BATTLE OF PANIPAT

THE THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT

1-The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat (Haryana State, India), about 60 miles (95.5 km) north of Delhi. The battle pitted the French-supplied artillery and cavalry of the Marathas against the heavy cavalry and mounted artillery(zamburak and jizail) of the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Durrani, an ethnic Pashtun, also known as Ahmad Shah Abdali. The battle is considered one of the largest battles fought in the 18th century.

1st Battle of Panipat : Babur Defeated Ibrahim Lodi at 1526
2nd Battle of Panipat : Akbar Defeated Hemu at 1556

Where did the war happen ?

The specific site of the battle itself is disputed by historians but most consider it to have occurred somewhere near modern day Kaalaa Aamb and Sanauli Road. The battle lasted for several days and involved over 125,000 men. Protracted skirmishes occurred, with losses and gains on both sides. The forces led by Ahmad Shah Durrani came out victorious after destroying several Maratha flanks. The extent of the losses on both sides is heavily disputed by historians, but it is believed that between 60,000-70,000 were killed in fighting, while numbers of the injured and prisoners taken vary considerably. The result of the battle was the halting of the Maratha advances in the North.

Who was Ahmad Shah Abdali ?

Ahmad Shah was the first emir of Afghanistan and he inherited the throne of Abdali tribe of Afgans. Ahmad Shah later renamed his ancestry as Durrani. Ahmad Shah was the leader of his tribesmen and served Nadir Shah, the King of Persia, who conquered most of Afghanistan and part of India. After the death of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah got the independent Afghan kingdom as his own territory. Between 1748 and 1752 Ahmad Shah invaded Punjab six times and was also able to seize and sack Delhi. Although Ahmad Shah was a powerful military leader, he never permanently ruled in India and subsequently withdrew into Afghanistan.

Who was Najib-ul-Daula?

In the Third battle of Panipat, during the Imperial Maratha Conquests, he allied himself with the Durranis led by Ahmad Shah Durrani, against the Marathas. Najib Khan was shrewd enough to understand changed ground realities after third battle of Panipat . His cunning political acumen was used by Ahmed Shah Abdali to isolate Marathas & preventing them from getting even single ally during their conflict with Durrani power. His opposition to signing of treaty, with Marathas was the main cause of battle being fought at Panipat. He not only provided, Ahmed Shah Abdali, with 40,000 Rohilla troops but also 70 guns to the combined forces. He also convinced Shuja-ul-Daula, the Nawab of Oudh, to join Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces against the Marathas. In this battle, the Maratha's were defeated and as a consequence Rohilla increased in power.
After the war he was made vizier of Mughal emperor.

Aftermath of the Panipat War.

·  1-       The third battle of Panipat ended the great Marathas' advance towards north-west India. However, after a few years under Peshwa Madhav Rao, they recaptured Delhi and retained it till 1818.

·  2- The victorious army led by Durrani oversaw the cremation of the bodies of Vishwas Rao and the Bhau. Many Maratha generals were subsequently tortured and executed by the victorious army. The overriding legacy of the battle was the halting of the Marathas'' advance and the brief restoration of the Mughal Empire.

·  3-       However History shows that Marathas had learnt something from their past: The Marathas were back in action just four years later, because they were more or less a loose confederacy... cutting off one head replaced it with multiple smaller ones. A far better showing on the whole compared to usual one hit and a kingdom story of earlier 2 Panipats.

·   4-      Abdali's soldiers arrested about 10,000 women and another 10,000 young children and men brought them to their camps. The women were raped, many committed suicide because of constant rapes perpetrated on them. All of the prisoners were exchanged or sold as sex slaves to Afganistan or North India, transported on carts, camels and elephants in bamboo cages..