Lessons from the Battlefront Part One
Why innovation and strategy outweigh superiority in numbers
Part One: The First Battle of Panipat (April 1526)
Part Two: The Battle of Gallipolli (March 1915) and
The Israel-Syria War (October 1973)
History teaches us that the numerical strength of an
army is no guarantee of success on the battlefield. The examples are many. I’m
using the accounts of three battles mentioned above to illustrate this. So,
let’s get into it.
“All warfare is based on deception,” says Sun Tzu in
the celebrated 5th Century B.C. Chinese military treatise, The Art
of War, “Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our
forces, we must appear inactive…”
Each of these three examples proves this.
The First Battle of Panipat 21st April,
1526
Babur Vs Ibrahim Lodi
Background
The Lodi dynasty was on the throne at Delhi, headed by
Ibrahim Lodi. A clash between Ibrahim Lodi and the Governor of Lahore, Daulat
Khan Lodi resulted in Daulat Khan inviting a Mongol prince to invade India.
This prince, Babur, had made Kabul his base (in 1504) after struggling to
control his ancestral kingdom Fargana. Babur took over Lahore in 1524 and then
returned to Kabul to plan his strategy for defeating the Lodi emperor. He
crossed the Indus in December 1525 with a force of just 12000 (according to his
memoirs, the Baburnama).
The Battlelines
Ibrahim Lodi’s army numbered about one lakh, which was
huge in those days. But it suffered from some disadvantages, which proved
fatal.
i) It was not a standing army. Rather, it was a force
that had been gathered from different parts of the empire. The soldiers had
never fought together.
ii) It had a large contingent of elephants which, for
obvious reasons, marched slowly.
iii) Lodi was overconfident. He’d heard about the small numbers of Babur’s army and must’ve thought the Mongol would be crushed
easily.
In contrast, Babur was fully aware of his numerical
disadvantage and used brilliant strategies to overcome this.
i) Unlike previous invaders, Babur did not rape and
pillage the populace. He’d come to India with the aim of establishing an empire
and did not want to alienate the people. It is said he took care of widows and
orphans in the areas he conquered. As he entered through Ropar and Ambala, he
bought about 700 bullock-carts from villagers. Bought, not grabbed. Will tell you why he needed them shortly.
ii) Babur convinced the powerful Janjua Rajputs to
join his campaign. They were bitterly opposed to the Delhi throne and seized
their chance to overthrow Ibrahim Lodi. With their assistance, Babur’s army
swelled to about 25000. It was still one-fourth of the size of Lodi’s but
better than 12000. Besides, the Rajputs were brave warriors and that was a big
plus for Babur.
iii) This battle saw the use of cannons for the first
time in India. Lodi’s army had no cannons.
iv) Babur had a contingent of expert mounted archers,
which proved more effective than sword or spear-wielding cavalry.
v) Babur’s artillery included matchlock rifles, which
were a rarity in those days.
vi) Babur’s own contingent of 12000 was battle-hardened and fiercely loyal to him. They’d fought together in about
eight or ten campaigns and one can imagine the camaraderie amongst them.
Despite these advantages, Babur knew that his choice
of battle venue- the field of Panipat- would give a large army the upper hand.
So, he had to come up with some solutions fast.
After reaching Panipat on the first of April, he
quickly chose the best possible position. Keeping Panipat city on his right, he
had a seven-kilometer long trench dug up to the Yamuna river on the opposite side. This was filled with wooden spikes and covered with earth and leaves,
etc. to conceal it. Behind them, he made a row of the bullock-carts bound together with rawhide. There were gaps of ten to fifteen feet between them at
various points, where he placed his archers and artillery. His
cavalry, too, could charge through these gaps.
Behind the first few rows of infantry soldiers, Babur
himself led the main position called Kul. He was flanked by a contingent on the
left led by his trusted General Mohammed Mirza and another to his right led by
his son and successor Prince Humayun. His heavy cavalry contingent was led by
another war veteran called Iltmish.
The Battle
Babur’s scouts informed him about the progress of
Lodi’s army. It was a large, unwieldy force that marched slowly. They covered
only four miles per day, while travelling to Panipat!
To precipitate matters, Babur sent a large force of
about four thousand men to raid the Lodi camp on the 19th of April.
The raid was repelled by Lodi’s Afghan guards and Babur lost a number of men.
This early victory lulled the Lodi army into a false sense of complacency. They
became confident of a quick triumph in battle and attacked Babur’s army two
days later.
Lodi sent his 300 strong elephants contingent first. Babur waited for them to come perilously close and then fired a barrage of artillery and cannons. The cannons might’ve missed their targets since their range was short but the mere sound confused and frightened the elephants, who panicked and trampled their own army. Lodi’s infantry met a similar fate when they fell into the trench in front of the bullock carts. Babur then deployed his heavy cavalry to cut off the Lodi army from both sides.
#Babur wanted Lodi to attack first so that the latter's army could be cut down in the trenches and confused with the cannon fire! That's why he'd sent an advance raiding party to the Lodi camp.
The battle lasted six hours. Lodi died on the field. They say he showed exemplary valour, refusing to flee even when his army was being routed. Babur went up to Lodi’s body and said: “I salute your bravery.” But the rest of Lodi’s army, comprising about twenty-five thousand, met a cruel fate. Babur
had them all beheaded. 25000 men! Just think. Gross! And in a grisly message to his future enemies, he made a
mound of their heads.
A rather common practice in those days. Queen Elizabeth I put her enemies' heads (particularly those who rebelled against her) on spikes at public spots so that everyone could see them!
Anyhow, after his quick victory at Panipat, Babur marched on Delhi.
And, thus, began the rule of the Mughal dynasty in
India.
Babur built this mosque at Panipat in 1527 to commemorate his victory. It still stands today.
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