Strategy and tactics
The Mughal strategy was based on a combination of the use of elite cavalry and well-fortified defensive fortresses. At the same time, the tactics of the Mughals were flexible: they took into account that the use of cavalry and war elephants was more effective on the plains of northern India than in the Deccan mountains or the swamps of Bengal. The Mughals carefully prepared their campaigns and relied on superiority in forces. In the 17th century, Jai Singh, who opposed the Marathas, tried, for example, to capture only those enemy fortresses, which he could then hold and use to stifle the Maratha movement.
Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire under Akbar.
It was customary for wars to be fought during the dry season, although Akbar attempted to wage at least one campaign during the monsoons, despite flooding and torrential rains. Aurangzeb used large rivers when campaigning in Assam and Bihar. Combined operations of land, sea and river forces eventually became an important component of the military art of the Great Mughals.
Bichwa dagger.
Bichwa dagger: side view.
Army on the march
Among the many things that amazed European travelers in the 16th century, the organization of the movement of troops was almost in the first place. Father Antonio Monserrat, a Jesuit missionary, wrote that he watched a huge Indian army on the march and that the sight was very amazed. For example, that the heralds went ahead of the main forces, warning the rulers of small principalities not to try to resist. And, of course, that the army, going through friendly or neutral territory, paid money for everything.
Cavalry of the Great Mughals in battle, miniature from a manuscript of the early 17th century. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
When moving, the army tried to avoid routes across the great plains where water was scarce, to avoid mountains where the troops were vulnerable to ambush, and where there were problems with crossings - to act with the help of a large number of pioneers who cleared the road and built bridges, if necessary. and rafts. They were commanded by a senior military engineer, and local governors and subordinate rulers were to provide them with boats and building materials.
Saber tulwar 17th -18th centuries India-Afghanistan.
The Mughals marched under the cover of scouts. Those had to look out for sources of drinking water, access to fuel, that is, to firewood, and - most importantly, the enemy was close or far away. The signals were sent by means of pipes, so that the troops had time to prepare even for a surprise attack.
Siege of the Ratamdor fortress. Miniature from the Akbarname manuscript circa 1590, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Akbar is credited with inventing a new plan for setting up the camp, which was done to make it easier for the soldiers, so that it would be easier for them to navigate in it, because the camp of many thousands was a whole city where it was easy to get lost. That is why, for example, in the center of the camp a high post-lighthouse was erected, on which a fire burned at night, which served as a reference point for the army. Artillery gathered in one part of the camp, cavalry in another, infantry in a third. Each army had its own "area" where all important matters were decided.
Indian mace shishpar, most likely from Rajasthan, 18th century, hilt modeled on the Khanda sword. Royal Arsenal in Leeds, England.
Trusted members of the emperor's family personally inspected the perimeter of the camp every night, and if the sentry was not on duty, or he was asleep, his nose was cut off as punishment. Usually the camp was defended by hedges of woven branches, and the artillery positions by sandbags. From the beginning of the 18th century, the camp began to be fortified with moats and positions for artillery were equipped. The senior officer of the bakhshi was responsible for drawing up the battle plan. Then he presented this plan to the emperor for approval, as a rule, the day before the battle.
Indian spiked mace gurz. Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur, India.
The troops were distinguished by signs traditional for the Mongols, such as, for example, tug with their pendants made of yak tails, which were of pagan Central Asian origin. The lion and sun depicted on the banners were used by the Mongol rulers of Samarkand, even before Babur began to use them. Akbar distinguished himself with particularly complex symbolism, including the use of several … thrones, symbolizing the occupation of the emperor, an umbrella decorated with precious stones, a brocade canopy, and many different colors of flags.
Indian straight dagger, 1605-1627 Steel, gold, emeralds, glass, textiles, wood. Length with scabbard 37.1 cm. Length without scabbard 35.4 cm. Blade length 23.2 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Military music was also very developed among the Mughals. The fight began at the signal given by the panbat big drums, as well as the sounds of horns and battle shouts. Other military instruments, including timpani, small drums, cymbals and various trumpets, created a powerful noise field that cheered up their warriors and overwhelmed enemy warriors. The battle cry of the Muslim troops was typically Muslim: Allah Akbar ("Allah is greater …"), Din Din Muhammad ("Faith, Faith of Muhammad"). The Hindus, for their part, often shouted "Gopal, Gopal", which was one of the names of the god Krishna.
Indian cast mortar of the 18th century, made for Tipu-Sultan in Muzora. Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich, England.
Babur's tactics were largely based on the experience of Tamerlane. The army was built according to a certain verified scheme: baranghar - the right wing, jamanghar - the left wing, haraval - the vanguard and gul - the center. Later, it included scouts, riflemen, an ambush regiment and "military police" to catch people retreating without orders.
The infantry widely used large wooden mantel shields, which was a further development of Tamerlane's ideas. Only with him, under their cover, the crossbowmen operated, and with Akbar - the musketeers. Most full-scale battles began with an artillery duel followed by attacks by cavalry units, first with one wing of the army, then with the other. The battle usually began in the morning and ended in the evening if the army hoped to retreat under cover of darkness. The main goal was to reach and overthrow the enemy commander sitting on an elephant; if it succeeded, then the battle could be considered won!
Other methods of fighting included feigned retreat to lure the enemy into an ambush; placement of infantry in the defile, the purpose of which was to kill the enemy commander; light cavalry attacks with the aim of attacking rear lines and carts. On occasion, riders dismounted to attack the unprotected bellies of armored elephants with large daggers. By the end of the 17th century, some of the Mughal cavalrymen had muskets as well as bows; but the latter dominated, but the former were always in short supply. Akbar made an attempt to create mobile field artillery, which he succeeded already under Aurangzeb.
Siege
The art of sieging fortified structures (as well as building them!) Was highly developed in pre-Islamic India. In the northern plains, fortifications were built on artificial embankments, often surrounded by moats with water or even swamps. In central India, many fortresses were built on natural rocks. In Sindh, Punjab and Bengal, where good stone was in short supply, brick was used, while in Kashmir some fortifications were built of wood. Babur brought with him new ideas related to the experience of Central Asia and Persian military architecture. For example, in the design of Indian fortresses, a lot of attention was paid to ensuring a proper water supply. Interestingly, various engineering tricks were used to counter the artillery, such as tall bamboo hedges and even prickly pear hedges up to 20 feet high!
Janjira Sea Fort. It was considered, and in fact was impregnable for centuries.
The construction of the fort took 22 years. Sheer walls rise straight out of the water. In the middle there are two freshwater lakes - a drinking war reserve.
They tried to make the citadel stronger by building high walls in several rows, as, for example, in the famous fortress in Agra, which had three walls built with ledges. Towers were not popular until the end of the 16th century, but a strong slope of the wall, covered galleries on the walls, outer galleries and "kiosks" above the gate were used. In the 17th century, the fortresses built by the Mughals received semicircular towers with many small box-shaped machines on them for shooting down. The old walls were reinforced and looped through for light cannons. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, many buildings began to have a purely decorative value.
The huge cannons of Fort Janjira. There were 572 of them! Not every sovereign in the army had so many guns, but here they were all placed on a small, in fact, island!
Already in 1495, Babur wrote about the possibility of using smoke against enemy miners who were digging. Often the defenders flooded them with water. The Rajputs defended the castles from Babur's troops by throwing stones and burning bales of cotton poured over them with oil. During one of the sieges, behind the iron door leading into the castle, a strong fire was kindled, so the enemy could not touch it and open it. The outer gates were studded with large iron spikes against elephants, which the besiegers used as live rams.
Catapults were still in use at the end of the 16th century; but cannons became the most important means of siege warfare. During the siege of the immense Rajput fortress of Chitora in 1567, the Mughals had three batteries, plus one large cannon that fired 40-pound stone cannonballs. Interestingly, this massive cannon was cast on the spot, at the top of a nearby hill, to avoid having to drag it up the steep slopes. Other sieges included a pasheb or sandbag platform; sarcob or damdama was a siege tower made of wood; in a word, sabat was called a covered trench; jala - a raft made of inflated skins that could carry up to 80 people, narbudan - an ordinary ladder and kamand - a rope ladder; round - a heavy mantelet.
Akbar's infantry and artillery (drawing by Angus McBride): 1 - infantry officer, 2 - artilleryman, 3 - boom (militia soldier). In the distance, oxen are carrying one of those huge cannons for which India was so famous at that time.
Some of the siege work was colossal in scale. Sabatas are described for ten horsemen riding side by side, and deep enough to completely hide a man on an elephant. Even Akbar's troops, however, often had to resort to the power of money rather than weapons in order to successfully complete the siege, especially if it lasted for several years.
