Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s15.2

v2.c27.s15.2

Ahmad Abdali was only a lesser Nādir; less of an original genius, working in a narrower field and achieving less brilliant success than his master, no doubt, but still the only Asiatic of that age who could be at all compared to Nādir in capacity and spirit, and certainly no unworthy heir to his empire and tradition. The strict enforcement of order in camp and battle-field, the rigid punishment of the least disobedience in any subordinate, the control of every officer's movements according to the plan of the supreme chief, the proper gradation of officers forming an unbroken chain between the generalissimo and the common soldier, the regular transmission of his orders by an efficient staff organization, and above all the fire control of the troops,—which distinguished Ahmad Shah's army were unapproached by any other Asiatic force of that age. Above all these was the transcendent genius for war and diplomacy and the towering personality of the master—who had risen like Nādir from nothing and attained to almost the same pre-eminence of fortune and invincibility in war.