Journal of a Cavalry Officer; Including the Memorable Sikh Campaign of 1845-1846

by W. W. W. Humbley

The Maharattas, whose early history is involved in much obscurity, were a warlike race, inhabiting the mountain provinces as far as Guzerat and the Nerbudda, a large tract of country on the west coast, between Surat and Canara. In 1720, they were invited by the governor of the Deccan, who aimed at the establishment of an independent monarchy in India, to ravage the territories of the Mogul, and attack the city of Delhi. This predatory race gladly undertook a task which offered such a prospect of booty. They committed great ravages throughout the country, and finally attacked the city of Delhi. Although they sustained a defeat, they so far succeeded in spreading the terror of their name, that the generals of the Mogul army, concluded a dishonourable treaty with them. The Governor of the Deccan, disappointed in his expectations, readily found cause for a quarrel with the Court of Delhi, and induced the disaffected nobles, who were disgusted at the treaty concluded with the Maharattas, to call in the aid of Nadir Shah, the usurper of the throne of Persia.

Nadir Shah, one of the most distinguished, but at the same time most atrocious, men recorded in history, was born in 1687. While General of the Persian forces, he quitted the military service, and became leader of a formidable band of robbers. His military talents, however, were so distinguished, that the king of Persia, not only pardoned this audacious step, but took him again into his service, and gradually raised him to the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Persian forces, with the title of Khan, being the highest dignity he could bestow.

By his intrigues, Nadir Shah soon succeeded in gaining the whole army, and when the Shah of Persia concluded a peace with the Turks without his advice, Nadir basely dethroned his sovereign, seized the regency in the name of the infant prince, who was still in his cradle, and, after a sanguinary victory over the Turks, he was, on the death of his Ward, chosen king of Persia, in 1735. From that day he adopted the name of Nadir Shah. His arms were everywhere victorious; but he shed torrents of blood, and inflicted even upon his own subjects, the most unheard-of cruelties. His soldiers, whom he had enriched with the splendid spoils of many a victory, were so devoted to him, that none of his disaffected subjects, durst place himself at their head. Even the priests, who were incensed at his oppression and cruelty to their own body, and at his attempt to establish the Soonie creed instead of the Shiah form of Mahomedanism, which was the national religion, were utterly powerless, and every conspiracy that was formed to hurl the usurper from the throne, was crushed in its birth. His greatest, but at the same time his most cruel, campaign, was that against the Great Mogul, in 1739, of which we have already spoken.

Being invited by the Grand Vizier, and by those nobles who were indignant at the ignominious treaty concluded by their sovereign with the Maharattas, whom he had induced by a large bribe to retire from the capital, and the promise of an annual tribute in money and treasure, on condition of their not renewing their assault, or plundering the territories of the Great Mogul, Nadir Shah, who was bent upon revenge for the protection afforded to some of his Affghan enemies, lost no time in obeying the summons. He placed himself at the head of his army, and crossed the Indus before Mahomed Shah, the emperor of Delhi, had even heard of his impending approach. Mahomed immediately collected his army, and fortified his camp, near Paniput, but hearing of Nadir's approach, he went out to meet him, and offered him battle in open field. It was a bloody contest. Both sides fought with desperate valour, but Mahomed Shah was beaten; 20,000 of his valiant men were wounded or slain, and Mahomed, to stop the sanguinary strife, went with his chief men, and offered himself and his treasures to appease the conqueror.

Nadir received his fallen foe, with more compassion than might have been expected. He promised to reinstate him in his dominions, on condition that he should give up his treasures and jewels, and that his nobles and people should pay an enormous sum, as some indemnity for the expenses incurred in this inglorious war. The dejected sovereign, glad to be reinstated in his kingly power, had neither the heart nor the means to resist the dictates of the conqueror, and returned with him to his capital. Little did he anticipate the horrible scenes about to be enacted there, in levying the cruel exactions of Nadir, whereby he lost thousands of his subjects, and his already shattered power received a blow which prevented it from ever rallying again. Victor by the power of arms, and by the treachery of Mahomed's nobles, Nadir Shah, sacked and devastated the conquered empire, fired and destroyed the city of Delhi, and slew 200,000 inhabitants. This fearful slaughter was occasioned by a false report of the death of Nadir, which caused the inhabitants to rise en masse, and fall upon the soldiery. Nadir immediately gave orders for a general massacre, which were instantly obeyed. The carnage commenced at sunrise, and lasted till noon, when it was at length put a stop to at the earnest entreaty of the Emperor of Delhi. Nadir Shah carried off the imperial treasures which had been accumulated by the Mogul rulers for upwards of two centuries.

Thus the arrival of Nadir Shah, preserved for a short time longer the existence of the Mogul Empire, by the restoration of Mahomed Shah to the imperial dignity; otherwise it must have succumbed to the Maharattas. When Ahmed Shah first invaded India in 1748, the Vizier of the Emperor of Delhi had recourse, as I have already remarked, to the humiliating expedient of calling in the Maharattas. The state of the Mogul Empire in 1756, was much the same as that of Calcutta when it was attacked by Suraj-ud-Dowlah, the Subahdar of Bengal, in June of the same year. No mandate of the Emperor was obeyed: the Nawab of Oude, the actual Vizier of the Empire, had raised the standard of independence: the power of the Maharattas was at its zenith, and that of the Mogul Empire at its lowest ebb.

Now the proper country of the Maharattas is the south of India. When Aurungzebe left the Deccan about 1658, he appointed a deputy, who, however, was unable to control the Maharattas. Even Aurungzebe himself when he went in pursuit of Sevajee, the founder of the Maharatta Empire, was often baffled by the wily chief who would suddenly retire into his hills and mountain fastnesses.

On the decline of the Delhi power at the death of Aurungzebe, the Maharattas began to extend their operations to the north of the Nerbudda; they gradually threatened all parts of Hindoostan, and even visited Calcutta. At that time, what is called the Maharatta ditch was thrown up to protect the city against these invaders, an ingenious device of the Calcutta factory, and well enough for a body of merchants. The origin of the term "ditchers," as applied to them, is derived from this Maharatta ditch; though it would be as difficult to determine its locality, except on paper, as that of the Black Hole.

The number of elephants and camels with the two armies, is not stated. Elphinstone says, "that the force ascribed to the Indian kings is probably exaggerated. Porus, one of the princes who occupied the Punjaub, is said to have had 200 elephants, 300 chariots, 4,000 horse, and 30,000 efficient infantry, which, as observed by Sir Alexander Burnes, is, substituting guns for chariots—exactly the establishment of Runjeet Singh, who is master of the whole Punjaub, and several other territories." Burnes must have referred to the year 1831, when he was in the Punjaub; in 1848 Runjeet Singh's force was supposed to be 50,000 men, besides irregulars for garrisons. Neither Polybius nor Arrian's history of Alexander's expedition, mentions the number of elephants or cattle with any of the armies. Humboldt in his "Cosmos"[54] writes: "According to the testimony of Polybius, when African and Indian elephants were opposed to each other in fields of battle, the sight, smell, and cries of the larger and stronger Indian elephants drove the African ones to flight. The latter were probably never employed as war elephants in such large numbers as in Asiatic expeditions, when Chundragupta had assembled 9,000, the powerful King of the Prasii 6,000, and Akbar an equally large number. These armies must have been much larger than those engaged at the battle of Paniput in 1761."

We read that the elephants were placed in the front of the army, and that they often turned back and killed more friends than foes. Now 9,000 elephants in a single line, allowing each to take up 12 feet would reach 20 miles, and 6,000 elephants would extend 13 miles and 1,120 yards. It is said there were 50,000 camels with the army of the Indus[55] in 1838 and 1839.