Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c51.s3.1

v4.c51.s3.1

In the 17th century, the guerilla tactics of the Maratha light horse had stopped the advance of the heavy Mughal cavalry, encumbered with clumsy artillery and unwieldy camps. But their descendants at the end of the next century could make no stand against De Boigne’s brigades marching in a compact hollow column with musketeers guarding the four faces and portable guns firing grape-shot at each corner. Similarly, none could stop Lord Lake, when he marched in a column of three hundred thousand men, of whom only one-tenth were combatants, because of the vigilant fire-protection on each flank. Such modern armies could be rendered immobile only by the fear of starvation; but stores accumulated in fortified posts on the way and well-escorted food convoys, averted that risk. And the predatory horse of the Deccan was itself liable to night attacks by picked detachments from the European campoo with devastating effect. Thus, Bussy ignominiously routed the Peshwā Bālāji Bāji Rao by a surprise night attack during a lunar eclipse (21 Nov. 1751), Lake surprised and narrowly missed capturing the famous Jaswant Rao Holkar himself at Farrukhābād (on 17th Nov., 1804). Even the unfortunate Col. Monson had dealt one such smashing blow on his pursuer Jaswant Rao Holkar in the night of 21 July 1804 which thoroughly frightened the Holkar army for many days after. [Mohan S. f. 136.]