History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c29.49

v2.c29.49

Mir Jumla's army was a purely land force. He had not brought a single boat with himself, nor could he get any in Bengal, as Shuja had anticipated him by seizing and sinking all the private boats in this part of the country. For want of water-transport Mir Jumla was confined to the western bank, unable to cross over and attack the enemy, or advance on Dacca, as many rivers intersected his path. Shuja, on the other hand, could mount his guns and men on his boats and employ this extremely mobile force anywhere he pleased along the entire Mughal line from Rajmahal to Suti. But he was too weak in troops to take the offensive against an enemy so over-whelmingly superior on land. The Bengali nursery tale of the duel between the alligator and the tiger aptly typifies this stage of the war.