The Afternoon Turning Point: Najib Khan's Tactical Genius & Maratha Collapse Begins

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Situation Recap

Where We Were:

• Bhau's cavalry surged 1 mile ahead of Ibrahim Khan Gardi's artillery
• Left behind: artillery unit vulnerable, formation broken
• Cavalry now fighting Shah Wali Khan (Afghan center) directly
• Afghan right flank already devastated earlier

The Setup for This Reading: Cavalry is now fully committed. Artillery can't support. What happens next determines the battle.

Bhau & Huzurat's Mistake (Repeated)

The Original Plan:

• Bhau should have stayed WITH Ibrahim Khan Gardi's artillery unit
• Artillery targets Afghan RIGHT FLANK (Rohillas, position #8)
• Creates wedge through right flank
• Whole rectangle moves left/around that breakthrough
• Escape toward Yamuna continues

What Actually Happened:

• Bhau and Huzurat went about 1 MILE AHEAD of artillery
• Artillery left on left side, now can't support
• Bhau now facing Afghan MAIN UNITS (Shah Wali Khan center)
• Lost flexibility to change direction
• Locked into combat

The Consequence:

"Now it would have been possible for Huzurati to get out of the battle and change direction. But now that they were one mile ahead of their own artillery units, they could not change the plan and come to the left because they were now dealing with the main Afghan units."

Cavalry committed. No escape. Must fight.

Shah Wali Khan's Collapse & Flight

His Situation:

• Commander-in-Chief (Wazir) of Afghan CENTER
• Facing Bhau's elite Huzurat cavalry
• His own soldiers starting to flee
• Helpless to stop them

His Desperate Plea:

"My country is far away, thousands of miles. How far will you run? You can't flee 10 miles and get back to safety. Either fight or die here."

No one listened. Soldiers fled anyway.

His Position:

• To his RIGHT: Suja Uddhawla (hesitant ally)
• To his RIGHT beyond Suja: Najib Khan Rohila (aggressive ally)
• In front: Bhau's cavalry
• Being pushed back, line collapsing

Najib Khan's Tactical Genius Revealed

Who He Is (Critical Context):

• Shrewd personality, strategic mind
• Previously killed Jankoji Shinde's uncle (Dr. Hrishin)
• Shinde army extremely angry/vengeful because of this
• Facing Jankoji Shinde's army directly
• Personal survival depends on NOT losing this battle

Why This Battle is Existential for Najib:

"Because if Abdali loses, Najib will be decimated. The Marathas are extremely angry with him. He killed their commander. He invited Abdali to India. If Abdali loses, Najib doesn't escape—he dies."

But Others Can Survive:

• Suja probably will live (Marathas might spare him)
• Abdali might be captured but released (he's a king)
• Najib: NO MERCY. Will be hunted down and killed.

So Najib understood: this isn't a battle he can lose. This is survival.

Najib Khan's Tactical Innovation

The Sand Barrier Strategy: Facing Shinde's cavalry charge, Najib created defensive structures:

"He created sand hills or sand banks, about 4.5-5 feet tall, in front of his position."

How It Worked:

1. Creates sand barriers (~5 feet tall) between his army and Shinde's
2. As Shinde advances: creates NEW sand barriers in front
3. On the fly barrier building = constant defensive line
4. Keeps Shinde at distance, prevents cavalry charge

The Fire Arrow Attack: Along with sand barriers, sends continuous wave of fire arrows:

"Asankhya (unlimited/too many) fire missiles—arrows with burning tips that would ignite targets."

The Effect on Maratha Cavalry:

• Horses panicked by fire arrows
• Elephants terrified of burning missiles
• Animals confused, going "helter-skelter"
• Couldn't maintain formation
• Became directionless, chaotic

The Result:

• Najib held Shinde's cavalry at 2 MILES distance
• Prevented cavalry from closing
• No hand-to-hand combat possible
• Shinde couldn't overrun his position
• Stalemate maintained

The Brilliance of Najib's Strategy

What Made It Work:

1. Understanding the threat: Shinde wants revenge, will charge
2. Defensive positioning: Sand barriers prevent breakthrough
3. Psychological warfare: Fire arrows terrify animals
4. Flexible defense: Keep building barriers as enemy advances
5. Cautious advance: Move slowly while creating barriers, never get pinned

Why It Was Brilliant:

• Turned cavalry advantage (Shinde's) into liability (horse panic)
• Turned distance into ally (kept 2-mile separation)
• Used fire as weapon (psychological + practical)
• Matched aggression with stubborn defense
• Kept his own army intact

The Larger Battle Picture (By Mid-Afternoon)

Afghan Center (Shah Wali Khan):

• Collapsing under Maratha cavalry assault
• Soldiers fleeing
• Commander helpless
• Getting pushed backward

Afghan Right Flank (Najib Khan Rohila):

• Holding against Shinde cavalry
• Creating defensive barriers
• Sending fire arrows
• Maintaining 2-mile distance
• Not being overrun

The Contradiction: Afghan center breaking, Afghan right flank holding. Both fighting same Maratha army, completely different results.

Najib's Personal Motivation

His Famous Statement:

"I am only interested in Swarasimha's interest in what happens today. The rest of the people—Abdali, Afghan army, Suja—they may leave after this battle. But I will be here."

Translation: "This is MY homeland. For me, this battle is existential. For them, it's temporary."

Why This Matters:

• Afghans fighting for conquest, then return home
• Suja fighting for political position, can negotiate either way
• Abdali fighting for military victory, then can retreat
• Najib fighting for SURVIVAL IN INDIA

So Najib has most at stake. Fights hardest. Uses best tactics. Refuses to break.

The Maratha Threat: Marathas know Najib invited Abdali to India. They will NOT forgive this. So Najib knows:

• If Afghan loses: Najib dies (hunted down)
• If Afghan wins: Najib survives
• No middle ground
• No escape

The Psychological Element

Najib's Warning (Implicit): Everyone else is looking for exit strategy. Only Najib is committed to winning. This means: when others break/flee, Najib will fight harder. When Maratha cavalry pushes, Najib will push back.

The Fire Arrows: Not just military tactic. Also psychological:

• Shows desperation (will burn own crops/land)
• Shows commitment (willing to risk everything)
• Creates fear (animals panic, soldiers hesitate)
• Signals: "I won't break"

Timeline (Afternoon to Evening)

Key Insights

Najib vs. Everyone Else: Everyone else in Afghan army had an exit strategy. Najib didn't. This made him dangerous. People with nothing to lose fight hardest.

The Fire Arrow Tactic: Brilliant psychological warfare. Not just practical (stops cavalry charge) but symbolic (shows commitment, creates fear). Modern armies would call this "asymmetric defense."

Sand Barriers (Low Tech, High Effectiveness): No fancy artillery needed. Just earth moved around to create protective walls. Stops cavalry. Slows infantry. Buys time. Shows: you don't need technology to stop technology.

The Contrast:

• Center (Shah Wali Khan): breaking, fleeing, lost
• Right (Najib Khan): holding, fighting, committed

Shows battle outcome depends as much on commander as on soldiers. Najib's willingness to fight = his soldiers' willingness to hold.

The Turning Point: This is where Maratha momentum starts to die. Afghan right flank (Najib) not breaking. Afghan center (Shah Wali Khan) breaking but slowly. Maratha artillery isolated. Cavalry tired. Evening approaching. Fresh Afghan reserves untouched.

Where We Left Off: Afternoon. Bhau's cavalry still pursuing Shah Wali Khan but slowly winning. Shinde's cavalry blocked by Najib's tactics. Both sides digging in. Evening/night approaching. Artillery still isolated. Afghan reserves still fresh. Maratha momentum fading. This is where Maratha victory becomes impossible.

Najib Khan understood something everyone else missed: this battle was about survival, not victory. While Abdali thought about conquest and return, while Suja thought about political position, while Shah Wali Khan thought about honor—Najib thought about staying alive. So he did something desperate. He burned arrows and moved earth. He refused to break. And when Shinde's cavalry charged, they found: not a defeated enemy, but a wall of fire and sand. The Maratha momentum that had looked unstoppable in the afternoon hit that wall. And stopped.