The Battles of Panipat constitute an integral and significant part of the Indian history. Panipat is situated in the north of Delhi and is the place which have witnessed three historic battles that transformed the history of India. Overall, the three Battles of Panipat took place that is First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 and Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. First Here, we are going to discuss in detail regarding these battles.
First Battle of Panipat
When: 21 April, 1526
Battle Between: Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi
Location: Near Panipat
On 21 April 1526, the First Battle of Panipat broke out between the invading forces of the Babur and the Lodhi Empire. This battle saw the emergence of Mughal rule and established a strong foothold on the Indian subcontinent. According to legends, it was the earliest battle in which the gunpowder firearms and the field artillery were used.
About the First Battle in Detail
The Babur was the Timurid ruler of Kabulistan and defeated the huge army of Ibrahim Lodhi, the Sultan of Delhi, in 1526. The battle took place near a small village of Panipat situated in the present-day state of Haryana.There is no doubt that the region has been the site of several decisive battles for the control of Northern India since the 12th century.
It is estimated that Babur's forces numbered about 15,000 men and 20 to 24 units armed with field cannons. According to Babur's estimates, Ibrahim Lodhi's combat force was approximately 30,000 to 40,000 men, with approximately 100,000 men, including camp followers, and at least 1000 war elephants.
Benefits of using Guns in Battle
Ibrahim Lodhi had a huge army, yet he was defeated by Babur. It was possible because of field artillery, cannon. The sound of the cannon was so loud and thundering that it frightened Ibrahim Lodhi's elephants and trampled Lodhi's men. It is also said that apart from guns and all, it was Babur's strategy that earned him victory. Let us tell you that the new war strategies started by Babur were Tulughma and Araba. In Tulughma, the entire army was divided into three units namely the Left, the Right and the Centre. The Left and Right divisions were further splitted into Forward and Rear divisions. Due to this, a small army was able to encircle the enemy from all sides. The Center forward division was provided with carts (araba) and these were placed in rows facing the enemy and tied to each other with ropes. In the battle itself, Ibrahim Lodhi was killed on field.
Second Battle of Panipat
When: 5 November, 1556
Battle Between: Emperor Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, (Hemu) and Akbar
Location: Panipat
It can be said that the Second Battle of Panipat marked the beginning of Akbar's reign in India as it was the same year that Akbar holded the throne.
Battle's Background
The Mughal ruler Humayun died in Delhi on 24 January, 1556 and the throne was handed over to his son Akbar. At that time Akbar was just 13 years old. On 14 February 1556, Akbar was enthroned on the throne as the king. Let us tell you that at the time of his coronation, Akbar was confined to Kabul, Kandahar, parts of Delhi and Punjab. Akbar with his patron Bairam Khan was campaigning in Kabul.
Emperor Hem Chandra Vikramaditya or Hemu defeated the Akbar/Humayun in the battle of Delhi. Hemu was earlier an advisor to Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah from 1545 to 1553 and was from Rewari (present-day Haryana). From 1553 to 1556, Hemu won nearly about 22 battles as Prime Minister and Head of Islam Shah and defeated Afghan rebels against the Sur regime.
In January 1556, when Humayun died, Hemu assassinated the ruler of Bengal Muhammad Shah and suppressed the rebellion in Bengal. Now, Hemu started the campaign to win the battles in Northern India. He attacked Agra and as a result, the commanders of Akbar's army fled without a fight. Finally, the region of Etawah, Kalpi and Agra provinces came under the control of Hemu. After this Hemu went to Delhi and stationed his army outside the city of Tughlaqabad. On 6 October 1556, the army encountered Mughal resistance. After Akbar's fierce battle, the armies were thrown out and the commander of the Mughal army, Tardi Beg, fled from there due to which Hemu captured Delhi. It should be noted that about 3000 Mughal army personnel were killed in the war. On 7 October 1556, Hemu was crowned at Purana Qila and Hindu rule was established in North India after 350 years of Mughal dominance. He was honored with the title of Emperor Hem Chandra Vikramaditya.
About the Second Battle in Detail
Circumstances were created for the Second Battle of Panipat and on 5 November 1556, Akbar's army marched towards Delhi. Eventually, the two armies fought against each other. According to some legends, Akbar's patron and Akbar himself did not participate in the battle. Akbar's age was just 13 so he was not allowed to participate in the war and was given special protection of about 5000 armies. He was also instructed by Bairam Khan to flee towards Kabul if the Mughal army gets defeated.
Hemu led his army himself. He had about 1500 elephants and the vanguard of the Artillery Park. Hemu attacked with about 30,000 cavalry and Afghans. Contrary to this, the Mughal army consisted of 10,000 cavalry and out of them 5000 were experienced soldiers. Initially, Hemu's army was on the winning side of the battle, but according to Badoni "Suddenly the arrow of death which no shield can ward off struck his (Hemu) squinting eye so that his brain passed cleanout from the cup of his head, and he became unconscious and not to be seen in his area".
Hemu was not seen in his area during the war. Due to Hemu's absence in his territory, Hemu's army became disorganized and was hence defeated in the ensuing confusion. After several hours, Hemu was found lying dead. He was then brought to Akbar's tent house in Saudapur village of Panipat by Shah Quli Khan Maharam. This war led to the establishment of the strong Mughal Empire and the reign of Akbar began.
Third Battle of Panipat
When: January 14, 1761
Battle Between : Alliance of the Maratha Empire and the King of Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Durrani with two Indian Muslim allies i.e. Rohilla Afghans of the Doab and Nawaz Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh
Location: Panipat
The Third Battle of Panipat has its own significance as it ended the Maratha dominance in India. During the war, the Marathas were led by the Peshwas and were establishing control over the whole of North India and on the other side the Afghans were under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Do you know this battle is considered to be one of the biggest battles fought in the 18th century and one of the most deadly attack happened in a single day.
About the Third Battle in Detail
The Marathas attacked Abdali on January 14, 1761. During the war, Malhar Rao Holkar ran away. Abdali's army was damaged by the artillery of Ibrahim Gardi and by evening, the Marathas were badly defeated. Most of the Maratha soldiers were killed and the rest of them fled (ran away). But yet the fighting continued the next day as well. Several important rulers of Marathas including Bhau, son of Peshwa, Vishwas Rao, Jaswant Rao Pawar, Scindia etc. participated in the war and were killed.
The main reason for the defeat of the Marathas was the failure of Bhau and the superiority of Abdali against Bhau as a general. Also one of the reasons for the defeat was that in the Maratha camp, there were many women and servants who were a burden on the Maratha army.
The number of Maratha force was about 45000 and there were about 60,000 soldiers in the Abdali army. After losing control of the Doab to Bhau, he felt a shortage of supplies. He wasted three months fighting with Abdali at Panipat and the worst was that the Maratha army was half hungry for the last two months. The Marathas did not use their guerrilla techniques in the war and relied on cannons under Ibrahim Gardi. Although, there is no doubt that Abdali had a better cavalry than the Marathas. On the other hand, Bhau failed to get the support of Rajputs and Jats and this is also considered one of the reasons for the defeat in the war.
According to Sardesai, the Marathas suffered a loss of life but the power of the Marathas was not destroyed nor did their ideals change. In the war, the Marathas also lost tribal leaders like Raghunath Rao, who also opened the door to defeat. The Peshwa became weak in the battle and caused the disintegration of the Maratha Empire. For some time, Scindia remained the protector of the Mughal emperor, but the Marathas failed to consolidate their hold in the north. Therefore, the British got a chance to eliminate the French in India and seize power in Bengal.
Hence, we can say that all the three battles of Panipat had their own reasons and significances. Hope the article will surely help the readers or aspirants in grabbing the vital information associated with this topic.
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