Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s3.20

v2.c27.s3.20

From Ambālā the Maratha position at Kunjpurā was only 48 miles south south-east, and the first encounter with the enemy could not be delayed beyond four days. Dattājī immediately divided his army into two bodies; he kept with himself one corps of 25,000 chosen and dependable troops, under noted and well-mounted officers, all lightly equipped, without tent or heavy baggage. The second corps was placed under Jankoji as a support twenty miles to the rear with the artillery and Imād and his contingent, while the camps of the wazir and the Maratha generals were stationed still further behind for safety. Govind Ballāl, who had been given leave for Etāwa at the end of November and then detained in the upper Doāb with the main army, accompanied Jankoji, crossed at Kunjpurā on 22 December, and was charged with the duty of conducting the camp baggage and families back to the South in the case of a disaster in the field.