THE STORY OF INDIAN WARFARE | October 23, 1764: Establishing imperial rule - Battle of Buxar

The British, or more appropriately the East India Company, established their supremacy over the Eastern Provinces by their victory over the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, in the Battle of Palashi in 1757. They had established de facto sway over the province—aided in large part by the concessions they had extracted from the pliant rulers they foisted on the thrones of the provinces they had subdued. They took over all trade, refused to pay taxes or tariffs, and generally did as they pleased. After years of unbridled looting of their provinces, Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal (the same traitor who had betrayed his Nawab six years earlier and been placed on the throne by the British, but now was realising the cost that was to be paid), Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh, and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II got together in an uneasy alliance to evict the British and put an end to their depredations.

The three Nawabs cobbled together a force of over 40,000 infantry and cavalry with around 200 pieces of artillery. Yet, their large, unwieldy force was a heterogeneous mob of Pathans, Awadhis, Mughals, and Europeans with little common training or doctrine. The differences between them ensured that it was at best an uneasy alliance. The British, under General Hector Munro, had assembled an army of 12,000 combatants composed of 2,000 European and 10,000 Indian troops. It was a well-drilled and trained force, held together by the iron discipline which was the hallmark of British armies. As was the norm, they tried first to break the Indian alliance by turning one against the other and promising rewards to those who defected. Fortunately, the Indian alliance held, and the stage was set for a clash that would determine British rule over the subcontinent.

The two armies met at Buxar in modern-day Bihar in October 1764. Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Awadh, was appointed as the overall commander of the force and had deployed his vast army in an open plain, with the Ganges on his right and the fast-flowing Tora Nala on his left. The bulk of his own troops—around 15,000 strong—were placed in the centre, with eight battalions in line, with the gaps covered by field artillery. On the flanks were Awadh infantry—largely levies whose fighting qualities were suspect. Around 12,000 Afghan and Rohilla cavalry were on his right flank, from where he hoped to launch his major attack on the British positions. His heavy artillery was deployed in a grove on the left flank from where it could most effectively deliver fire. His plan was to deliver heavy artillery fire and then follow it up with an attack with overwhelming numbers to swamp the British positions.

The British force under Hector Munro reached Buxar on the night of October 3 and, after an extensive reconnaissance, took up camp around three miles south of the Indian positions. For two weeks, the armies sized each other up, each waiting for the other to make its move. Then, on October 23, Shuja-ud-Daulah moved his army out of its camp and deployed in battle order. The British forces too formed up in a well-rehearsed battle array, deploying in two compact lines with British troops in the centre and two Indian battalions on either flank. The entire frontage was covered by artillery fire. Munro himself was in the rear, where he had established an efficient communication system to rapidly transmit orders and coordinate the actions of his forces.

Shuja-ud-Daulah launched his first attack at around nine in the morning after a long preparatory bombardment. He used his own infantry for the initial attack, which made initial headway, but was halted by steady volleys of musket shot and artillery fire before it could even close in on the British positions. Shuja then launched his Afghan and Rohilla cavalry from the right flank. The cavalry attack floundered in a patch of boggy ground ahead of the British lines and could not make headway. Two such attacks were beaten back, and by noon Shuja-ud-Daulah had shot his bolt. His forces were unable to make any penetration against the compact British lines, which held firm with iron discipline and superb fire control.

The British attack
Munro now ordered his own ranks to attack. The British lines advanced in a well-rehearsed and drilled manoeuvre, with one battalion advancing while another gave it covering fire. With short bounds of 150–200 yards, using the time-honoured principles of fire and movement, the assaulting forces advanced steadily. The Nawab’s artillery took a toll, but discipline held, and slowly the British ranks closed in on the Indian positions. Munro now ordered one battalion to attack the grove on the flank where the artillery guns were deployed, and in a swift move, they succeeded in capturing all 27 of the heavy artillery guns there. The guns were now turned around and their fire directed toward the Indian lines. Seeing the British forces so close to them, and faced with a hail of fire from their own guns, the Indian ranks broke, and battalion after battalion began leaving their positions, running toward the Tora Nala hoping to cross it and flee. The Nawab ordered the destruction of the bridge of boats on the nala to halt the rout. It was of no avail. The soldiers jumped into the stream, and over 6,000 were swept away by the fast-flowing waters—more casualties than were caused by British fire. The Indian lines had simply disintegrated.

By three in the afternoon, it was all over. Though outnumbered by over 4:1, the British still won a decisive victory, though at a high cost. Over 1,800 were killed and 2,000 wounded—a high casualty figure dismissed callously by Munro as “being mostly blacks.”

Buxar was even more decisive than Palashi. It consolidated the foundations for imperial rule which Palashi had laid and established it firmly in India. Its sun would now continue its ascent over the subcontinent for almost two centuries more.

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