War in Ancient India c9.s1.t1.10

c9.s1.t1.10

How an army marched with its different units is described in detail in the *Agnipurāṇa*.¹³ First came the vanguard forces with their leader known as the Nāyaka. The purpose of an advance guard was to gather intelligence as regards the movements of the enemy. European History furnishes us with examples of generals who used and sometimes did not use this section of the army. Its use depended on the size of the army. Generals like Napoleon who took forces numerically strong made use of these, while those like Frederick the Great who commanded smaller numbers, did not find much use for it. In the middle of the line, besides the treasury and the women, were the king riding on a chariot or an elephant and also the front ranks of the army composed of picked men, well trained in all branches of warfare. The less brave and the less trained were placed behind in the rear. The flanks of the army in march were protected by horsemen, charioteers and elephant-men in successive order, so that they would not be attacked from the sides. And beyond the elephants marched the forest tribes recruited for the campaign. In the rear went the Commander-in-Chief. Whenever the troops retired for rest, sentinels and scouts were posted as picket guards in different directions to raise alarm at any surprise attack by the enemy.