Who was the greatest general of India in 18th century?

[Yaduveer]

Lets discuss the greatest general of 18th century(1700-1799) of Indian subcontinent that includes present India,Pakistan and Bangladesh
Contenders are

1. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath

He organised 1st march of Marathas towards Delhi and defeated Mughal emperor Farrukhshiyar with mere 15,000 cavalary.He helped the sayyid brothers in deposing of Mughal emperor Farrukh siyar.

2. Peshwa Bajirao

Son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, rare example of "able father to able son"

Baji Rao, who fought over 41 major battles and many others, is reputed never to have lost a battle. General Montgomery, British general and later Field Marshal after WWII, affirmed this in his writings.

3. Jat Suraj Mal of Bharatpur

Maharaja Suraj Mal (February 1707–December 25, 1763) was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Odysseus", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision

4. Nizam-ul-mulk of Hydrabad

Founder of Hyderabad state.

Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi (20 August 1671 – 1 June 1748) was a Mughal nobleman the founder of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. He established the Hyderabad state, and ruled it from 1720 to 1748. Great statesman . Ranjit singh was said to be the greatest statesman and second only to Nizam-ul-mulk asaf Jah.

5. Hyder Ali of Mysore

Hyder Ali offered strong anti-colonial resistance against the military advances of the British East India Company during the First and Second Anglo–Mysore Wars, and he was the innovator of military use of the iron-cased Mysorean rockets

6. Tipu Sultan of Mysore

Brave but man of a complex character
Tipu Sultan also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799, and a scholar, soldier and poet.

Though both Tipu sultan and Hyder Ali used to send tribute to Maratha rulers.

7. Madhavrao

An under-rated Peshwa ,

He has restored the Maratha power after debacle of Panipat to it's original height.

Defeated Nizam of hydrabad and Hyder ali of mysore, two times each and occupied their territory and forced both of them to send tribute to Maratha power.

Installed Shah Allam to delhi and after forcing Britishers who has kept Shah Allam as pensioner at Allahabad.


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[Yaduveer]

More about BajiRao

Baji Rao, who fought over 41 major battles and many others, is reputed never to have lost a battle. General Montgomery, British general and later Field Marshal after WWII, affirmed this in his writings.

He was one of the first to understand and exploit the weaknesses of the fragmenting Mughal Empire, following the footsteps of his father. The declining influence of the Syed Brothers at the Imperial court was another factor influencing his decision to attack.

The later Kingdoms of Scindias (Ranoji Shinde) of Gwalior, Holkars (Malharrao) of Indore, Gaekwads (Pilaji) of Baroda, and Pawars (Udaiji) of Dhar were created by Baji Rao as part of a Maratha Empire, as he wreaked havoc on the disintegrating Mughal Empire and set up his jagirdars (fiefdoms).

He moved the administrative capital of the Maratha Empire from Satara to the city of Pune in 1728. His general, Bapuji Shripat, persuaded some of the richer families of Satara to settle in the Pune city, which was divided into 18 peths (boroughs).

In 1732, after the death of Maharaja Chhatrasal, a long-time ally of the Maratha Empire, Baji Rao was granted one-third of Chhatrasal's kingdom in Bundelkhand.

An outstanding cavalry leader, Baji Rao was loved by his troops and his people. He fought for the protection of Hindu Dharma, and freed central and western India from Mughals. Under his command, Marathas defeated the Siddis(Moghul admirals), Portuguese, and Nizam, Bangash and other generals.[1]

 

[Yaduveer]

More about Madhav Rao

The Maratha Empire under its new Peshwa Madhavrao II regained most of Indian subcontinent, twice defeating Tipu's father, who was forced to accept Maratha Empire as the supreme power in 1764 and then in 1767. In 1767 Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao defeated both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and entered Srirangapatna, the capital of Mysore. Hyder Ali accepted the authority of Madhavrao who gave him the title of Nawab of Mysore.[23] However Tipu Sultan wanted to escape from the treaty of Marathas and therefore tried to take some Maratha forts in southern India. This brought Tipu in direct conflict with the Marathas, who sent an army towards Mysore under leadership of General Nana Phadnavis. The Marathas took many forts of Tipu Sultan in the Mysore region Badami, Kittur, and Gajendragad in June 1786. By the victory in this war, the border of the Maratha territory was extended to the Tungabhadra river. This forced Tipu to open negotiations with the Maratha leadership. He sent two of his agents to the Maratha capital at Pune. The deal that was finalized resulted in the Marathas recovering their territories which had been annexed by Mysore. Furthermore the Nizam of Hyderabad received Adoni and Mysore was obligated to pay 48 lacs rupees as a war cost to the Marathas, and an annual tribute of 12 lacs rupees. In return the Marathas recognized the rule of Tipu in the Mysore region

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Even British general Robert Clive can be added to this list, if u ask me.

 

[Yaduveer]

Even British general Robert Clive can be added to this list, if u ask me.

Robert Clive was no doubt excellent general but he was Britisher not Indian.

 

[Yaduveer]

@Parul how come Tipu sultan being greatest general in your eyes? can you share your thoughts ?

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet
....................&
Francis Rawdon-Hastings

 

[kaykay]

without any douby It should be Bajirao Peshwa......

 

[Koovie]

Ehmmmm what about Marthanda Varma and Ramayyan Dalawa of Travancore ??? (Todays Cochin) ????
They won the Battle of Colachel against the Dutch in 1741!

The ONLY decisive victory of a South Asian force against a European one! After this battle the Dutch ambitions on the sub continent were crushed!

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Robert Clive was no doubt excellent general but he was Britisher not Indian.

He wasnt greatest to be exact. Ur thread title was like, I thought, greatest generals present in India that time.
Muslim kings, and Marathas fought among themselves, giving rise to Robert Clive. The policy was to find traitors within their systems, fund them, and through them Backstabb the emperor they are fighting.
This is how Mir Jafar became the ruler of Bengal, through Treachery and alliance with the British.

When CLive was asked to quell, Americal war of Independence, He was badly defeated and taken prisoner by the Americans.

Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet
....................&
Francis Rawdon-Hastings

But Francis became Governor General in 19th Century mate...
But another able contender in Warren Hastings.

 

[genmirajborgza786]

He wasnt greatest to be exact. Ur thread title was like, I thought, greatest generals present in India that time.
Muslim kings, and Marathas fought among themselves, giving rise to Robert Clive. The policy was to find traitors within their systems, fund them, and through them Backstabb the emperor they are fighting.
This is how Mir Jafar became the ruler of Bengal, through Treachery and alliance with the British.

When CLive was asked to quell, Americal war of Independence, He was badly defeated and taken prisoner by the Americans.



But Francis became Governor General in 19th Century mate...
But another able contender in Warren Hastings.

Warren Hastings was undoubtedly an excellent strategist ,but dint include his name due to the controversial nature of his legacy (impeachment & problems with the royal family)

when it comes to warfare, strategy, legacy's, victories, administration in 18th century India none comes close to the Bengal & Madras presidencies

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Warren Hastings was undoubtedly an excellent strategist ,but dint include his name due to his the controversial nature of his legacy (impeachment & problems with the royal family)

Thats right. Very controversial. But an able strategist as u said.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Warren Hastings was undoubtedly an excellent strategist ,but dint include his name due to the controversial nature of his legacy (impeachment & problems with the royal family)

when it comes to warfare, strategy, legacy's, victories, administration in 18th century India none comes close to the Bengal & Madras presidencies

There wasnt a unifying factor among the Muslim kings nor the Hindus. see my before post, how Mir Jafar betrayed his king. Same happened in Madras region, giving the foreigners a stronghold.
In fact they didnt do much. They created infighting, and finally became the master state without more wars. And they needed best strategist for that. And Clive and Hastings did it for them.

 

[angeldude13]

i like tipu sultan.

 

[Jaggu]

You can't include hastings or other Europeans. We are talking about Indian generals here, or should we say generals of South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka). In the Indian sub continent, the 18th century belonged to the Marathas and Afghans as these two powers were the dominating forces. The early part of the 18th century was dominated by the Marathas, while the later part of the 18th century was dominated by the Afghans. Jats, Sikhs, Mysore, Hyderabad were also major players in India during the time.