Hot pursuit is often resorted to as a battle measure, so as to prevent the fleeing enemy from regrouping and launching a counter-attack. But not always advisable. At times, the flight might be a trap. In the Battle of Austerlitz, we saw how Napoleon resorted to a tactical retreat so as to lure the enemy into pursuing him into a trap that he had laid. This too is a similar story.
With the Mughal power declining after the death of Aurangzeb, several regional powers rose in several parts of India. The most prominent among them were the Marathas under the Peshwas, who established their sway over Delhi and most of the Gangetic Plain by the middle of the 18th century. Even after their defeat at the hands of Ahmed Shah Durrani in the third Battle of Panipat in 1761, they continued to hold sway over Delhi and most of the north. They even routed the Rohillas who had blinded Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, and restored him to the Delhi throne.
It was then that the British, who ruled Bengal and Bihar, emerged as a powerful challenge to them. Under the leadership of Lord Gerard Lake, they overran most of the Gangetic plain, captured Aligarh and set their sights on Delhi.
The Maratha army in Delhi was then led by a French mercenary named Louis Bourquin. Those days, many European mercenaries used to offer their services to local rulers. They used to train the Indian troops in European-style drills and tactics.
In 1803, Lord Lake marched towards Delhi and camped in the village of Patparganj (now a suburb of Delhi) on the eastern bank of the Yamuna. Upon hearing this, Bourquin crossed the river with the Maratha army and took up position on a hill he deemed suitable.
It was a battlefield that was truly advantageous to Bourquin. He had the high ground, the Yamuna behind him, and swamps on both sides of the hill. That left Lake no option but to attack from the front, which could easily be blunted.
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Concealing his infantry and artillery in the rear, Lake launched a frontal assault on the Marathas with a small cavalry force. Bourquin's hidden Maratha cannons fired at them. Lake's cavalry began to falter. Losing his own horse, Lake jumped onto another and ordered his remaining cavalry to retreat.
However, the retreat was very slow, towards the open countryside beyond the swamps on the sides. The elated Maratha army, in their moment of victory, forgot the fact that the slopes just below the hill were swampy, and charged down the hill to pursue and crush Lake’s army. Lake's hidden cannons opened fire at that opportune moment. A good part of the Maratha army fell to the cannon fire, and the rest into the swamps.
Lake entered Delhi in triumph, and the poor Emperor Shah Alam had no choice but to welcome him. With this, North India came almost entirely under British control. The Emperor's authority was reduced to the city of Delhi and the suburbs, including the village of Palam, leading to a popular saying - "Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, from Delhi to Palam."
