Battle of Samalkha (1760)

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Battle of Samalkha
Part of Afghan-Maratha War
Date26 October 1760
Location
Samalkha, India
Result Durrani victory
Belligerents
Seal of Ahmad Shah Durrani.svg Durrani Empire Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Maratha Empire
Commanders and leaders
Seal of Ahmad Shah Durrani.svg Ahmad Shah Durrani Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Govind Pant Bundela
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
1,000+ killed 2,000+ killed

The Battle of Samalkha was a skirmish that took place between two rival forces in the Samalkha district of Haryana. It occurred in 1760 and involved the Afghan army, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani, and the Maratha army, led by Govind Pant Bundela. This battle was a part of the Third Battle of Panipat, and resulted in severe destruction for the Maratha forces.

Contents

Background

The Maratha forces were unable to prevent Ahmad Shah Durrani from crossing the Yamuna River. Ahmad Shah successfully crossed the river and set up a defensive camp near Panipat. The Marathas had planned to block Ahmad Shah's access back to Afghanistan. They sent Govind Pant Bundela with five thousand cavalry to halt further Afghan advances. [1]

Battle

On the afternoon of October 26, Ahmad Shah's advance guard reached Samalkha, about halfway between Sonipat and Panipat, where they encountered the vanguard of the Marathas. [2] A fierce skirmish ensued, in which the Afghans lost 1,000 men but forced the Marathas back to their main body, resulting in the slaughter of no fewer than 2,000 Marathas, who continued to retreat slowly for several days. [3] [4]

Aftermath

Najib ad-Dawlah was dispatched by Ahmad Shah to prevent Maratha supplies flowing in from Delhi, defeating the forces of Naro Shankar, the Maratha governor of Delhi. Sadashivrao in response sent Govind Pant Bundela to invade Rohilla territories and cut off Afghan supplies. Marching with 12,000 horsemen, the Maratha detachment advanced up to Meerut before being attacked by an Afghan contingent of 14,000 dispatched by Ahmad Shah on 17 December under Atai Khan. [5] Bundela was killed and the Maratha force was routed, with large amounts of supplies being seized by the Afghans. [6] [7] In later encounters, Bundela, together with 10,000 informally trained cavalry who were not officially enlisted as soldiers, was involved in a foraging mission with around 500 men. [8] They were ambushed by an Afghan force near Meerut, resulting in a clash in which Pant Bundela was killed by Atai Khan. [9] [10]

References

  1. ↑ Haryana Review. Haryana Public Relations Department. 1980. p. 20.
  2. ↑ Encyclopaedia Indica: Third Battle of Panipat. Anmol Publications. 1999. p. 282. ISBN   978-81-7041-859-7.
  3. ↑ Sainik Samachar: The Pictorial Weekly of the Armed Forces. 1982. p. 7.
  4. ↑ Haryana Review. Haryana Public Relations Department. 1980. p. 20.
  5. ↑ Sarkar 1971, p. 312.
  6. ↑ Gupta 1978, p. 183.
  7. ↑ Singh 1959, p. 253.
  8. ↑ Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal (1966). The Mughal Empire, 1526-1803 A.D. S. L. Agarwala. pp. 476–477.
  9. ↑ The Cavalry Journal. 1932. p. 62.
  10. ↑ Haryana State Gazetteer. Haryana Gazetteers Organisation, Revenue Department. 2001. pp. 229–230.
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