The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c5.65

c5.65

On their march the Maratha army of Shivaji’s day was not encumbered with much baggage or equipment. Their arms were of the simplest and most primitive kind. Field-artillery they had none; and the elaborate and comfortable camp equipage of their Mughal adversaries they did not require. The men wore a turban, a simple jacket and tight fitting trousers; their officers were better protected with a helmet and an armour of chain or more frequently with thick padded coats of quilted cotton. In their saddle bag they carried with ease the scanty provision on which they and their mounts could subsist for days. In his second expedition to Surat Shivaji had no tent with him and the Dutch spy found him sitting on the ground.⁵ In his longer and more elaborately organised Karnatak expedition he had only two small tents, one for himself and the other for his minister, as we learn from Martin, the French Governor of Pondichery,⁶ and it is no wonder that, thus lightly equipped, the Maratha army was able to cover forty-five to fifty miles in a single march.¹ In fact this constituted their greatest advantage over their heavily armed and heavily armoured Muhammadan adversaries. Man for man the Maratha horseman was no match for the Mughal or the Bijapuri, but where they were not absolutely sure of victory they would not risk a pitched battle. Superior discipline, greater hardihood, and greater speed more than compensated for the slighter build and the lighter weight of the Maratha soldiers.