Previously we have covered 2 battles of Panipat,
but the third battle that happened here was as decisive and important for the history
of India. As the winner of the first 2 battles of Panipat,
the Mughal empire, was slowly weakening due to constant internal strife and external incursions,
new powers were rising in the region. 2 of them – the Afghan Durrani and the Indian
Maratha Empires - would meet at the height of their power at Panipat in 1761. By that point, you probably have watched everything
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or the link in the description! Don’t forget to use the coupon code KingsAndGenerals! The Mughal Empire reached its zenith during
the rule of Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad, better known as Aurangzeb, in the late 17th and early 18th
centuries. Under his rule, the Empire expanded greatly,
encompassing almost the entirety of the Indian Subcontinent. The economy also flourished at the time, with
the Mughals overtaking Qing China as the world’s largest manufacturer and economy. His rule, however, wasn’t without problems–
the Empire was overextended, and many of his reforms, as well as the executions of the
Maratha King Sambhaji and a Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur, led to widespread dissent among the
general population and the nobility alike. In 1707, Aurangzeb was succeeded by his son,
Bahadur Shah I. The new padishah tried to resolve the Empire’s
mounting problems, but he proved to be far less capable than his father. The decline of the Mughal Empire was only
exacerbated after his death in 1712, as almost a decade of succession crises ensued, sending
the once prosperous Empire towards a perpetual state of decline. In 1719, also known as the year of four emperors,
Muhammad Shah captured the throne, ending the succession crisis. His lengthy reign did not bring stability
though, and the Empire continued disintegrating. Muhammad Shah, although initially showing
great potential, was uninterested in ruling. Due to his inactivity, parts of the Empire
gained significant autonomy or became functionally independent. By 1724, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah
I, had defeated two Mughal armies and made his realm independent in all but name. In 1726, Punjab became de facto independent,
Awadh followed the same course, and Bengal also slipped away from Mughal control. As always, where one Empire falls, another
begins its rise – the realm which would profit the most from Mughal decline was the
Maratha state. After Muhammad Shah’s ascension to the throne,
the Marathas slowly began expanding and capturing Mughal forts in the Deccan. Under one of their most energetic leaders,
Baji Rao I, during the next few decades, the Marathas expanded greatly at the Mughals’
expense. In the early 1720s, Maratha armies invaded
Gujarat and subjugated parts of it, though their hold on the area would remain weak. Disputes with Hyderabad over the right to
collect tribute in the Carnatic region led to war as well. The Maratha armies defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk’s
forces at Palkhed in 1728 and he was forced to pay tribute and acknowledge Maratha right
to collect tribute in the disputed areas. The implications of this battle were far more
important than the immediate results. Baji Rao defeated the best equipped Mughal
army, led by their best general, proving the superiority of Maratha forces. The knowledge learned from Palkhed also made
the conquest of Malwa relatively easy after that point. The Marathas spent most of the 1730s involved
in minor campaigns and consolidating their newfound power. The only larger campaign, in 1737, was indecisive,
even though Baji Rao attacked Delhi and held the Emperor for ransom. Seeing no other choice, Muhammad Shah called
Nizam-ul-Mulk to his aid. Once again, the Maratha forces proved superior
and they decisively defeated a Mughal army at Bhopal, forcing the Emperor to pay a large
tribute and acknowledge Maratha control over Malwa. Bad fortune rarely comes alone, and the 1730s
also saw the rise of one of the most powerful rulers in Persian history – Nader Shah Afshar. After consolidating his realm , the shah,
who has been called Iranian Napoleon, and who saw himself as the successor of Tamerlane
and Genghis Khan, began eyeing the riches of India. He used the pretext of his Afghan enemies
of the Hotak dynasty taking refuge in India to invade the militarily weak but still extremely
wealthy empire . In a lightning campaign, Nader Shah captured much of the Indus valley
and Afghanistan , and advanced towards Delhi, prompting Muhammad Shah to raise a massive
army in response. At the battle of Karnal, in 1739, Nader Shah
decisively defeated a numerically superior Mughal army and captured the Mughal Emperor
as well. A prominent commander in the Iranian army
during the invasion of India was one Ahmad Shah Abdali, a young nobleman of Pashto origin. As he was one of Nader Shah’s personal attendants,
and followed him during the occupation of Delhi. During the following period, the Marathas
would continue their aggressive expansionism. Successful campaigns in the South and East
by Raghoji Bhonsle expanded Maratha influence in those regions, most notably the Carnatic
. Bhonsle would not be satisfied with his victories and would also capture Nagpur and
establish his own dynasty there. A bold and decisive leader, Bhonsle saw the
troubles of other states as possibilities for his own expansion. He invaded Bengal twice and had conquered
Orissa by 1755, including the prosperous city of Cuttack. The new Chief minister - Peshwa of the Maratha
Empire, Balaji Bajirao - was not inactive either. He crushed a rebellion by a disloyal Gujarati
clan. He also invaded Hyderabad after a succession
crisis erupted following the Nizam’s death , unsuccessfully however. Balaji Bajirao fared much better in the North
though, pushing the border closer and closer to Delhi as the years passed. Also, by interfering in a succession crisis
in Rajasthan, he managed to stabilize Maratha influence over that area as well. As Nader Shah’s assassination in 1748 created
a power vacuum in Persia, the now experienced Ahmad Shah Abdali used this chance to take
his army into Afghanistan and establish his own independent Kingdom there. In the same year, Abdali, who now called himself
Durrani, coveting the riches of India and seeking to expand, invaded the Mughal Empire
and plundered the prosperous city of Lahore. In the next decade, the Afghans successfully
invaded India three times. In those campaigns, Durrani conquered the
Indus valley down to Sindh and all of Punjab too. He also ravaged Delhi and many other prosperous
regions within the Mughal Empire, allegedly even taking some Mughal princesses as slaves. While these events were happening in the heartland
of India, European powers were gaining more of a foothold on the subcontinent, especially
its coastal regions, with the British benefitting the most, especially in the aftermath of the
battle of Plassey in 1757 against the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah. The Marathas continued their expansion during
much of the 1750s, with most of Northern India falling under their control. This brought them into conflict with the Rohillas
, and later their allies, the Afghans. The Marathas launched an incursion into Punjab
in 1759, however, this coincided with a Sikh revolt so they retreated later that year. In 1759, the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire
removed Emperor Alamgir from the throne and replaced him with the much more easily controllable
Jahan Shah III. Alamgir, wishing to recapture his throne,
wrote a letter to Ahmad Shah and asked him for protection and to drive back the Marathas. With the Marathas away from Delhi, Durrani
marched southwards and laid siege to various forts in Rajasthan. Simultaneously, Durrani’s envoys were actively
engaged in securing allies for the upcoming battles with the Marathas. The most important of these was the Oudh State
in Lucknow. The Maratha and Durrani leaders tried to make
peace for months, however, both sides were unwilling to make any concessions. This was only worsened after the proud and
stubborn leader of the Maratha forces, Sadashiv Rao, captured Delhi in the summer of 1760. The monsoon season was hard on the large Maratha
army – many of their horses and men died due to disease and they were running out of
funds. With his men starving, Sadashiv Rao decided
to capture the well-provisioned fort of Kunjpura, some 100km north of Delhi. The fort was taken relatively easily and the
Afghan commanders were executed. Afterwards, Sadashiv Rao moved his army to
Panipat and fortified his position there. Durrani did not have it any better either
– he was virtually unable to communicate with the heartland of his Empire, Afghanistan,
because the Sikhs held Punjab. In addition, his army was also starving as
foraging devastated the surrounding areas. Enraged after hearing of the brutal way in
which the Marathas took Kunjpura, Ahmad Shah sent scouts to find a suitable crossing point
over the overflowing Jamuna river. On the 27th of October, Afghan forces crossed
the river and on the 31st Durrani arrived at Sambhalka. Finally, the two commanders were face to face. In order to properly assess the size of the
Maratha army and their military tactics, Ahmad Shah ordered his army to dig trenches and
fortify their position. As the Marathas were under the impression
that Durrani’s forces were in horrible condition, they were surprised to find them in that strong
a defensive position. During the following two months, both armies
skirmished often and exchanged artillery fire, however, no significant progress was made. Seeing the damage that the hit and run tactics
of the Maratha light cavalry could cause, the Shah placed 5000 heavy Afghan cavalry
close to the Maratha camp each night and had another force patrol the outskirts of the
Maratha camp. In an effort to dislodge the Marathas, a Rohilla
commander also captured the grain stores of Kunjpura in December of 1760. During mid-December, the Marathas sent raiding
parties from an outpost near Delhi into Rohilla lands, trying to provoke unrest and desertions
among those troops. The raiders were also defeated by the Afghans
and the outpost was captured, with significant amounts of food and other supplies being taken
in the process. These failures, along with the vigilant night
patrols of the Shah, which cut off Maratha supply lines on all sides, made Sadashiv Rao
realize the gravity of his situation. He offered generous peace terms to the Afghans,
however Ahmad Shah declined. As conditions in the Maratha camp became unbearable,
officers petitioned the high command to go and fight an open battle rather than starve
to death. Left with no choice, he agreed to fight. Although the numbers of both forces are often
interpreted as massive, this is most likely a misconception due to the fact that there
were many non-combatants on both sides. The Afghan forces are generally considered
to be around 60000 strong, with a large part of those forces being from the Oudh and Rohilla
states. The Marathas, on the other hand, had around
45000 troops. The Shah’s own troops numbered around 42000,
with 28000 heavy Afghan cavalry, 10000 infantry, 40 cannons and 200 camel-mounted swivel guns. Shuja-ud Dawla, from the Oudh state, had around
3000 men with him, with similar numbers of infantry and cavalry. He also brought 20 guns. Najib-ud Dawla of the Rohilla state had about
15000 men under his command, with roughly a third of them being cavalry. The Shah placed his elite Afghan heavy cavalry
in the center and on the extremes of the flanks, and the forces of his allies were placed between
them. This move was not just a battle tactic, but
was also meant partially to prevent his Indian allies from fleeing the field of battle in
case it didn’t go well. His center stretched between the villages
of Risalu and Ujah and was led by Shah Vali Khan. Besides the 15000 elite Afghan heavy cavalry,
Vali Khan also had a significant amount of camel-mounted artillery with him and 1000
Afghan infantry. The Afghan left was placed on the plains between
Risalu and Siwah and it was led by Najib-ud Dawla, who commanded 5000 elite cavalry and
15000 footmen, including a large number of dismounted cavalry. The Durrani right was led by a multitude of
commanders and stretched from Chajpur Khurd to Ujah. It consisted of 10000 footmen and around 7000
horsemen, out of which 3000 were elite heavy cavalry. Ahmad Shah stayed behind the battle lines
with the rest of his troops, so that he could observe the battle and send aid where it was
needed. The Maratha numbers added up to 45000, with
the vast majority of the army consisting of cavalry and some 8000 elite musketeers under
Ibrahim Gardi . Sadashiv Rao made sure to isolate the unpopular Gardi infantry and placed
them on the extreme left. The Gardi infantry had most of the heavy artillery
with them, while the light artillery was mixed between the right and center. Sadashiv Rao, led the center. The cavalry on the left was commanded by Damaji
Gaikwar, while the right was led by Malhar Rao Holkar. The battle began on the morning of the 14th
of January 1761 with artillery volleys from both sides. Following the cannonade, Gardi ordered his
heavy artillery to fire directly on the Afghan right, however, the cannons were not precise
and minimal damage was done. Seeing that, he ordered his musketeers to
advance and fire on the enemies. The Rohillas on the Afghan right suffered
significant casualties, however, their counter-fire killed many Gardis and forced them to retreat
behind their artillery. Gaikwar attacked the cavalry on the Afghan
right as well, however, he was driven back, with only Gardi musket volleys saving his
units from a complete rout. Simultaneously, the centers of the two armies
started fighting as well, with artillery barrages being exchanged. The Maratha artillery was effective, however,
the lighter camel-mounted swivels of the Afghans dealt many more casualties and even disabled
some of the Maratha guns. All of a sudden, the Maratha cannons stopped
firing and a loud war cry was heard, signaling a massive charge of the elite Maratha cavalry. The momentum of their charge was overpowering
and they almost broke through the Afghan lines. The Maratha offensive in the center caused
confusion within the Afghan forces, with only the commander’s guard holding their ground. Nevertheless, the light Maratha cavalry was
not able to maintain their momentum for long and the fighting drew to a stalemate. Ahmad Shah observed the battle from 2km away
and kept regular lines of communication between the battlefield commanders and himself. Having learned of the casualties sustained
on the right and of the center almost crumbling, he sent around 3000 men from his reserve to
aid the Rohillas and another 4000 to reinforce Vali Khan. This proved to be the crucial point of the
battle, as Sadashiv Rao neither had any reserves nor did he keep any contact with his commanders. Najib-ud Daula, a clever commander himself,
ordered most of his cavalry to dismount and his artillery core to fire lasting barrages
at the enemy lines. These barrages were not meant to do any damage
but to provide cover for his footmen as they advanced. Every 400m, his infantry erected small walls
of sand and soil to hide behind as their artillery prepared for a new barrage. By 1pm, Najib-ud Daula’s forces were 1km
away from their counterparts. This was an ingenious move for several reasons
– their proximity to the Maratha right caused fear among their troops and it inhibited them
from aiding the other flanks. Around 1pm, as soon as the reinforcements
reached the battle lines, the momentum of the battle started to shift. Ahmad Shah ordered all of his commanders to
start a massive offensive against the Maratha forces. Shah Vali Khan started putting pressure on
the Maratha center with his fresh troops, however, the Maratha forces held their ground. Ahmad Shah finally sent 2000 of his elite
heavy cavalry to attack the Maratha center from all sides. This, along with the constant fire from the
camel-mounted artillery, caused many casualties. In spite of this, Sadashiv Rao led three counter
charges, which though unsuccessful, killed many Afghan soldiers. Meanwhile, the Afghan right almost completely
destroyed the Gardi infantry on the Maratha left and captured Gardi himself too. The Maratha cavalry on that side also began
retreating in panic. On the other flank, musket fire from the Afghan
forces drew a wedge between two parts of the Maratha line, which made their advance easier. Surrounded and under constant fire from all
sides, all semblance of order broke down in the Maratha center. Sadashiv Rao, though wounded three times,
fought bravely before he, too, was killed. This was the final nail in the coffin for
the Marathas, as the rest of their forces were subsequently slaughtered or routed. The Afghan forces chased the fleeing Marathas,
and slaughtered many during the retreat. Accounts regarding the number of casualties
vary depending on the sources, though modern estimates agree that the Maratha losses were
around 30000. Over 20000 of the non-combatants were enslaved,
and the Afghans also took 700 elephants and thousands of horses and camels. The Afghans lost between 10000 and 20000 men,
most of whom were from the Rohilla or Oudh state. As both sides were exhausted by war, the peace
treaty was fairly mild. The Marathas lost control over parts of Northern
India and had to recognize Alam II as Mughal Emperor, but besides that, not much changed. Though Durrani won, his position was not enviable
either, as he was unable to follow up on this victory and quickly retreated to Afghanistan. In the following decades, the Afghans and
Rohillas struggled with the Sikhs in Punjab and failed to capitalize on their new position. In contrast, the Marathas under Madhav Rao
began a revival and expanded their influence once again over the North. In the end, this did not last either. Decentralization and infighting among Maratha
nobles severely weakened the Empire in the decades after Madhav Rao’s untimely death
and the Maratha Empire, as well as Indian independence, met their ends at the hands
of the British in 1818 , ushering in a new age for India. We have more videos on the history of India
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