Why were the turkish gunners so useful to babur
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Panipat has been described as the pivot of indian history for 300 years. And its story begins in the first great battle of 1526.After the fall of the sayyids,the afghan lodi dynasty had seized power at delhi. The power of the sultanate had decreased considerably at this time,though the sultan could still command significant resources. Ibrahim lodi,the third ruler was
THE MUGHUL ARMY :
Babur’s army consisted of turks,mongols,iranians and afghans. It was built as a veteran core which had been campaigning alongside him for over a decade and thus the troops and commanders were confident,and familiar with each other.It also had an element of equality where any trooper could dine with babur or give his opinion on tactics in contrast with the tiered hierarchy in the sultanate army.And they were campaigning far away from home,where defeat would mean annihilation with nowhere to retreat.All these factors contributed to better morale.The army was organized along timurid lines -units of 10,50,100,500,1000.Babur’s army at Panipat numbered 15,000–20,000 men.
The bulk of them timurid cavalry,supplemented by turkish gunners with gunpowder matchlocks and cannons-till now an unknown feature on the indian battlefield.
CAVALRY
At the back -Timurid Horse archer on his mount.Standing in front is a Turkish ‘Turkhaan’ or hero-an elite Mounted trooper in full body armour and faceplate -usually a member of the commander’s bodyguard or a captain of a unit.In front is an elite infantryman of the guard (Shamshirbaaz) with sword,shield and bow. Babur’s cavalry was battle-hardened and well-drilled.
THE BATTLE OF PANIPAT
Afghans in Green.Mughuls in Red.
To avoid being outflanked by the large afghan army,Babur anchored his right flank close to the walls of the city of Panipat,while his left flank was protected by a ditch strengthened with a wooden stockade to prevent cavalry movement.
In the centre he had a line of 700 ox-carts tied together with rawhide ropes to breakup any charge.At intervals of 100 to 200 yards there were intervals with passages for cavalry to sally out and attack.These passages were heavily defended with archers and matchlock-men and were were possibly closed with chains(chains being lowered when cavalry sallied out). Behind this protective barrier Babur sited his guns. Between every 2 guns,5–6 protective mantlets behind which matchlock-men were deployed.
Screening these preparations was the Qarawal light cavalry scouts deployed up front. Behind the infantry and artillery on the cart-line the main body of cavalry was deployed in the standard mughul battle array divided into vanguard,left wing and right wing.(Initials used RW for right wing for eg.).Plus the centre in 3 sub-divisions and the illtimish reserves.(Illtimish = I ,RC = Right centre,LC = Left Centre).Rearguard protects the camp.
At the extreme sides are the tulughma flanking parties (FP).Babur deployed his half-wild Mongol horse archers in these contingents due to their mastery of steppe warfare.
Babur’s plan is to hold the afghan mass in front,and roll its wings onto the centre where the whole body would become a concentrated target for his matchlocks,archers and artillery and suffer devastating losses. Humayun leads the right flank,Chin Timur the vanguard and Sultan mirza the left flank.His ottoman gunner Ustad Ali Quli is in charge of the atillery. It is also he who shows babur how to employ the cart-line field fortifications.
Lodi deploys his force in 4 divisions. Two flanks,a large vanguard and a centre containing much of the inferior infantry. He places himself at the very centre of the battle line with a body of 5000 picked mailed lancers.In front of his army stands the massive phalanx of 400 armoured war elephants.
1. As the afghan War elephants move up,they are greeted by the utterly unfamiliar noise of mughul cannons which terrifies them and they refuse to advance further.
2. The Afghan Vanguard clashes with the horse archer screen and sweeps it away,sensing success- the pathans surge forward. The vanguard of the afghans has advanced too quickly,thus creating a gap with the centre which is still far away .
3. The light cavalry of the former qarawal screen withdraw back through the passages and merge with the mughul vanguard.
4. Lodi aims his attack where the mughul right flank meets panipat,and the Afghan right moves forward in columns to try and outflank the mughal right. Babur observes the afghan body inclined to its left advancing on his right flank and immediately reinforces the flank with its illtimish mobile reserve.