Third Battle of Panipat 1761
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 14 January 1761 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1761 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | India | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | 29.3900, 76.9700 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) north of Delhi. The Afghans were supported by three key allies in India: Najib-ud-Daula who persuaded the support of the Rohilla chiefs, elements of the declining Mughal Empire, and most prized the Oudh State under Shuja-ud-Daula. The Maratha army was led by Sadashivrao Bhau, who was third-highest authority of the Maratha Confederacy after the Chhatrapati and the Peshwa. The bulk of the Maratha army was stationed in the Deccan Plateau with the Peshwa.
Militarily, the battle pitted the artillery, musketry, and cavalry of the Marathas against the heavy cavalry, musketry (jezail) and mounted artillery (zamburak) of the Afghans and the Rohillas led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and Najib ud-Daula. The battle is considered to have been the largest and one of the most eventful fought in the 18th century, and it had perhaps the largest number of fatalities in a single day reported in a classic formation battle between two armies.
The battle lasted for several days and involved over 125,000 troops; protracted skirmishes occurred, with losses and gains on both sides.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Third Battle of Panipat (revision 1378400236), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Browse more: battles in India · Asia · Early modern battles