On 21 April 1526, the Battle of Panipat was fought in India between the Mughals under Babur and the Delhi Sultanate under Ibrahim Lodi during the Mughal Conquest of India.
Why did it happen?
In 1504, the Timurid prince Babur, a descendent of both Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, took control of Kabul in Afghanistan after losing his home city of Samarkand in 1494. Using his new base as a springboard for wider ambitions, the wealth of India enticed him. In 1525, he was invited by Indian nobles to assist them in overthrowing the oppressive regime of Ibrahim Lodi, who had come to power in 1517. Before invading India, Babur took the time to train his men in the latest gunpowder technology (matchlock muskets and cannons) while preserving his force’s traditional steppe warfare, consisting of horse archers. At the end of 1525, Babur invaded northwestern India with a force of 12,000 men and brushed aside the Delhi Sultanate force sent to intercept him. Ibrahim Lodi confronted Babur at Panipat on 12 April 1526 with a much larger force of 30,000 men. For eight days, neither side made a move, allowing Babur to build up a defensive position between the town of Panipat and the Yamana river. He lashed 700 carts together with earthen ramparts to safeguard his cannon and musketeers while protecting his left flank with felled trees and trenches. Finally, he left intervals of up to 150 yards to allow his cavalry to pass through from the rear.
Who was involved?
The Mughal Army at Panipat numbered 2,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 20 artillery. The Mughal army was arrayed into two lines. The first line consisted of 700 carts tied together with musketeers and artillery arrayed in the centre. The second line consisted of cavalry and was arrayed into five divisions: Muhammad Sultan Mirza on the left wing; Ali Khalifa Barlas in the left centre; Babur in the centre; Chin Timur Sultan in the right centre; and Humayun on the right wing. The Mughal plan was to stall the Delhi Sultanate army in front of the wagons while subjecting them to withering musket and artillery fire. Once this was achieved, the Mughal cavalry would execute a double envelopment to surround and destroy the Delhi Sultanate army. The Delhi Sultanate army at Panipat numbered 10,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry and 100 war elephants. Babur claimed that Ibrahim Lodi’s army numbered 100,000 men and 1,000 elephants, which is almost certainly an exaggeration. The Delhi Sultanate army was arrayed into three lines: war elephants in the vanguard, cavalry in the centre, and infantry to the rear. The Delhi Sultanate planned to charge the Mughal army and overwhelm it with its superior numbers.
What happened?
On 21 April, Ibrahim began the battle with a frontal assault on the Mughal position, only to be stalled by its wagons. The Mughal archers, musketeers and artillery then opened withering fire upon the Delhi Sultanate army massed in front of the wagons, panicking their war elephants, who had never encountered firearms and artillery before. The war elephants then turned and fled, stampeding their own men in the process. Meanwhile, Ibrahim’s left-wing attempted to outflank the Mughal right wing near the town of Panipat, only to be repulsed by the Mughal cavalry reserve. At that point, Babur ordered his cavalry to move through the intervals in the wagon line to execute a double envelopment of Ibrahim’s army, who were still unable to penetrate the Mughal wagons. With no room to manoeuvre except backwards, the Delhi Sultanate army began to flee, despite Ibrahim’s attempt to rally his troops. Upon the death of Ibrahim Lodi, who led a desperate cavalry charge against the Mughal centre, the Delhi Sultanate army collapsed, leaving more than 20,000 fallen soldiers on the battlefield. Mughal casualties numbered 4,000.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Panipat was a decisive Mughal victory. Following his victory, Babur became lord of Hindustan and went on to occupy the cities of Delhi and Agra, founding the Mughal Empire. The following year, he defeated a Rajput army at the Battle of Khanwa, using the same tactics he used at Panipat. Babur revolutionized warfare in India, moving it away from its reliance on war elephants towards a new template: the use of firearms and artillery alongside field fortifications and mounted archers. Babur would prove to be a humanitarian and civilized ruler, as were his successors, Humayun and Akbar. The dynasty he founded would rule India until 1857, when the British deposed and exiled the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II.
Bibliography
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Webb, Jonathan. “Battle of Panipat, 1526.” The Art of Battle. Last revised 2011. http://www.theartofbattle.com/battle-of-panipat-1526/
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