Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c7.s5: § 5. Military value of the Ruhela army; Ruhela character
Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c7.s5
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§ 5. Military value of the Ruhela army; Ruhela character
v1.c7.s5.1
It was a force formidable in number, but it was rendered still more formidable by its military organization and the racial character of the men. As an eye-witness of the campaign against Ali Muhammad in 1745 writes in his diary, "Every soldier in his army, whether horse or foot, carries a musket; every commander of ten or a hundred infantry has his own small banner of parti-coloured cloth, and these are carried at the head of the cavalcade in marching, so that it looks as if a flower garden is travelling with them." (Anandrām, 261.)
v1.c7.s5.2
A revolution had taken place in the method of Indian warfare since the beginning of the 18th century. In the wars of Aurangzib's heirs artillery had been the decisive factor. The old tumultuous rush of a horde of Rajput desperadoes or regular charge by the heavy armour-clad Mughal cavalry, which formerly used to sweep away every obstacle from before them, was now a thing of the past; its military value was gone except in very rare and accidental combinations of favourable circumstances. Then musketry made a rapid advance. Nādir Shāh's success showed the irresistible power of mobile musketry, —whether matchlocks in the hands of mounted men or long pieces (swivels) carried on camels. Alivardi Khān's campaigns also demonstrated the value of musketry fire when properly directed. Even swift-rushing infantry, called *barqāndāzes*, firing their pieces and acting in concert, had proved victorious over superior bodies of extremely light cavalry armed with the old sword and lance.
v1.c7.s5.3
This fact came to dominate the history of India fully in the middle of the 18th century, and it gave a peculiar importance to the Afghān race by reason of their special aptitude for this kind of warfare.
v1.c7.s5.4
The Afghān soldiers even then displayed the qualities which have distinguished them later in Anglo-Indian warfare.* They were cool, accurate shots, expert in taking every advantage of the ground, clever in executing night attacks and ambuscades, extremely mobile on foot, and yet capable of acting in concert and of controlling their fire at the direction of leaders. Their well-regulated volleys, delivered at the right moment, had an electric effect in shaking their enemies' nerves and deciding battles by one stroke. The Afghan clan-system turned their manhood into naturally disciplined war-bands, acting in cohesion and in submission to a single higher command, without any thought of self. No mercenary or conscript army could match such fighters, as Macaulay has illustrated in the parallel case of the Scottish Highlanders. Their fire-control, disciplined ardour of fight, and active working of the individual soldier’s intelligence were unrivalled in India in that age no less than now.
v1.c7.s5.5
∗ Sir Colin Campbell observed in the course of the N. W. Frontier campaign of 1852, "Swarms rushed forward, taking advantage of every accident of ground, which shows that few equal them in individual action in a broken country." (Life, i, 278.)
v1.c7.s5.6
Above the feud between clan and clan among the Afghāns rises the consciousness of the oneness of their race. They have united to oppose a common enemy more often and more effectively than the Rājputs are known in their long history to have done. An appeal to their general racial interest calls forth their co-operation most easily and speedily. They honour their women, and when a chieftain’s wife sent her veil round among the tribesmen in an appeal for the defence of her distressed husband or son, no Afghān was so unchivalrous as to shrink from taking up arms on her behalf. In addition, they were simple and hardy and not toned down by luxury like the Persians and Turks settled on the fertile soil of India, or ruined by addiction to drugs like the latter-day Rājputs.
v1.c7.s5.7
The defect of the Afghān tribal levies was that they were unable to plan and conduct any long campaign and make the arrangements necessary for it. Away from the stricken field they were no better than brigands. Their failure in diplomacy and constructive statesmanship has always prevented them from confirming and extending the gains of their arms. This political weakness nullified their martial value in the long run. Hence, the Afghāns have always been tough opponents, but never empire-builders.