Afghan–Maratha War: Difference between revisions

Taking advantage of Sabaji's absence from Peshawar post, the Afghans marched to Peshawar. The [[Bala Hissar, Peshawar|Peshawar fort]] was taken by Afghans with heavy losses to the besieged Maratha garrison. Thereafter the Afghan invaders, under Jahan Khan overran Attock and threatened Rohtas Fort. By this time, Sabaji Scindia had reached Lahore, with fresh troops and a large number of Sikh fighters, who had once again allied with the [[Marathas]]. The combined forces of the Marathas and Sikhs massacred the Afghan garrison in which Jahan Khan lost his son and was himself wounded. The Afghans quickly vacated the forts of Peshawar and Attock and retreated west to Afghanistan. Hence, Peshawar once again fell to the Marathas.<ref name="Advance"/>

==Defeat of the Marathas ==

It was unbearable for Abdali to overlook this defeat. Najib-ud-Daulah invited Abdali to avenge his defeat. He, along with his commander Jahan Khan invaded Punjab for the fifth time with a gigantic army of 60,000 men<ref name="google"/> accompanied by heavy field-guns and [[Zamburak]]s. Trimbakrao, the Maratha governor of Multan, at the head of 5,000 troops, made a tactical decision of retreating towards Lahore; Sabaji Shinde also vacated Peshawar and was joined by Tukoji Holkar at Attock, backing towards Lahore. The remaining Marathas, along with Sikhs and [[Jats]] offered staunch resistance to the invaders at Lahore, but they were ultimately defeated due to inferior numbers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shejwalkar |first=Tryambak Shankar |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.6656/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Panipat: 1761 |publisher=Deccan College |year=1946 |location=Pune |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/marathas-and-panipat |title=Marathas and Panipat |publisher=Panjab University |year=1961 |edition= |location=Chandigarh |language=English}}</ref> On 24 December 1759, a ferocious battle was fought between Dattaji and [[Ahmed Shah Abdali|Abdali]] in which Dattaji's general, Sardar Bhoite was defeated with a loss of 250 Maratha soldiers after the Mughal contingent fled from the Maratha side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mahrattas' Thread on the Battle of Tarain (1761) |url=https://en.rattibha.com/thread/1443661378913374213}}</ref> As a consequence of his victory, Abdali managed to join forces with Najib-ud-Daula.<ref name="War"/>