Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s16.13

v2.c27.s16.13

The first regular battle was precipitated on 7th December by a sudden outburst of Ruhela daring unauthorized by Ahmad Shah and without any concerted plan. That day, the Marathas, as was their wont, had dragged some of their guns to a position in the plain a rocket's flight in front of their trenches and fired them at the Afghans, who replied with some distant and equally fruitless shots. About an hour and a half before sunset, when the Marathas had just limbered up their guns and set out on return to camp, Najib's Ruhelas, harangued by his brother Sultān Khan, sallied out in a body of 1,000 horse and 5,000 foot and fell upon the retiring Marathas. The sharp and repeated fire of the Ruhela infantry—who were famous for their marksmanship, routed the cavalry guard of the guns, armed with sword and spear. The assailants reached the very edge of the Maratha trenches on the heels of the fugitives. But the alarm had spread to the entire army of the Bhau, and there was a rush from all sides to the defence of the threatened sector (the centre of the southern face.) The handful of Ruhela cavalry soon fled away before the thousands of Maratha light horse ; but their foot-soldiers, driving away the Maratha supports by their deadly musket-fire and profiting by the intense darkness of that night of lunar conjunction, penetrated inside the trenches. A party of the victors climbed upon the deserted Maratha guns and beat their small drums in wild exultation. The thrust reached almost up to the market-square of the Maratha camp. But now the Gārdi musketeers were turned upon them under the personal lead of Ibrahim Khan and Balawant Rao Méhéndélé; over three thousand of the Ruhela infantry fell in the field, and the remnant retreated to their own lines, mostly wounded but still beating their drums and dancing wildly in scorn of the foe! The Maratha army was saved, but at a heavy price, for Méhéndélé, the sole lieutenant of the Bhāu, fell down from his horse with a bullet in his chest while trying to stem the flight of his men by galloping up to the exposed front line during the first Afghan onrush. The Ruhelas crowded upon the fallen general; one slashed at his face; another began to sever his head in order to carry it away in triumph. But half a dozen Maratha horsemen galloped up to the spot and rescued their chief’s body from mutilation, though with the neck half cut through. The engagement ceased about three hours after nightfall. The Maratha casualties in slain and wounded were under one thousand, but the loss of Méhéndélé was irreparable. “We fought well, but owing to Balawant’s fall the enemy became triumphant.” [Nana Fadnis in Raj. i. 272 n.]