The December 7 Skirmish: Tactical Victory, Psychological Defeat (December 7, 1760)

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Context: Desperate Measures and Supply Lines

The Food Crisis

The Reality:

Maratha population: 100,000+ people
Plus massive animal herds
Must be fed daily
Supply lines compressed/under stress
Getting painful

The Cash Problem:

No money coming from Delhi (Marathas controlled it but Abdali blocked it)
On cash-only basis for supplies
Suppliers won't give credit (don't know who will win)
In stressed condition: no credit available
Must pay hard money immediately

The Creative Solution

The Melting Down:

Whatever gold/silver available
Whatever ornaments/utensils they had
Melted down all precious metals
Minted new coins
Called: "Bhau Shahi," "Malhar Shahi," "Janko Shahi"
Named after the three main force commanders
These became currency

The Effectiveness:

Solved supply problem for weeks/days
Could get supplies with new coins
Temporary measure
Eventually ran out of meltable materials

Bundele's Continued Failure

The Frustration:

Bhau "irate" with Govind Pant Bundele
Couldn't destroy Afghan supply lines
Wasn't cutting supplies coming from Doab/Rohilkhand
Bhau expected him to do exactly what Abdali was doing
Tables turned on Maratha

The Reality:

Bundele not effective
Older (approaching 60)
Not a fighter to begin with
Tax collector/administrator background
Bhau expecting too much

The Doab Operations: Finally Getting Somewhere

The Geopolitics

What Is Doab:

Land between Yamuna and Ganga rivers
Technically the definition
Suja Uddaula's kingdom located there
Fertile farmland
Lots of granaries

The Breakthrough

The Success:

Finally: 4,30,000 rupees collected
Handed to Naro Shankar (Maratha commander in Delhi)
Could be sent to Bhau's camp
Got into Doab area
Started collecting grains

The Free Reign:

Bundele had 6,000-7,000 soldiers
Freely moving around Doab
Nobody could stop him
All forces concentrated at Panipat
Shuja's forces tied up with Abdali

The Chokepoint: Mirath

The Strategic Location:

Mirath: town in Doab area
Where most supplies transported from
To Abdali's camp
Bundele now understood had to choke it
Started attacking that area

The Result:

Supply lines choked up
Inflationary cycle started in Abdali camp
Supply disruption working finally
Afghan camp feeling it
Allies starting to worry

The Coalition Panic

The Effect:

Allies (Suja Uddaula, others) starting to worry
Bundele destroying fields/houses in Doab
Local people panicking
Allied commanders thinking: "What about my home?"
Less likely to want to fight

The Communication Crisis

The Messengers Problem

The Difficulty:

Distance Panipat to Pune: 1,500+ kilometers
Goes through Abdali's area
Afghans could intercept messengers
Can't travel main routes (attacked)
Must use byways/lesser-known paths

The Result:

Peshwa not getting news from Panipat
Maybe one or two letters reaching him
Very rare
Communication nearly cut off
Peshwa operating in information vacuum

The December 7 Skirmish: Bhau's Wooden Challenge

The Setup

The Challenge:

Marathas cleared jungle around Chhazpur
Erected wooden column/pole
National flag raised
Fire lit for Abdali
Literal invitation to battle

The Meaning:

Physical challenge
"Come and fight with us"
At this specific location
Come and take on the Marathas

The Afghan Response

The Participants:

Afghan troops emerged to fight
Led by Najib Khan and Suja Uddaula
Abdali stayed behind (not personal participation)
Forces engaged in serious skirmish

Bhau's Orders:

Maintain positions
Don't retreat
Stand ground
Hold formation

The Battle: Holkar's Near Rout and Recovery

Holkar's Crisis

The Attack:

Shuja attacked Holkar's forces
Holkar's men began retreating/running
Army breaking apart
Crisis moment

Holkar's Response:

Sat on ground on a mat
Told men: "Run away, save your lives"
"I will sit here and be killed"
"Let them cut my head and take it away"
Dramatic sacrifice gesture

The Recovery:

Army heard this
Turned back from retreat
Fought valiantly
Chased away Shuja
Rallied to commander

The Central Battle: The Huzurat Under Attack

The Elite Force

What Is Huzurat:

Reserved, best-trained Maratha army
Comes from Pune
Well-fed soldiers
Well-salaried warriors
Elite fighting force

The Afghan Attack

The Strategy:

Najib and Shuja attacked Huzurat
Also targeted Bhau and Vishwas Rao directly
Decapitating strike attempt
Target the leadership
Trying to kill/capture commanders

The Support:

Ibrahim Khan Gardi joined to help
Used artillery guns in skirmish
Artillery specialist
Protecting elite force

Barwant Rao Mehendri's Death

The Battle Moment

His Engagement:

Moved forward with few men
Began fighting
Part of elite Huzurat force
Direct combat engagement

The Wounding:

Bullet hit him in chest
Fell from his horse
Corpse on ground
Afghans moved forward to behead him
Maratha soldiers rushed to retrieve body

The Rescue:

Maratha soldiers pulled corpse by feet
Dragged toward camp
As Afghans rushed forward
Jankoji Shinde sallied forth
Attacked Afghans furiously
Rohillas slaughtered
Abdali didn't come out to help
Well past sunset

The Casualties

The Scale:

Rohillas lost 5,000 men
According to Kaifiyat account
Nana Fadnavis says 4,000-5,000 attackers
Fighting went 6 hours into night
Marathas lost ~150
Had 600-700 injured
Abdali forces lost 1,500 soldiers

The Maratha Assessment:

Tactically: "Went very well for us"
Strategic: "Only due to Barwant Rao's death, it was good for them"
Won the battle militarily
Lost psychologically

The Aftermath: Sati and Morale Collapse

The Tradition: Sati (Immolation)

The Practice:

Widow immolates on husband's pyre
Not compulsory but elected tradition
Women considered it their duty
Some wouldn't be convinced otherwise
Ritual suicide/self-immolation

The Historical Precedent:

Shivaji opposed this practice
When his stepmother wanted to do it
He convinced her not to
Called her to refuse
She agreed to his persuasion
Shivaji was reformer on this issue

Lakshmi Bhai's Choice

The Situation:

Barwant Rao's wife: Lakshmi Bhai
Young son left behind: Appa Barwant
Wife decided to immolate herself

Bhau's Plea:

Tried to change her mind
Knew it would lower morale
Knew it would demoralize camp
Tradition was elective, not compulsory
Begged her to reconsider

Her Refusal:

Didn't listen to Bhau
Entrusted son to Bhau
"You take care of him, I will die"
"I will immolate myself"
Refused all persuasion

The Psychological Impact

The News:

Spread throughout camp
"Not something that brings spirits up"
Demoralizes entire Maratha camp
Young son left orphan
Wife publicly choosing death

The Legacy:

Appa Barwant Chowk named after her son (or possibly father)
Barwant Rao Mehendri's name remembered
Wife's choice became part of legend
Tactical victory overshadowed
Psychological blow irreversible

The Commanders' Relationship with Bhau

Mehendri vs. Holkar

Mehendri:

Very close advisor to Bhau
Trusted friend
Believed in same strategy (artillery)
Aligned on war-fighting approach
Bhau depended on him

Holkar:

Experienced personality
Seen many battles
Didn't align with Bhau
Opposed frontal warfare strategy
Preferred surgical strikes
Saw Abdali's fury, was concerned
Worried "not up to it"

The Difference:

Mehendri: "Jive with Bhau," same wavelength
Shinde: "Okay but no Dattaji," younger but serviceable
Holkar: Major disagreement on tactics
Abdali: "Very strategic, very experienced general"
Abhau relied most on Mehendri

The Loss

What Mehendri Represented:

Bhau's vision of modern warfare
Artillery-centered strategy
Unified command
Shared tactical philosophy
Trusted advisor

The Void:

No replacement of his caliber
Loss personally affects Bhau
Loss strategically affects army
Morale damaged intensely
Momentum lost

Key Themes

Tactical Victory, Strategic Loss - Won battle, lost leadership
The Sati Tragedy - Traditional practice undermines morale
Supply Desperation - Melting down gold to pay for grain
Finally Breaking Through - Bundele finally effective at choking supplies
The Decapitating Strike - Afghan attempt to kill commanders
Holkar's Loyalty - Despite disagreements, rallies his men
Mehendri's Irreplaceability - Bhau's closest ally and strategic partner
Communication Isolation - Cut off from Peshwa/Pune
Widow's Choice - Lakshmi Bhai's immolation as turning point
Momentum Shift - From tactical superiority to psychological disintegration

Where This Leads: December 7, 1760, the Marathas win a clear tactical victory. They inflict 1,500 casualties on the Afghans while losing 150 of their own. But it's meaningless. Barwant Rao Mehendri—Bhau's closest advisor, his strategic partner, the one who believed in his vision—is killed. And then his widow, refusing all persuasion, immolates herself in front of the entire camp. The news spreads. Morale shatters. A military victory becomes a psychological defeat. The news of Mehendri's death and his wife's sati ripples through the Maratha camp like a shock wave. Meanwhile, Bundele finally gets supplies from Delhi and finally starts choking Abdali's supply lines from Mirath. But it's too late. The Marathas just lost their most important commander and their most important ally—morale.

December 7. The Marathas beat the Afghans in a fair fight. Inflicted more casualties. Held the ground. It should have been a victory. But Barwant Rao Mehendri took a bullet in the chest. When his men got him back, his body was already being scalped by Afghan soldiers. And his wife—Lakshmi Bhai—watched her husband brought back dead. She didn't grieve. She didn't retreat into the camp. She decided to immolate herself on his pyre. In front of everyone. In front of the entire army. And no matter what Bhau said, no matter how hard he pleaded with her, she wouldn't change her mind. She handed her young son to Bhau and walked into the flames. And the entire Maratha camp watched their best commander's wife choose death over life. The tactical victory meant nothing. The psychological defeat meant everything.