Brandon.F 淺談馬拉塔帝國陸軍的組織與構成 中文字幕

18世紀以來,馬拉達帝國是印度帝國的頂尖力量 以軍力的力量,他們幾乎擊敗了整個陸地 他們的槍力強,他們的騎士速度快,他們的鑰匙充滿了財富 我聽說他們也擅長獨立的串流舞蹈 但在新一世紀,只有兩場短暫的戰爭後 那些王國幾乎完全崩潰 他們的大部分地位不僅僅是對外國的力量,而是對外國的公司 馬拉達戰爭的故事被英國軍隊的勢力所打敗 事實上,不是在瓦特魯,亞特蘭德·威爾斯利說他贏得了最大勝利 而是在阿塞 但我們經常聽到的是另一邊,本土的一方 那些抵抗東印度的夥伴,他們是如何做到的 為了理解印度軍隊的勝利,你必須瞭解印度軍隊本身 所以在這個視頻中,我會先看看馬拉達軍隊的一些更廣泛的主題 然後再看看軍隊不同的翼的具體性 正如平時所說,這個視頻只是在清理表面 所以如果你想了解更深的資訊 那麼所有的資料和一些更多的閱讀也會在下面列出 您可以免費在nativeoak.org.com或library.com獲得許多資訊 那麼,讓我們開始 馬拉達帝國的下滑 這段視頻實在太荒謬了 但馬拉達帝國的下滑並不是一個快速或甚至是平行的過程 也不像東印度企業那樣遭遇侵略 事實上,他們之間的第一場戰爭 在你可能看得很熟悉的那些年 是一個馬拉達帝國的勝利 只有這兩場戰爭才能證明他們的滅絕 如果您對於印度帝國的早期日子有興趣 當他們贏得了大部分的印度 那麼我會在下面的描述列出一些短短的視頻 我們會在短短的視頻中探討這段歷史 但對我們來說 在這18世紀的後來日子中 在那些戰爭結束之後 這已經是歷史了 馬拉達帝國逐漸失去他們的和諧 他們的軍事權力 處於下降的狀態 在帝國的尺寸增長 當然也因此而付出了維護和防衛帝國的費用 帝國權力開始被分散到 更加本地的領導人 他們可以看待自己的事務 而在過程中 甚至恰恰帕提他自己 哦,事實上 這段視頻中有很多印度語 準備好 但無論如何 恰恰帕提他自己 馬拉達帝國 或者帝國 無論你怎麼翻譯 他變得越來越像一個儀式人物 使他們的權力轉移到他們的帝國 基本上是一個首相 雖然後來我明白 甚至那個位置也變得基本上荒謬 所以當然 這也意味著中軍的下降 他們的軍事權力 由於軍人和其他人的責任 轉移到那些本地的領導人 他們提供貴族薪酬 並且在過程中增加了意義 他們會提供外國的僱傭 給死亡的佛羅里斯軍隊 附近仍然存在一個小的 中軍專業軍隊 是佛羅里斯軍隊 如同一名佛羅里斯軍隊官員 和影響力的 霍爾卡家族的僱傭記錄 每位羅賈 王子或領導人 都對佛羅里斯軍隊 或佛羅里斯帝國的領導人 他為自己的區域付出優惠 並且在他獲得的薪酬和薪酬 與其他人的財富和人口 他擁有他自己的軍事權力 並且與他自己的財富 並且與他自己的軍事權力 進行聯繫 這些僱傭軍隊 是族裔多元的 並且具有許多 國家、宗教 以及其他族裔背景 所以在18世紀 由於歐洲軍隊 正在變得更加中立 羅里斯軍隊 變得越來越少 如同R.L.安波斯總統 所評論 這也意味著 僱傭軍隊中 對僱傭的悅耳 而僱傭軍隊 更像是一個交易 而不是一份職業 而僱傭軍隊 僅僅僅屬於 僱傭軍隊的僱傭 當地有許多 數百萬個 僱傭軍隊 不斷地循序漸進 從僱傭到僱傭 因為當下的壓力 需要他們的協助 並且保證他們的僱傭 獎金是他們的神 而僱傭軍隊 在他們被僱傭 僱傭的過程中 而僱傭軍隊的僱傭 在他們被僱傭 僱傭的過程中 在任何時候 僱傭軍隊在印度 他們會跟隨僱傭軍隊 去戰鬥 只要僱傭軍隊的資源 足夠支撐 當下的僱傭 出生的僱傭 沒有任何其他職業 除了武藝 這些男人 毫不擔憂地 依照任何遊客的標準 無論僱傭軍隊有多勤奮 只要僱傭軍隊擁有 他們最大的幸福 在這些人的心中 僱傭軍隊沒有像 阿摩爾帕特里亞 那樣的感情 除了愛心 對幾棵地球 或幾棵樹 僅僅是他們 從他們的思憶中 從他們的運動時期 幼稚的一段時間 印度人 是全球的一名民眾 並不頻繁地發生 父母 子女和兄弟 都享受不同的服務 並在戰爭中 在同一條血腥的海岸 對抗彼此 或許是不小心 被彼此的手掌摑破 或許是有點戲劇性 但我覺得這點 能夠理解 並且包括在 這些僱傭軍隊的階層 包括阿富汗人 阿拉伯人 甚至是歐洲人 以及很多其他人 並非僅僅是印度人 來自其他地區 而那些歐洲僱傭軍隊 特別是 尤其是軍官 他們代表著 這段時期的 馬拉多軍隊的另一個重要元素 因為這並非只是 一場倒退的故事 即使馬拉多軍隊 依賴僱傭軍隊 他們也在現代化 他們的軍隊 它們的結構 以及研發和裝備 因此 印度軍隊 在他們在戰爭中 遇到伊斯蘭共和國時 他們的故事 並非一場 直線的倒退 而這件有趣的對比 我認為 帶給我們 第一部分的軍隊 我希望討論的 馬拉多軍隊 還有他們的額外貨幣 畢竟 他們是贊助這段視頻 所以我應該 說一些關於他們的事 到這個地步 我猜你已經聽過 我頻道的額外貨幣 關於英國軍隊 經常使用它們 在紐約戰爭中 因為明顯的優勢 快捷卡按鈕 會允許它們 我長期憂慮 優勢 當在艱辛的運動中 貨幣的能力 可以攜帶12張卡 加現金 同時保持 精緻和現代設計 比舊版的 額外貨幣 也會經常改變顏色 根據 呃 軍隊 是的 對於它們的發行 當然 但我還沒有討論 額外貨幣的使用 在英國 尤其是 使用特殊的 聯邦 Safiano設計 你看 雖然普通的聯邦貨幣 是歐洲的標準問題 但在印度的企業軍隊 會經常採用 這種更有風格的方式 你可以看到 這裡有這種精緻 和特殊的質感 這讓Safiano 與其他品牌不同 不久後 Murata也開始使用它 它成為印度大陸 從大約1757年 到1823年 這其實很驚訝 也很奇怪 因為Safiano 只有最近推出 現在已經售罄 可以在描述欄 你還可以獲得 優質的折扣 獲得25% 折扣 感謝Exter 他們的贊助 現在 到Murata軍隊 歷史上 幾乎所有歐洲軍隊 的基礎 都是步兵 你可能會期待 他們代表 大多數軍隊 在任何領域 但這並不是 印度的情況 在早期的Murata歷史 是的 他們依賴 一個強大的軍隊 但當共和國 保護了自己的土地 並且她的邊界 變得更加固定 而不是不斷地移動 軍隊的需要 對於不斷的獲得 以及最近 獲得的土地 會下降 後來Murata 變得更加關心 帶戰 進入敵人的土地 而在這些遙遠的航行 主要設計為潛艇 一支士兵 比軍隊更有用 在一份波蘭人報告 截至1787年6月 因此 我們讀到 Peshwa 可以帶入 80-100,000匹馬 10,000英尺 和40-50枚手榴彈 相信或不相信 有些來源 並不介意 提到軍隊 因為 至少在對戰士兵的比較 這並不太相關 逐漸地 Murata的軍事基礎 基礎 轉變為戰士 尤其是輕型的戰士 設計為 攻擊敵人的供應線 和佔領村 更多 其實 在戰爭中 參與敵人的軍隊 但我們會 在後面的視頻中 因此 有些人認為 Murata本身 不會參與 如此污染的軍事服務 這是一個非常廣泛的總結 但有一個 總結 Murata本身 並不做軍事服務 軍隊是在 佔領土地 是在壓迫反抗 為了一個人 真正獲得榮譽和福氣 他必須加入軍隊 參加戰鬥 這就是 真正的錢 真正的貨物 正在進來 因此 軍隊的需要 能夠有足夠的數量 他們將會 幾乎完全 有些時候 由外國人操縱 但 有趣的是 這對外國人的依賴 當然會減弱 並且會加強 軍隊的力量 因為許多這些人 尤其是 軍官 是歐洲人 可以協助 同時現代化軍力 有經驗的白人軍官 在印度是非常有價值的人 他們很快地 在Murata社會 擁有各種 偉大的 和強大的職位 無論在軍事上 或其他方面 他們是否值得擁有 你會看到 這些影響 在這段視頻的 剩餘時間當中 像Benoit de Boyne 一名奴隸 和一名薩波斯人軍官 在這些現代化工作中 他們會開始聘請 鑽研和服裝 薩波斯人軍官 根據歐洲標準 而視乎軍官 這些人可能會 看起來和行為 像法國人 或英國軍官 因為這些人 通常會依據 各個軍官的 個人喜好 這是一個現代化的計劃 但大部分來說 這並不是一個 中立的現代化計劃 在早期 Murata的各個軍隊 並沒有任何 正式的服裝 甚至不包括 歐洲風格的軍隊 他們並沒有 中立的服裝 這並不像 在印度 並不存在 Mughals 在早期 使用了 不同的服裝模式 而是基礎 並不存在 如果這些人 都是奴隸 他們大部分會依據 他們的個人領導人 而不是 政府供應他們 所以為什麼要加薪 讓他們看起來高貴 如果沒有直接影響 他們的工作 這至少是一個角度 雖然後來 這個角度也消失了 只是基礎 並不存在 只有在1750年代 我們開始看到 指揮官 實際上花費 必須的金錢 給他們的士兵 甚至當時 這並不算是 正式的 這會依據 個人領導人的口味 他們的裝備 從法國服裝 英國服裝 到國家服裝 從法國服裝 我們沒有很多資料 對於這些士兵 看起來 但是有證據 他們的褲子 通常是紅色 或藍色的布 我們不確定 他們會有不同顏色的 襯衫 或不是 根據隊伍 雖然我們知道 他們通常穿著 短袋 這絕對是 我認為 指揮官的外貌 最具特色的部分 以及一些不同顏色 以及不同風格的 長袍 只在1765年 東印度公司 建立了自己的服裝 和美軍的服裝 後來大致遵循 所以在第二次 和第三次的美軍戰爭 雙方都穿著外套 穿著裝備 甚至在 非常相似的服裝下 他們看起來 相當相似 其中的幾個例外 就是 美軍和英軍的基本規則 基本規則 是英軍和美軍 看起來相似 就是美軍 通常會穿著 鎧甲 並且穿著胸圍 甚至 本地軍官 在這件事上 通常會穿著 穿著 這些 比較有特色的 但非常實際的 外國 歐洲 和國家 的印度風格 我們甚至有幾個 歐洲軍官 穿著印度裝備 並且帶著 鎧甲 等等 這些在歐洲 是看不到的 就像安迪·科普斯蒂克 在他的 非常棒的一本書中 很遺憾 我不擁有 實體版本 但在下面的資訊中 顯然 對高級軍官來說 任何類型的服裝 都可以接受 只要不幹擾 他們的任務 個人喜好 就是一切 所以在1802年 至少 職業士兵的 較小的軍隊 在佛羅裏達州 稱為 Guardia 是一個 相對上 相當精準的軍隊 根據 大致上 歐洲標準 但他們的數量 也非常限制 而佛羅裏達州 總是需要 與EIC競爭 去聘請最優秀的軍隊 說不定 他們的困難 在於 把軍人供應 一名英國官員 會寫到 佛羅裏達州的 個人軍隊 在1794年 他們在一般來說 就像軍人一樣 不值得注意 最優秀的軍人 稱為 Guardia 其中有 五到六千人 他們的褲子 是紅色褲子 穿著藍色褲襠 有國族風格 他們的手 確實 大多是英文 而20人中 2人會被找到 沒有鎖 6人沒有鎖 也許 剩下12人 他們的訓練 跟他們的外貌 除了戴口罩 大部分的守衛 都帶著一把劍或手榴彈 而且有手榴彈 讓他們不斷修復 除了有 更像戰爭的外貌 也能拯救他們 穿著褲子和鎖 所以 也許有點極端 但是 這是《時代》的好例子 但是 即使如此 供應問題 絕對不會是 麻剌的最惡劣的問題 如我所說 印度軍隊 大量依賴外籍軍人 尤其是歐洲軍人 來訓練他們 但是 同樣地 他們並不太多 一般來說 每一個本地軍隊 總共有800名軍人 可能只有 3個歐洲軍人 剩下的指揮組織 都會是本地NCO 這些軍人 也來自各地 很少會有 一個軍隊 所有的英文 或所有的法國軍人 其中一位 在1798年評論 對於我們 一般軍隊的軍人 我們有所有國家的軍人 法國 英文 德國 葡萄牙 以及英國父親 而這些不同的國家 會導致 個人核心的複雜 英國人 尤其是法國人 會拒絕 和彼此合作 有時候 兩個政府 會鼓勵 自己的軍人 去尋求工作 在這些本地軍隊裡面 並不是為了 幫助他們的本地盟友 而是為了 抵抗那邊的影響 在那些本地軍隊裡面 基本上 是一個很棒的遊戲 在另一個國家的軍隊 如果這不是一個很棒的題材 對於一個偽劇 我甚至不知道會是什麼 但是 即使這些歐洲軍人 並不是被命令 進入本地軍隊 即使他們沒有 從一開始就有 偽劇的目的 也總會有 向歐洲政府 推銷軍事祕密 為了一個 簡單而賺錢的收益 在18世紀的後期 美拉多政府 有很少的祕密 但可能最糟糕的 對於共和黨 是有時候歐洲人 會直接拒絕 如果情況出現 去對抗自己的鄰國 在第二次英格蘭戰爭 的最初時 英國官員 坦白宣佈 任何英國人 對他們的軍隊 不可思議地 不會被歡迎回家 結果就是 在最糟糕的時刻 在戰爭的開始時 巨大的 共和黨的軍事部隊 撤退 破壞 或放棄 在最快的機會 他們的整個軍事基礎 基本上是 在晚上 沒有開槍 當然還有NCO 可以 擺脫那些工作 擺脫那些角色 但是 會有很負面的影響 如果你 在晚上失去所有的官員 美拉多政府 簡單來說 他們不太擅長 辨認 他們聘請的歐洲人 那些興趣 來自文化和政治差異 還有其他僱傭 他們不擁有 國家主義 或想要戰鬥 超過工作的概念 就像我們之前看到的 所以在最後一天 美拉多軍隊的故事 是一個混淆的包袱 儘管他們有很多問題 他們也花了很大量 18世紀的 嘗試 至少是他們的方式 去現代化 和專業化 一部分的軍隊 這些軍隊 在某一段時間 都被忽略了 他們絕對不是 他們最好的 但是 你不能只寫下他們 正如許多現代人 做的 作為一個消失的故事 作為一名英國官員 在美拉多法庭工作 副總統約翰·柯林斯 在二次世界大戰前 警告了亞瑟·威爾斯利 他們的軍隊和槍 會驚訝你 也會讓未來的 威靈頓主席 在未來的嘗試中發現 即使他當時 但是我們今天不在這裡 討論第二次美拉多戰爭 他為自己 做出了這麼偉大的聲譽 所以我們來回到 印度士兵的第二把手 美麗的和強勁的槍 美拉多戰爭 再一次 這個故事 是一個有趣的 和複雜的 這可能會有很多變化 視乎你正確的 當時 你正在看待它 正如平時 我們將專注在 近十八世紀 當時 美拉多戰爭 擁有了長期 和深刻榮譽的角色 在美拉多軍隊 這也不是歐洲戰爭的 歐洲戰爭的歐洲介紹 在此時 在印度 已經有數百年 歐洲戰爭基礎 並且他們製造了槍 不僅僅是稱為 但也有驚訝的質素 正如約翰·普羅賓 在他的書中說 布勒克斯·格雷恩 和古德·麥迪拉 甚至布勒克斯·格雷恩 憎恨印度槍的精準 和優秀 並建議 以他們的力量和軟弱 來採用模型 英國人也感到驚訝 美拉多戰爭的力量 並且經常聽到 敵人用這把槍 比任何其他槍 來贏得對手的戰鬥 而這裡的軟弱 意味著 以他們的尺寸來說 如同你所見 很多槍都會變得很大 但儘管這個偉大的信念 比偉大的槍更偉大 美拉多戰爭 也有其問題 有些槍 與他們的軍隊 最後使力量被摧毀 當俄羅斯和印度 對抗時 是的 這些槍的槍架 非常精準 但是他們的載具 並非如此 他們經常被堅固製造 難以移動和操縱 印度大多數的戰爭 實際上 幾乎所有的戰爭 直到近18世紀 並非由快馬 而是由慢的兔子 和猴子推動 美拉多戰爭也像這樣 複雜而慢 並且這些因素的組合 意味著他們的準確度 也很差 就如同美拉多和阿富汗 第三場戰爭的一個敘述 美拉多槍 很大很重 而且他們的級數不容易改變 他們的槍開始過關 我們的軍隊 and fell a mile in the rear And this inefficiency on the battlefield wasn't all either Despite the highly honored, almost reverential position which many of these old, large guns would hold As you would expect, they were also very expensive very difficult to maintain especially for a military apparatus which was becoming less centralized As one eyewitness to the once great Maratha artillery would describe The park of artillery, where all their guns are collected made an extraordinary appearance The gun carriages, in which they trust to the solidity of the timber and use but little iron in their construction are clumsy beyond belief particularly the wheels, which are low and formed by large, solid pieces of wood united The guns are of all sorts and dimensions and having the names of their gods given to them are painted in the most fantastic manner And many of them, held in esteem for their services they are said to have already performed for the state cannot be dispensed with although, in every respect, unfit for use Where the guns even serviceable the small supply of ammunition with which they are provided has always effectively prevented the Maratha artillery from being formidable to their enemies The core advantage of the Maratha artillery then seems to have been the sheer numbers of guns which they could bring to bear In nearly every battle from the Anglo-Maratha wars you'll see that disparity in numbers right away But you'll also see that oftentimes no matter how many guns they have they're going to prove very little effect against the smaller numbers of much lighter European cannon which were capable of firing and maneuvering very quickly across the battlefield After all, the basic principle is that 118 pounders that missed their mark could never prove so effective as 10 three-pounders that find it But here as well, much like the infantry the Maratha were not totally resting on their laurels and efforts were made to modernize A benefit of the complicated network of Maratha foundries was that they were capable of producing all sorts of guns including lighter and more versatile pieces And by the late 18th century we do start to see a greater degree of these faster-moving batteries which were largely being crewed either by hired Europeans or by individuals trained in European fashion And again, they're being drilled to European standard Although as we saw before again, that's going to bring its own set of problems as well having so much European influence but we see the efforts there being made It might also be worth noting that besides these traditional elements the Maratha were making use of a variety of more unique sorts of artillery as well Although to be fair they never really had a very great effect especially not against European forces I just mean to say that not all the Maratha artillery were these big lumbering guns that could hardly be maneuvered The Maratha understood the need for versatility It simply wasn't the most practical form of it when they met the European form if that makes sense For example, while the Maratha would never fix swivel guns onto elephants like the Mughals before them would they would sometimes arm camels with them They could also employ an equivalence to the wall gun not just within forts but fired from the back of a kneeling camel These camel cores had the potential for great speed But again, they weren't terribly useful in the field for a wide variety of reasons Another unique method of war was the usage of war rockets a weapon of terror manufactured specifically for the Peshwa's army and which actually saw some more limited use up to the Siphoi mutiny in the mid-Victorian era As described by a certain Colonel Wilkes This Indian instrument receives its projectile force from the same composition which is used in the rockets of ordinary fireworks The cylinder which contains it is of iron and sometimes gunpowder at its extremity causes it to explode when it has reached its object A straight sword blade is also not unfrequently fixed to the rocket An attached bamboo or reed steadies its flight The rocket men are trained to give them an elevation proportion to the varying dimensions of the cylinder and the distance of the object to be struck As those projected to any distance describe a parabola of considerable height a single rocket is easily avoided But when the flight is numerous the attempts would be useless and their momentum is always sufficient to destroy a man or a horse In earlier days of Indian warfare when the elephant was the mightiest weapon of war these rockets could be used to great effect in making the creatures panic and flee And of course a well-directed rocket to an enemy's magazine could end a siege pretty quickly But as time went on the devices lost a lot of their effectiveness save for their impact on the morale of country troops Generally an Indian soldier was much more afraid of a rocket than of a musket ball As Mohammad Jafar Shamloo says of Abdali's followers fighting at Panipat As for a musket ball the heroes cared not what it might do And in that scene of carnage and slaughter the only dread entertained by the renowned and gallant combatants was for a cannonball or the flight of a rocket So once again as a whole the Maratha artillery are a bit of a mixed bag They have a strong tradition of artillery some of the finest guns in India even in the world Yet they didn't necessarily know how to use them to their greatest effect And they were hindered by logistical problems poor preparedness And in that way they were actually rather similar to the infantry But then what about the third arm of Hindustan that wing of the military which was most distinctly Maratha and which was feared across the subcontinent Finally let us discuss the Maratha cavalry which traditionally was the most important and prestigious part of the confederacy's armies and on which they leaned the heaviest for much of the 18th century The Maratha were renowned for their expert horsemanship both by Indians and foreigners British commentators would write about how their cavalry were constantly at the beck and call of their expensive mounts shampooing which in this case means massaging them vigorously in order to maintain their musculature and to encourage them to subsist on half the feed that a presidency or king's mount would eat While in the British cavalry you might expect to see troopers alternate between riding their mounts and leading them on foot in order to preserve their health The Maratha were able to ride for incredible distances without halting once The great power he has over the horse with his tackle enables him to turn at three-quarters speed and almost within his own length It also allows him to ride 60 miles at a stretch without being fatigued Not one man only but many a whole regiment of irregular cavalry will do this although in their ranks are officers and men 70 years of age I have seen them at the end of a long march if about to go on foot duty prefer sitting on their horses to dismounting Bad walkers as they are they do not know what fatigue is on horseback Now that account comes from much later in the Victorian era but still many of the horsemanship principles would remain much the same The most iconic weapon of the Maratha cavalry were these 12 to 18 foot long spears typically made out of either light wood or bamboo with steel heads Rather than being used like a traditional cavalry lance they were thrust much like how spears would be on the ground The Maratha trained in special forms of combat which would allow them to keep their spear tip pointed towards a foe regardless of which direction they came from dancing to and fro on their saddles regardless of the incredible length of the spear itself Many of these techniques both of combat and of more general horsemanship were practiced through sporting events which eventually the British military and even the modern sporting world would adopt as well For example such as tent pegging And you can find some footage of a Victorian cavalry group practicing that sport on the YouTube channel Lindy Beige if you want to see it in practice in a more military environment But again there is still a modern sport of tent pegging which is really interesting to see I'd like to see it in person one of these days But in any case While these long spears were a favorite of the Marauder cavalry they weren't generally standardized Many of the cavalrymen would be responsible for supplying their own weapons and even their own mounts Although to be fair that's a pretty common thing over in Europe as well The following quote is from earlier in the 18th century So before a lot of these modernizing efforts and reforms were being made But I think it still applies to the Marauder cavalry It applies to the entire Marauder military But I think it applies to the cavalry particularly well A Marauder army consists in general of horse and foot of every neighboring nation religion and costume It makes a very motley appearance as it is under no discipline and destitute of regular uniform Few of the men in the same line either cavalry or infantry have weapons of a like form Some are armed with sword and shield others with matchlocks or muskets Some carry bows and arrows others spears, lances or war rockets Many are expert with the battle axe but the saber is indispensable to all The men in armor of whom there are many to make up the variety cut a very curious appearance A helmet covers not only the head and ears but protects the shoulders The body is cased in iron network or in a thick quilted vest The use of musketry and especially matchlock musketry Matchlocks were actually very, very common both the infantry and the cavalry The infantry had like special light cores that specifically used matchlocks They never really modernized it It was a whole thing I don't wanna get into all the nitty gritty right now But in any case the use of musketry on horseback even was a particularly prized skill with many mounted troops able to, you know ride really, really close like 30 yards within of their opponents before, you know they drop the reins take a shot take the reins back up and then ride away all in like one fell swoop swoop Again, it was something that they would practice in sport taking shots at bottles and such for example So you can expect a pretty fair level of accuracy there As the quote said as well The cavalry swords were very, very important And you might expect to see men armed with talwars shamshars skimitars I cannot comment myself on the use of any of these weapons For that in particular I would recommend a channel Schola Gladiatoria who has done a great deal of work on all those subjects But what I can do is reference the words of another contemporary who would write As the Asiatic used it with a drawing cut No one who has not seen wounds inflicted by when used in this manner can have an idea of the execution performed I have seen limbs lopped off and gashes given by a lightsaber and a light arm in a way which might have been deemed impossible even for a giant Although it is also worthy of note that alongside these variety of fearsome weapons that in the Murata cavalry a reluctance to charge will be frequently observed which does not proceed from any deficiency in personal courage but from this cause A great part of the horses in the Murata service are we have understood the property of the riders who receive a certain monthly pay according to the goodness of the horse for their own and their beast's services If a man has his horse killed or wounded no equivalent is made him by the sikar but he loses his animal and his allowance He will therefore of course be as careful as possible to preserve both And as we come to this financial concern it may be a good time to discuss the different types of Murata cavalry because this wasn't a single unitary force And again unfortunately for them throughout the 18th century it trends towards being a story of decline because while in earlier Murata history cavalry was a force to be reckoned with By the turn of the century they were little more than semi-professional brigands at least a lot of them were There were four main grades of Murata cavalry Firstly the Kaski Paga pronunciations These men were the Peshwa's personal force Think of them as an equivalent to the household cavalry troops They're like the personal guard regiments if you will They were exceptionally well equipped very well trained and intensely highly paid for their loyal service to the Peshwa However this professional unit of cavalry was also as you might expect very very small Then you had the Silidar Effectively the main Murata line cavalry These are still professional soldiers but they brought all their own equipment and they weren't very well paid They basically relied on a subsistence wage up until the point that they were on campaign Then when they're campaigning they have a right to a share of the enemy loot which is where they're actually going to expect to get their proper payment That's where they're making their career as opposed to just surviving Then on a very similar note to the Silidar Third comes the Ekandas Ekanda? Ekandas I don't know They were sort of like a yeomanry cavalry force They were volunteers rather than professional soldiers These men were the most common of the actual proper cavalry class And they'd be paid based on the quality of the mount that they brought with them They also supplied their own weapons and other equipment So again they're very similar to the line cavalry if you will but just some minor distinctions as far as how they're serving how they're being paid how they're equipped things like that And then finally of course on the periphery of the Murata cavalry but still very very important to their operation and the overall Murata style of warfare we have the Pindaris Now these men were effectively brigands They were bandits who weren't actually hired by the state during wartime They're not like the yeomanry being brought on when needed They're actually paying the state The Pindaris are paying for the privilege a license if you will to pillage the enemy's countryside It's sort of like like they're paying for a letter of mark as if these guys as if the Pindaris were pirates but with horses on the Deccan as opposed to ships on the Caribbean The Pindaris were not a fighting force They were no more proper cavalry than pirates are a navy All too often if they were put to the task of actually fighting a committed opponent even when they had the advantage the Pindaris would turn and run not daring to risk the mounts on which their livelihoods depended As Joshua Proven describes them they were a polyglot of professional marauders coming from all sorts of national and caste backgrounds And one anonymous writer dated to 1819 offers a more romantic description of their operations The climate and hardy habits of these plunders render tents or baggage an unnecessary encumbrance Each person carries a few days' provision for himself and for his horse and they march for weeks together at a rate of 30 and 40 miles a day over roads and countries is impassable for a regular army They exhibit striking resemblance to the Cossacks as well in their customs as in the activity of their movements They pillage without distinction friends as well as foes And speaking to the decline of the empire's military as it became increasingly feudal and confederated rather than centralized By 1780 for every one regular horseman in the Marauder cavalry there were up to 10 Pindaris an army designed to loot to raid supply lines but not to take fields not to storm fortifications which is exactly what the Marauder would have needed in their wars against the East India Company And so we come to our conclusion In the study of imperial history whether it's the British in India the Americans in Vietnam or the Romans in Gaul it's incredibly easy and it's all too common to suffer the pitfall of focusing so much on the imperial power that we neglect the natives that we envision their society as primitive their military as a mindless blob and their actions be they political, economic or otherwise as simple, even dumb But that simplification of entire cultures entire state apparatuses which could become really quite complicated It's inherently flawed It prevents you from understanding the complete picture In this case the Marauder Empire while certainly not in its prime by the time of the wars against the East India Company which would ultimately spell doom, of course It was still a massive and a powerful entity with complex military structures the likes of which this video can only serve as a very brief introduction They could sustain massive armies and they had been working throughout the 18th century to modernize their forces in light of an increasingly influential foreign presence The value of this modernization this westernization the Marauders realized it And ultimately owing to a great deal of factors both internal and external there's a lot of stuff there Many of these efforts did ultimately fail to achieve the desired result But even still despite those failures there were numerous occasions when Marauder forces would prove a worthy opponent to British and other European arms They gave them a run for their money quite a few times They were not some mindless native horde roving across India as many may imagine But they had much more in common with the sepoys of the East India Company and the British Army and all that fun stuff than they didn't To understand the British conquest of India you need to understand India itself And if you'd like to continue your learning well, I'd recommend you to look at this video's description where not only will you find a variety of recommended videos from other channels that are related to this topic but also some articles and links to the for example, the two excellent books that I referenced in this video as well as a slew of primary sources which you can read free of charge by visiting nativeoak.org slash library And in particular I'd like to extend my thanks directly I shouldn't have put the book down I'd like to extend my thanks directly to Mr. Joshua Proven of the channel Adventures in History Land for his assistance in my making this video as well as the channel Indostan which was generous enough to send me a lot of the images that I used in this video And which honestly can be really quite hard to come by especially when you can only you know, search for these Hindu terms in English It can be hard to find images of exactly what you're looking for So his sending over some images was very much appreciated Again, it is all linked down below So go and continue your educational journey Thank you for the time that you've spent with me here today My dear viewer And until the next time I am and I shall remain your most humble and obedient subservient