Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c34.s10: § 15. Battle of Purana Qila
Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c34.s10
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§ 15. Battle of Purana Qila
v3.c34.s10.1
Both sides fixed upon this date for a pitched battle. It was the first conflict in Hindustan in which European-trained and European-led sepoys and artillery were employed on the Emperor's side, but superior generalship, even more than superior numbers, decided the issue against him, for no fault of the Europeans. Early in the morning the imperialists marched out of the city and drew up their ranks facing the south a cannon shot beyond the Old Fort, their left flank resting on the Jamuna and their right on some ruined fortifications (Firuzabad.) "The corn-fields, surrounded by high hedges, served as so many entrenchments. . . It was a very advantageous position, allowing of a vigorous defence," as Madec noted. But all these advantages were lost through the inexperience of the imperial forces and the absence of unity of command on their side. Their first line was composed of the Mughalia cavalry under Qalich Beg Khan, “drawn up in platoons according to the terrain”, on the right. Next, to the east, stood Madec with his three battalions of sepoys and eight guns. The extreme left was formed by two battalions of English sepoys under Gangārām and Bhawāni Singh commandants with four pieces of artillery. In the second line, behind a row of imperial guns, stood Mirzā Najaf with his personal contingent, all on foot. Far away in the rear, close to the river bank at the south-eastern corner of the New City, Ghāziuddin Khan’s mansion was occupied by the reserve under Hisām, who had entrenched the plain below the Blue Bastion and ranged 30 heavy pieces of artillery there.
v3.c34.s10.2
∗ DC. Madec's Mémoire. Ibrat. i. 214-217. Muna Lal 135-138 G. Ali iii. 4-6. Miskin, 283. Battle,—CPC. iv. 122, 138 DC. Miskin 284. G. Ali, iii. 7-12. Muna Lal, 138-140. Ibrat. i. 217-218. Madec (best).
v3.c34.s10.3
The battle began with the usual exchange of gun fire, in which two powder chests on the imperial side exploded, killing some 400 men. Then the Marathas came on to the fight. As they advanced, they quickened their pace and menaced the Mughalia cavalry (the extreme right of the defence.) These men were shaken even before being assailed. The Marathas had now halted to receive the expected charge of their enemy, but on seeing the wavering in the Mughal ranks they promptly seized the opportunity and themselves charged. The Mughal cavalry was heavily outnumbered (about five to one), and being unaided by any momentum of attack, at once broke and fled. On their heels, one compact division of the Maratha horse passed with lightning speed behind the imperial battle line and galloped towards the city.
v3.c34.s10.4
At the same time, the Maratha right wing advanced against the imperial left. "These *paltans*, through ignorance and mismanagement, fired off their muskets while the Maratha horse were still beyond range, and before they could reload the enemy were upon them, trampling and cutting them down. The remnant of these sepoys made a right turn and came to rest upon Madec's division." Thus the imperial left, like the right, dissolved away at the first impact.
v3.c34.s10.5
The battle now gathered round the centre. Here Madec had been attacked in front and rear and completely enveloped. He had formed his men into a square in the nick of the time, thanks to the energy and alertness of his second in command Mons. de Kerascao; but in effecting this change of formation he had to give some ground and abandon three pieces of cannon and two munition carts. By a judicious fire on all the four faces he succeeded in keeping the enemy back. Mirzā Najaf himself had been caught at a disadvantage and broken. The Maratha centre, disregarding the fire of the wretched imperial artillery, had swept through his line of guns, routed Najaf's followers, and forced him with a handful of his personal guards to take refuge in Madec's square. Early in the day his nephew Mirza Ahsan had been mortally wounded by a cannon-ball.
v3.c34.s10.6
And now the French square alone stood in the field like a solitary island in the midst of a raging sea of horseman. But it was an island built on granite. From noon up to three hours of the night, Madec held his position, keeping the enemy at a distance and preventing them from dragging his three guns away. In the meantime, the Maratha left wing, pursuing and slaying the fugitive Mughal horse, had reached the gates of Delhi and looted Madec’s camp and baggage resting under its walls. As he writes, “I lost five elephants, all my horses, camels, tents, carriages and quantities of other effects. The royal favourite Hisām, who held the neighbouring ramparts with his heavy artillery, did not advance one step either to reinforce Najaf Khan in the field or even to save my camp close in front of him.” He was openly accused of firing blank charges in order to complete the ruin of his rival Najaf, and his soldiers were seen joining the Marathas in the pillage of Madec’s unguarded camp. Shortly after this, Hisām fled into the city with his troops, abandoning his trenches.
v3.c34.s10.7
The Maratha horse then entered Ghāzi-ud-din’s mansion and ransacked it thoroughly. Here the rich trader Karim Khan had deposited his merchandise worth lakhs of Rupees, some elephants, and 30 to 40 horses for safety, but all these were plundered. Close to the Delhi Gate of the capital, the raiders seized two elephants of the Emperor himself. By way of the now defenceless eastern side of the city, close to the river bank, the Marathas even penetrated within the walls and dispersed for plunder through Sadullah Khan’s market square. Here they were attacked and driven out by Sayyid Muhammad Khan Baluch (the brother of Musavi Khan.) Once again the incurable predatory instinct of the Marathas and the lack of true generalship among their chiefs robbed them of the all but conquered imperial capital.
v3.c34.s10.8
Three hours after sunset the remnant of the imperial army, sheltered by Madec’s carefully led square, returned to the city. There were loud charges of treachery made against Hisām, but the Emperor lacked the spirit for punishing the traitor. He merely rewarded the gallant fighters, embracing M. Madec and Najaf Khan and robing them with his own shawls &c.
v3.c34.s10.9
It was reported that in this battle the Marathas had lost 17 sardars slain and 12 wounded, and three thousand men had fallen on the two sides together. But it was decisive. Though the imperialists manned the trenches and exchanged a distant fire with the enemy for a few days after it, they no longer ventured out into the open. The Pindharis set fire to Patparganj and Jaisinghpura. Madec, when sitting on the edge of his trenches among the ruins of Old Delhi, was wounded by a bullet in the thigh. All his equipment and property had been lost and his force terribly cut up in the battle of the 17th.*