Field Marshall Extraordinaire

The more I research this Great Persona, the more I want to share his immense achievements.
35 battles in 20 years is no small achievement and winning all 35 of them is sheer brilliance. His prowess as a Great Warrior is well tabulated but he was also the Master Of Strategic Warfare.

"In a Concise History of Warfare", Field Marshall Montgomery writes..."They (The Marathas), were at their best in the 18th Century and the Palkhed campaign of 1727 - 1728 in which Baji Rao out generalled Nizam-Ul-Mulk is a Master Piece of Strategic Mobility.
Baji Rao's army was purely a mounted force, armed only with sabre, lance and bow. There was a spare horse for every two men. The Marathas moved unencumbered by artillery, baggage or even handguns and defensive armour".

I would like to showcase some of his battles in a series of posts to highlight his achievements.

The Battle Of Palkhed

Nizam-Ul-Mulk was the sworn enemy of the Marathas. He tried every strategy to defeat Baji Rao.

The Nizam moved his troops towards the Pune district so that the Marathas leave Aurangabad alone but Baji Rao laid a counter plan whereby he rode his army through Burhanpur-Khandesh- Surat, avoiding the Nizams troops and looting and conquering the Mughal states. The Nizam then moved via Nagpur-Pabal-Baramati and came close to Pune. This was when he got the disturbing news that Baji Rao and his army had neared Aurangabad. He left in great haste leaving his cannons and armoury behind.
Exactly what Baji Rao wanted. The Marathas confronted the Nizam in Palkhed and lay a siege on the forts of Devgiri and Vaijapur where the Nizam and his army were ensconced. With all avenues for food and water closed they could not last and the Nizam was forced to accept defeat and call a truce.

The Battle of Palkhed was not a great battle but it brought out Baji Rao's Strategic Warfare to the fore. This was just one of the incidents in his life which brought him fame in India and beyond.