Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c55.s10.11

v4.c55.s10.11

In September he made a predatory incursion into Bikāner territory, stormed the fortified city of Jaitpur and plundered the places on the way. The Raja Surat Singh bought him off by paying one lakh. With these resources he trebled his original force of two battalions of infantry and 1,000 horse, and added more pieces of cannon. His power was feared and his aid courted by the great potentates in the neighbourhood. George Thomas's greatest asset was his character as a bold determined fighter and a born leader of men. But he lived solely by plunder and his resources in men and money* were too poor for any substantial or enduring conquest. In fact, his power and achievement have been greatly exaggerated by his European biographers. Even against the Sikhs, he was invincible only when opposed by their small disunited bands, because they had nothing to oppose to his artillery. But when a national danger drew most of the Sikh sardārs together, Thomas found himself speedily enveloped by their hordes and was starved into a hurried retreat. Against a disciplined opponent he could make no stand. But in one respect George Thomas stands conspicuously apart from the other European military adventurers in India. In the independent career of his last four years, he cut himself off from every civilized base—such as the English and French condottieri captains had in India. He worked in isolation with only one other European (Morris)* in his corps. Hence, the whole fabric of his army and "kingdom" rested solely on his personality. We must admit, though, that that personality was worthy of the age of the Spanish Conquistadores of the New World.