on January 14, 1761 at Panipat (Haryana State, India), situated at 29.39°N 76.97°E / 29.39; 76.97 about 80 miles (130 km) north of Delhi. The battle pitted the French-supplied and trained artillery of the Marathas against the light cavalry of the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali.

The decline of the Mughal Empire had led to territorial gains for the Maratha Confederacy. Ahmad Shah Abdali, amongst others, was unwilling to allow the Marathas spread to go unchecked. In 1759 he raised an army from the Pashtun tribes with help from the Baloch people and made several gains against the smaller garrisons. The Marathas, under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau, responded by gathering an army of 100,000 people with which he ransacked the Mughal capital of Delhi. There followed a series of skirmishes along the banks of the river Yamuna at Karnal and Kunjapura which eventually turned into a two-month long siege led by Abdali against the Marathas.

The specific site of the battle itself is disputed by historians but most consider it to have occurred somewhere near modern day Kaalaa Aamb and Sanauli Road. The battle lasted for several days and involved over 125,000 men. After protracted skirmishes and losses and gains on both sides the force led by Ahmad Shah Durrani came out victorious after destroying several Maratha flanks. Losses on both sides are heavily disputed by historians, it is believed that between 40,000–60,000 were killed in fighting while figures about injuries and prisoners taken vary considerably. The victoriuos Army led by Durrani oversaw the cremation of the bodies of Vishwas Rao and the Bhau. Many Maratha generals were subsequently tortured and executed by the victorious army. The overriding legacy of the battle was the halting of the advance of the Marathas and the brief restoration of the Mughal Empire.

Prelude to Panipat

Main article: Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire had been in decline since the death of the last Great Mughal Emperor Aurengzeb in 1707. The decline was accelerated by the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739. Continued rebellions by the Marathas in the south, and the de-facto separation of a number of states (including Hyderabad and Bengal), weakened the state further. Within a few years of Aurangzeb's death, the Marathas had reversed all his territorial gains in the deccan, and had conquered almost all mughal territory in central and north India. In 1761, they wanted to expand further north and north west, where their path crossed Ahmad Shah Abdali - the ruler of Afghanistan, who had been making raids into Punjab for several years.

Extent of the Maratha Empire ca. 1760
(shown here in yellow)

Main article: Maratha Empire

"…We have already brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on this side of Attock under our rule for the most part, and places which have not come under our rule we shall soon bring under us. Ahmad Khan Abdali's son Taimur Sultan and Jahan Khan have been pursued by our troops, and their troops completely looted. Both of them have now reached Peshawar with a few broken troops...we have decided to extend our rule up to Kandahar. Raghoba's letter to the Peshwa 4th of May 1758

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 Bishvas Rao 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 and Punjab were alarmed at these developments. In desperation they appealed to Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan, to halt the threat.

Abdali Rallies his Army

Main article: Durrani Empire

Ahmad Shah Abdali (referred to in books as "The Abdali") angered by the news from his son and his allies was unwilling to allow the Marathas spread go unchecked. In 1759 he raised an army from the Pashtun tribes with help from the Baloch and his Rohilla ally Najib Khan. By the end of the year they had reached Lahore as well as Delhi and defeated the smaller enemy garrisons. Ahmed Shah at this point wihdrew 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.

The Whirlwind Campaign

File:6262.jpg

Nanasaheb Peshwa, of the Marathas.

"The lofty and spacious tents, were 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."
describing the Maratha Army; by Grant-Duff

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 an even bigger army and marched North.

The Bhau's progress was joined by Mahratta forces under Holkar, Scindia, the Gaikwar, Gobind Pant, contingents of the Rajputs and Suraj Mal of the Jats. This combined Army of over 100,000 regular troops captured the Mughal capital Delhi from a small Afghan garrison in December 1759, the Bhau ordered the sacking of the already depopulated city and is said to have planned to place his nephew and the Peshwas son Viswas Rao on the Mughal throne. The Sikhs and Jats (with the exception of Ala Singh the first Maharaja of Patiala) did not support Marathas because of their refusal to sack Delhi, which was at that time a Maratha protectorate and their only source of supplies in the north. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle was to play a crucial role in it's result.

Initial Skirmishes

“The Shah is said to have recited some verses of the Holy Quran,
and, having blown them on an arrow, discharged from his quiver into the river.
Raising then the cry “Bismillah-i-Allah-o-Akbar” meaning,
‘in the name of God the great God’ he plunged into the river,
followed by his bodyguards and the troops.”
One report of Ahmad Shah's crossing of the Jamuna river the crossing

With both sides poised for battle there followed much manoeuvring, with skirmishes between the two Armies fought at Karnal and Kunjapura. In Kunjapura on the banks of the Yamuna River, sixty miles to the north of Delhi, was next stormed by the Marathas and the whole Afghan garrison was killed or enslaved Ahmad Shah encamped on the left bank of the Yamuna River, which was swollen by rains was powerless to aid the garrison. The massacre of the Kanjpura garrison, within the sight of the Durrani camp, exasperated him to such an extent that he ordered crossing of the river at all costs. The Ahmed Shah and his allies on 17 October 1760, broke up from Shahdara; marching South and between the 23rd and 25th effected a crossing at Baghpat, a small town about twenty-four miles up the river unopposed by the Marathas who were still preoccupied with the sacking of Kunjapura.

After the Marathas failed to prevent Abdali's forces crossing the Yamuna river, they set up defensive works in the ground near Panipat, thereby blocking Ahmad's access back to Afghanistan just as his forces blocked theirs to south. However in the afternoon of the 26th, Ahmad Shah's advance guard reached Sambalka, about half-way between Sonpat and Panipat, where they encountered the vanguard of the Mahrattas. A fierce skirmish ensued, in which the Afghans lost a thousand men, killed and wounded, but drove back the Mahrattas to their main body, which kept on retreating slowly for several days. This led to the partial encirclement of the Maratha army. In skirmishes that followed, Gobind Pant Bundela, with 10,000 light cavalry on a foraging mission, was surprised and slain by an Afghan force near Meerut. This in turn was followed by the loss of another 2,000 Maratha soldiers, who were delivering salaries for the soldiers from Delhi. This completed the encirclement, Ahmad Shah had cut off the Maratha Army's supply lines.

With supplies and stores dwindling, tensions also rose in the Maratha camp as the mercenaries in the Maratha army were complaining of lack of pay. Initially the Marathas then moved in almost 150 pieces of modern long-range rifled French-made artillery. With a range of several kilometres, these guns were some of the best of the times. Their plan was to lure the Afghan army to confront them while they had close artillery support.

File:Shujauddaulah.jpg

Nawab of Awadh(Oudh) Shuja ud Daulah

The Siege

During the next two months of the siege constant skirmishes and duels took place between parties and individual champions upon either side. In one of these Najib lost 3,000 of his Rohillas, and was very near killed himself. Facing a seeming stalemate the Bhau decided to seek terms, which Ahmad Shah was willing to grant depending on the agreement of his allies. However Najib Khan delayed any chance of an agreement with an appeal on both religious grounds and threw doubt into whether the Marathas would honour any agreement.

The Marathas, difficulty in securing supplies, worsened as the local population became hostile to them. As after becoming increasingly desperate for supplies, they had pillaged the surrounding areas.

While Sadashiv Bhau was still eager to make terms, a message was received insisting on going to war and promising that reinforcements were under way. Unable to continue without supplies or wait for the reinforcements any longer, the 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.

The battlefield

The battle zone was probably between Kaalaa Aamb and Sanauli Road of today. The Afghan lines probably were a few metres to the south of Sanauli road. Maratha lines began a little to the north of Kaalaa Aamb. They had thus blocked the northward path of Abdali's troops and at the same time they themselves were blocked by the latter from the south which was in the direction to Delhi, where they could get badly needed supplies.

They marched in an oblique line, with their left in front, preceded by their guns, small and great. The 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 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 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 the Hindu holy places and shrines, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Aryavarta (Aryan Land). Behind the civilians was yet another protective infantry line, of young inexperienced soldiers.

On the other side the Afghans formed a somewhat similar line, their left being formed by Najib's Rohillas, and their right by two brigades of Persian troops. Their left centre was led by the two Viziers, Shuja-ud-daulah and Ahmad Shah's Vizier Shah Wali. The right centre consisted of Rohillas, under the well-known Hafiz Rahmat and other chiefs of the Indian pathans. Pasand Khan covered the left wing with a choice body of mailed Afghan horsemen, and in this order the army moved forward, leaving the Shah at his preferred post in the centre, which was now in rear of the line, from where he could watch and direct the battle.

Battle opens

File:Ahmed Shah Durrani.png

Ahmed Shah Durrani, victor of the Third Battle of Panipat.

Before dawn, on January 14, 1761, the Maratha troops broke their fast with the last remaining grain in camp, and prepared for combat; coming from their lines with turbans dishevelled and turmeric-smeared faces. The Maratha forces emerged from the trenches, pushing the artillery into position on their pre-arranged lines, some 2 km from the Afghans. Seeing that the battle was on, Ahmad Shah positioned his 60 smoothbore 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 while Maratha artillery went over the Afghans' heads and inflicted very little damage.

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 Afghan attacks were broken by Maratha bowmen and pikemen, along with some 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 virtually in the hands of Ibrahim Khan for the next three hours.

In the second phase, the 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 amidst 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 Army's center. Despite the Bhau's success, the over-enthusiasm of the charge saw many of the half starved Maratha horses exhausted long before they had travelled the two kilometres to the Afghan lines; some simply collapsed. Making matters worse was the suffocating odour of the rotting corpses of men and animals left on the field from the fighting of the previous months.

In the final phase the Marathas, under Scindia, attacked Najib Khan (whom he had a personal enimity with). However, Najib successfully fought a defensive action keeping Scindias forces at bay. By this stage at noon it looked as though Bhau would clinch victory for the Marathas once again. The Afghan left flank still held it's own under the two; 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. But now, hearing that his right was reeling and his center was defeated, he felt that the moment was come for a final effort. In front of him the Hindu cries of Har! Har! Jai Mahadeo! were maintaining an equal and dreadful concert with those of Allah! Allah! Din! Din! from his own side.

Ahmad Shah sent his body guards to call up his reserves of 15,000 highly trained troops from his camp and arranged it as column right in front his cavalry of musketeers (Qizilbash) and swivel mounted cannons (shaturnals) on the back of camels. because of their positioning on camels they could fire an extensive salvo over the heads of their own infantry and at the Maratha cavalry, who were unable to withstand the rifled muskets and camel-mounted swivel cannons of the Afghans. Ahmad Shah had 2,000 such shaturnals. 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 body-guards with orders to arise all able-bodied men out of camp, and send them to the front at any cost. 1,500 more he sent to encounter those who were flying, and slay without pity any who would not return to the fight. These, 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 center of the field. These mailed warriors were to charge with the Vizir in close order, and at full gallop. As often as 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 Shauthurnals 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.

File:Maharaja Surajmal.jpg

Maharaja Surajmal

Sadashivrao Bhau, seeing his forward lines dwindling and civilians behind, could not move forward his young soldiers as reserves from behind and felt he had no choice but to come down from his elephant and lead the battle at the head of the troops. Some Maratha soldiers, seeing that their general had disappeared from his elephant, panicked and began to flee. Vishwasrao, the son of Prime Minister Nanasaheb, had already fallen to a shot in the head. Sadashivrao Bhau and his loyal bodyguards fought to the end, the Maratha leader having three horses shot out from under him. The Afghan cavalry charged the soldiers turning the retreat into a rout. Amidst the panic, the Maratha right flank under Holkar fled the battle scene.

The Rout & Massacre

"Suddenly the breeze of victory began to blow,
and as willed by the divine Lord,
the wretched Deccanis suffered utter defeat.."
excerpt from Ahmad Shah's letter to Madho Singh Raja of Jaipur

The Bhau's wife Parvatibai escaped the battlefield with her bodyguards, and eventually returned to Pune as did Holkar. About 40,000 Maratha civilians and soldiers were slain while many of the fleeing Maratha women jumped into the Panipat wells rather than risk rape and dishonour. Many others did their best to hide in the streets of Panipat where the locals of the town refused to give them refuge on account of the fear of now victorious afghans. Many others including the Jankoji Scindia took refuge under Shuja ud Daulah's forces.

Reasons for the outcome

The main reason for the failure of Marathas was that they went to war without good allies. Though their infantry was based on European style contingent and had some of the best French made guns of the times, they failed to acquire allies in North India. Their earlier hegemonistic behavior and their political ambitions which led them to loot and plunder, had antagonized all the other powers. They 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 huge territorial and monetary claims upon Awadh. Their raids in the Sikh territory had angered the Sikh chiefs. Similarly the Jat chiefs, on whom also they had imposed heavy fines, did not trust them. They had, therefore, to fight their enemies alone, except for the weak support of Imad -ul-Mulk. Moreover, the senior Maratha chiefs constantly bickered with one another. Each one of them had ambitions of carving out their independent states and had no interest in fighting against a common enemy.

By contrast the Afghans started the battle with many disadvantages, they were in hostile territory, outnumbered and facing a well trained, western equipped Army, that was undefeated and led by a single leader. Ahmed Shah's compensated for this by striking up alliances with former rivals like the Nawab of Audh 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 successful encirclement of the enemy Army.

Aftermath

The body of Vishwas Rao and the Bhau were recovered by the Afghans and under Ahmad Shah's personal direction were cremated according to Hindu custom

Little knowing the fate of his magnificent army, the Peshwa Balaji Rao 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.

Other Maratha generals were not so lucky, Jankoji Scindia was taken prisoner and executed at the instigation of Najib Khan. Similarly Ibrahim Khan Gardi was tortured and executed at the hands of enraged Afghan soldiers.

A minor member of the house of Scindia Madhoji managed to flee from the battlefield; he was to relate for many years later the mental agonies he endured on his light Deccan mare from the lobbing paces and roaring breath of a big Northern horse, on which he was pursued for many miles by a marauding Afghan.

The Marathas they never completely recovered from the loss at Panipat, although they remained the predominant military power in India and managed to retake Delhi barely two decades 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 benefitted significantly from not participating in the battle of Panipat. They also provided considerable assistance to the Maratha soldiers and civilians who escaped the fighting. Suraj Mal himself was killed in battle against Najib Khan. Ahmed 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 as well as the increasing restlessness of his soldiers over pay and the increasing Indian heat. Before departing he ordered the Indian chiefs through a Royal Firman (order) (including Clive of India) to recognize Shah 'Alam II as Emperor. He left Delhi two months after the battle, heading for Afghanistan with his loot of 500 elephants, 1500 camels, 50,000 horses and at least about 22,000 women and children.

Ahmed Shah also appointed Najib-ud-daulah as ostensible regent to the Mughal Emperor. In addition, Najib-ud-daulah and Munir-ud-daulah agreed to pay to the Abdali, on behalf of the Mughal King, an annual tribute of forty lacs.

This was to be Ahmed Shah's final major expedition to North India, as he became increasingly pre-occupied with the increasingly successful rebellions by the Sikhs.

After the battle of Panipat the services of the Rohillas were rewarded by the grants of Shikohabad to Nawab Faiz-ullah Khan and of Jalesar and Firozabad to Nawab Sadullah Khan. Najib Khan proved to be an effective ruler in that time; however, after his death in 1770, the Rohillas again faced the Marathas, this time without Afghan support. This eventually culminated in the East India Company's Rohilla Campaign.

Significance

The wreath of banquet overnight lay withered on the neck,
Our hands and scarfs were saffron-dyed for signal of despair,
When we went forth to Paniput to battle with the ~Mlech~,
Ere we came back from Paniput and left a kingdom there.

With Scindia to Delhi by Rudyard Kipling

The Third Battle of Panipat saw an enormous number of casulties and deaths in a single day of battle, perhaps unmatched even today in the later wars. It was the scene of uncommon valour, unwanted strategic blunders, internal bickerings, enormous brutality on both sides and remained the last major battle between two major indigenous South Asian military powers.

The battle changed the course of Indias history. The Marathi term "Sankrant Kosalali" meaing "Sankranth has befallen us" is said to have originated from the events of the battle. Many historians, including British historians of the time, have argued that had it not been for the weakening of the Maratha power at Panipat, the British might never have had a strong foothold in India.

However the strength of Afghan military prowess was to both inspire hope in many orthodox Muslims, Mughal royalists and fear in the British. The acknowledgement of Abdalis military accomplishments are reflected by British intelligence reports on the battle of Panipat, which referred to Ahmad Shah as the 'King of Kings'. Fear of an alliance between the French and Afghans led in 1798 to a British envoy, to the Persian court, being instructed to stir up the Persians against the Afghan Empire.

After Ahmad Shah Durranis passing his grandsons were invited by Tipu Sultan to come to the rescue of the Muslims of Hindustan from the growing power of the British East India Company. The battle is commemorated South of Panipat town, where the government of Haryana has erected a war memorial,marking the spot from where Sadashiv Bhau watched the battle.

See also

• Sadashivrao Bhau
• Bhopal
• Scindia
• Zamzama
• Ranjit Singh
• Rohillas
• Mahadji Shinde
• Balaji Baji Rao
• Shah Alam II

Further reading

• Panipat, Battles of. (2007). Britannica Retrieved May 24, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
• Panipat 1761 by T S Shejwalkar
• Panipat. A novel by Vishwas Patil based on the 3rd battle 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 medieval 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