| Battle of Birbhum | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maratha invasions of Bengal | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Bengal Subah |  Maratha Confederacy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Raghuji I | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unkown | ||||||
The Battle of Birbhum occurred in 1743 and took place between the Bengali forces led by Alivardi Khan against the Maratha Confederacy which was led by Raghuji I.
The Battle of Birbhum is regarded as the second Maratha and began early in 1743. Alivardi Khan decided that he would enlist the support of Balaji Baji Rao (a Peshwa) from the Maratha Confederacy instead of using his own army. Alivardi Khan used the rivalry between Balaji Baji Rao and Raghuji I to make them face each other at Birbhum. [1] [2]
Alivardi Khan promised Balaji a portion of the revenue of Bihar and thus was able to set two Maratha leaders against each other. While on the surface this strategy seemed to have been intelligent thinking by Alivardi Khan it was not without it's drawbacks as the Nawab would realise that previously he only had one Maratha army ravaging in his lands but now he would have two. [1] [2]
By the close of the year, with the support of Balaji Baji Rao, Nawab Alivardi Khan was able to defeat his army and force Raghuji I out of Bengal for the second time. [1]
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