The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c27.7

c27.7

The death or disappearance of the general-in-chief always decided the battle. Outside Lāhor, when prince ‘Aẓīm-ush-shān’s elephant ran off and drowned him in the Rāvi, his army dispersed and his treasure was plundered. Again, when Jahāndār Shāh fled from the battle-field at Āgrah, the day was lost, although Zūlfiqār Khān’s division was intact. Of treacherous defection in the field the examples would be endless. The luke-warmness of Indian troops serving with allies was shown many a time in our earlier campaigns; for instance, in Rohilkhand in 1774, where Shujā‘-ud-Daulah allowed us to do all the work, and in the Dakhin in 1792, when the Ḥaidarābād and Mahratta troops proved more of a hindrance than a help to their English allies. In 1803 the Niẓām’s horse were useless, and in the campaign of 1817 the conduct of the irregular horse was contemptible. As an auxiliary force they were hurtful in consuming forage and provisions, for which they made no return (Blacker, 348).