The Final Stand: Jumburak Cavalry & Bhau's Refusal to Escape

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Afternoon Collapse Intensifies

The Maratha Situation (Post 3-4 PM):

• 13,000 soldiers already deserted (Shivadev, Gayakwar, Holkar)
• Cavalry surged 1 mile ahead of artillery
• Afghan right flank (Najib Khan, Shah Pasand Khan) now converging on center
• Huzurat (elite 11,000-troop Maratha force) under overwhelming attack
• Three-directional assault from Afghan forces

The Artillery Problem:

• Ibrahim Khan Gardi still wounded but fighting
• Can't use artillery effectively (Bhau's cavalry in the way)
• No protection for artillery unit (needs cavalry/foot soldiers to defend)
• Artillery becomes vulnerable to direct attack

The Afghan Game-Changer: Jumburak Cavalry

What Changed: When Maratha artillery lost effectiveness, Afghan army deployed Jamburak (mounted camel artillery).

The Jamburak Advantage:

• Not long-range (not like 1.5 km artillery)
• Short-range but MOBILE
• Two people per camel with rotating cannon
• Effective at ~30 meters distance
• Creates massive localized damage
• Can move wherever camel goes = flexibility

The Tactical Shift: From artillery battle (long-range, stationary) to hand-to-hand combat (close-range, mobile).

Why This Mattered:

"Marathas had no answer to this. Every both armies had their strong points and weak points. This one, the Marathas had no answer to."

Maratha forces trained for cavalry/open field battles. Not for mobile camel-mounted artillery in close combat.

Abdali's Multi-Year Preparation

The Timeline:

• 1752: Abdali began practicing this technique
• 1752-1761: Nine years of refinement
• 1761 (January 14): Perfected version deployed

The Military Innovation: Created multiple regiments of Jumburak cavalry:

• One regiment: ~1,000 soldiers with camel-mounted artillery
• Multiple regiments: created a coordinated force
• Each rider carried burning sticks to light the matchlock (ignite the gun)

The Deployment Pattern:

"First regiment will attack with guns blazing and come back. With sequence, second, third regiments attack. First, then second, then third."

Systematic rotation:

1. Fresh regiment charges in, creates chaos
2. Retreats when fired upon
3. Next fresh regiment charges in
4. Rotate through regiments

The Effect: Continuous waves of Jumburak cavalry = continuous chaos = enemy can never organize.

Bhau's Final Crisis

The Situation:

• Three-directional attack (right flank Afghan, center Shah Wali Khan, left side Rohila)
• Huzurat surrounded, being overwhelmed
• Counter-attacks attempted multiple times
• Each counter-attack reduces fighting force (killed or deserted)

Bhau's Three Counter-Attacks: Attempted three times to break through Afghan encirclement:

• Each time fewer soldiers available
• Each time weaker impact
• Numbers dwindling due to casualties + desertions

"His effect was lessening as the time went on. It was tough to overcome these number differences."

The Message from Officers: Tukoji Shinde (from Shinde clan, fighting beside Bhau) approaches and says:

"Maharaj, Kshatra Dharma chi sharat sharat sharat (Warrior clan, you have done everything a warrior can do). You have done the maximum a warrior can do—you are fighting to your utmost. Why don't you get out of the battlefield? There is no point in dying in vain here."

Translation: "Boss, you've done everything humanly possible. Time to leave before we all die."

Bhau's Response:

"Where should I go and whom should I face? This is a question of my honor. I can save my life but it has no meaning. Who will listen to me and who will I face that I was given this responsibility and I didn't do what I was supposed to do? I have failed and I have no way I can show my face."

His Decision:

• Refuses to flee
• Won't abandon battlefield
• Will die honorably fighting
• Better to die here than live in shame

"There is no life for me if I run away from this battle. At least I will do the honorable thing of dying on the battlefield. That's the only thing I can do."

The Officer Exodus (Disputed)

Kaifiyat Account (Bhau's Records - Wishful Thinking): Says Bhau "did soldiering and commanding as it was supposed to be done" and "Rohilas were pushed back."

The Reality Assessment:

"That is what he said in the Kaifiya. So this is all wishful thinking. But that is not what will probably happen."

Bhau's own records are propaganda—making himself look good.

Actual reality:

• Getting surrounded
• Counter-attacks failing
• Losing soldiers
• Refusing to escape
• Preparing to die

Other Officers' Fates

Samshir Bahadur:

• Son of Bajirao I (father of Maratha Empire) and Mastani (Muslim woman)
• Never accepted as Hindu despite being warrior
• Fighting beside Bhau on battlefield
• Dies in combat on January 14

Jankoji Shinde:

• Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Bhau
• Among the central forces
• Status unclear but fighting intensely

Yashwant Rao Pawar:

• On left side of Bhau
• Fighting in central plank
• Killed while fighting

Ibrahim Khan Gardi:

• Wounded but still fighting
• Eventually surrounded by Rohilas
• Arrested (not immediately killed)

The Strategic Reality

What Went Wrong:

1. Morning: Maratha artillery dominated
2. Afternoon: Maratha cavalry separated from artillery
3. Late afternoon: Jumburak cavalry devastates at close range
4. Commander desertion cascades
5. Final stage: Bhau surrounded, refusing to escape

Why Jumburak Won:

• Artillery advantage (1.5 km range) lost
• Hand-to-hand combat advantage (mobile camel artillery)
• Systematic rotation of fresh cavalry
• Maratha forces had no answer

The Time Factor:

• Started 8-9 AM
• Over by 6-7 PM (winter darkness)
• ~9-10 hours of continuous battle
• Momentum: Maratha morning → Afghan afternoon/evening

The Honor vs. Pragmatism Debate

What Tukoji Shinde Argued: "Live to fight another day. Commander-in-chief shouldn't die meaninglessly."

What Bhau Believed: "Honor matters more than life. Better to die fighting than live in shame."

The Cultural Context: This is the Kshatra Dharma (warrior clan code):

• Face your enemy
• Don't run
• Die with honor if necessary
• Shame worse than death

The Historical Question: Was this bravery or foolishness?

• Could Bhau have lived and rebuilt?
• Would survival have been seen as cowardice?
• Would it have changed the outcome anyway (army already collapsing)?

Timeline (Final Hours)

Key Insights

The Jumburak Game-Changer: Abdali's nine-year preparation of this weapon system paid off. It was designed specifically to counter long-range artillery in close-quarters combat. And it worked.

Bhau's Tragic Flaw: Brave warrior, poor commander. Got into combat himself instead of directing forces. Made himself a target instead of staying strategic. Honor killed him—literally.

The Honor Code Problem: Kshatra Dharma demanded he die fighting. But maybe pragmatism (escape, regroup, fight another day) would have been wiser. Too late for that now.

Officers' Perspective: Those who left (Holkar, Shivadev, Gayakwar) might have been pragmatists. Those who stayed (Bhau, Shinde, Pawar) were honoring the code. Different choices, different outcomes.

Where We Left Off: Bhau refusing to flee. Huzurat surrounded. Counter-attacks failing. Jumburak cavalry systematically rotating to destroy Maratha center. Evening approaching. Darkness coming. Battle nearly over. Bhau choosing death with honor over escape with shame.

By late afternoon on January 14, everything Bhau had tried to accomplish had failed. The morning's victory was gone. The afternoon's hope was gone. Now only one choice remained: die fighting or flee in shame. Tukoji Shinde begged him to leave. "Save yourself, Commander. There's no point dying here." But Bhau understood something deeper: if he fled, everything was lost—the battle, the honor, the respect of his soldiers, his place in history. So he chose to stay. To fight. To die with sword in hand rather than live with shame in his heart. It was a choice that was very Maratha. And it was the choice that sealed his fate.