Third Anglo-Maratha War - Commencement

Commencement

The Peshwa's territory was in an area called the Desha, now part of the modern state of Maharashtra. The region consists of the valleys of the Krishna and Godavari rivers and the plateaus of the Sahyadri Mountains. Shinde's territory around Gwalior and Bundelkhand was a region of rolling hills and fertile valleys that slopes down toward the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north. The Pindari territory was the valleys and forests of the Chambal, the north western region of the modern state of Madhya Pradesh. It was a mountainous region with a harsh climate. The Pindaris also operated from Malwa, a plateau region in the north west of the state of Madhya Pradesh, north of the Vindhya Range. Holkar was based in the upper Narmada River valley.

The war was mostly a mopping-up operation intended to complete the expansion of the earlier Anglo-Maratha war, which was stopped due to economic concerns of the British. The war began as a campaign against the Pindaris. Seeing that the British were in conflict with the Pindaris, the Peshwa's forces attacked the British at 16:00 on 5 November 1817 with the Maratha left attacking the British right. The Maratha forces comprised 20,000 cavalry, 8,000 infantry, and 20 guns whereas the British had 2,000 cavalry, 1,000 infantry, and eight guns. On the Maratha side, an additional 5,000 horse and 1,000 infantry were guarding the Peshwa at . The British numbers include Captain Ford's unit, which was en route from Dapodi to Khadki. The British had also asked General Smith to come to Khadki for the battle but they did not anticipate he would arrive in time.

Three hills in the region were the Parvati Hill, the Chaturshringi Hill, and the Khadki hill. The Peshwa watched the battle from the Parvati Hill whereas the British East India Company troops were based on the Khadki hill. The two hills are separated by a distance of four kilometres. The river Mula is shallow and narrow and could be crossed at several locations. A few canals (nallas in Marathi) joined the river and though these were not obstacles, some of them were obscured due to the vegetation in the area.

The Maratha army was a mix of Rohillas, Rajputs, and Marathas. It also included a small force of the Portuguese under their officer, de Pinto. The left flank of the Maratha army, commanded by Moropant Dixit and Raste, was stationed on the flat ground on which the University of Pune stands today. The centre was commanded by Bapu Gokhale and the right was under Vinchurkar. British troop movements began on 1 November 1817 when Colonel Burr moved his forces towards what is now Bund Garden via the Holkar Bridge. The Maratha were successful initially in creating and exploiting a gap in the British left and centre. These successes were nullified by the Maratha horses being thrown into disarray by a hidden canal and the temporary loss of command by Gokhale, whose horse was shot. The Marathas were rendered leaderless when Moropant Dixit on the right was shot dead. The British infantry advanced steadily, firing volley after volley, causing the Maratha cavalry to retreat in a matter of four hours. The British soon claimed victory. The British lost 86 men and the Maratha about 500.