Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s17.28

v2.c27.s17.28

An hour before the morning of 14th January, 1761, the Maratha army set out from its camp to the field of doom. Each division marched "step by step behind its banner with the regularity and order of the parade ground" and took up its appointed position. After three hours of movement, "in the processional manner which was then the only one known," the line of battle was fully formed. Then both sides halted for about an hour, as if by mutual consent, to let the dust settle down and make the opposing army visible. The Afghan line of battle extended seven miles in length and two in depth. It overlapped the Maratha line on the right and the left alike by about half a mile each way, as the invader had a numerical superiority of 15,000 men (i. e., 60,000 against 45,000), and his extreme right and left wings were bent inwards like the horns of a crescent, so as to outflank and threaten the two ends of the Maratha line.