Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c49.2

v4.c49.2

In the battle of Patan, De Boigne's brigade, after carrying the line of enemy guns in the centre by storm and putting the Rajput army in that sector to the rout, did not halt to secure the guns, but swept on to crush the enemy wings on their right and left, and after the victory had been completed returned to their camp at night. Holkar's cavalry, which had done nothing in their sector, came upon the guns after the brigade had left, and finding them unguarded, claimed them with shouts of ignorant exultation as the spoil of their own arms. Next day, when they tried to drag these guns away to their own camp, De Boigne's sepoys sent to them to say that if they did not wish to be thrashed, they must not touch the guns which the brigade had really won. Holkar's men gave up the guns in anger and humiliation. This was their first grievance, an example of Sindhia's failure to divide the gains of war in exactly equal proportion with Holkar.