Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c14.s2.20

v1.c14.s2.20

At three hours after sunrise, on the 13th of September 1750, the wazir's army advanced upon the enemy in the usual formation. The four miles of ground separating the two camps were covered in about two hours and then followed an exchange of gunfire, in which Safdar Jang had a marked superiority of weight of metal. Next his right wing under Suraj Mal Jat and his left under Ismail Beg Khan attacked the Afghāns opposite them with vigour. The fighting here was long and obstinate; the Afghāns resisted to the utmost, and it was only after six thousand of them had fallen, including their commander Rustam Khan Afridi, that the two divisions gave way and were pursued for miles by Ismail Beg and Suraj Mal. Safdar Jang, ignorant or scornful of Afghān war tactics, very unwisely sent up cannon, swivels and rockets with more troops from his side to strengthen the pursuers, as if the entire enemy army had been defeated and it only remained to follow up the victory to the utmost.* The result was that his army became broken up into two parts, separated beyond call, while he the commander-in-chief stood in the field with only a small escort and no artillery around him, and half the Afghan army still unbroken and facing him. The battle had to be fought and won yet.