The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c4.14

c4.14

In their choice of weapons no evolution is perceptible but there was accretion. The same remark is applicable to their tactics. When they began to adopt the new tactics with which they had become familiar in their warfare against the Europeans, they did not reject their traditional system of fighting. The two methods were found in practice to be irreconcilable but they persisted in their useless efforts at hybridization in a way that inevitably led to disaster. The Maratha chiefs with their old cavalry force clung to the traditional ways without in any way improving them, while the new battalions consisted of foreign mercenaries commanded by foreign officers of doubtful character, diverse nationality and very little knowledge of their profession. Such an army had of course no chance against their English opponents.