How to feed an Indian army?

bhushan_lawate · 9th November 2018, 04:21 AM

Hi All,

A rather interesting topic for discussion and we can only "try" to guess the situations of the times in which these wars happened.

I can cite the information from the 1660's when ShahistaKhan who was the uncle of Aurangzeb marched to the Deccan to vanquish Shivaji.

It is documented that he had two sets of his tents etc. and while he was staying at one place the other would be on march and set up at the next point of staying.

Apparently his army marched a mere 10 miles odd a day and took months together to reach from Delhi to Pune where he established his base. Also, on his way the local rulers/feudal Lords joined his army on the instructions/directions from the Mughal court as they were also the subsidiaries of the Mughal Emperor and had to do the bidding of the Emperor.

Large cooking pots (Hundis) were set up on camel drawn carriages in which "Biryani" was cooked while on the move and soldiers were fed. in fact, Biryani was preferred as it was easy to cook and could last for days.

Also, the villages and chiefs enroute had instructions of providing all the necessary materials and food grains etc. to the marching armies.

This army was about 100,000 strong and had heavy cannons, elephants, camels, horses and lot of non-combat individuals like family members, cooks, dancers etc.

on the contrary the Maratha armies had only horsemen and infantry and carried dry rations to make flat breads and rice and ate it with assorted meat or vegetables.

However, most invading armies from Delhi to Deccan resorted to plundering and forcefully taking things away on their way from the villages and cities they passed through.

Hopefully this will help get some insights on the way armies moved in those times.

9th November 2018, 04:21 AM	#19
bhushan_lawate Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: India Posts: 77	Hi All, A rather interesting topic for discussion and we can only "try" to guess the situations of the times in which these wars happened. I can cite the information from the 1660's when ShahistaKhan who was the uncle of Aurangzeb marched to the Deccan to vanquish Shivaji. It is documented that he had two sets of his tents etc. and while he was staying at one place the other would be on march and set up at the next point of staying. Apparently his army marched a mere 10 miles odd a day and took months together to reach from Delhi to Pune where he established his base. Also, on his way the local rulers/feudal Lords joined his army on the instructions/directions from the Mughal court as they were also the subsidiaries of the Mughal Emperor and had to do the bidding of the Emperor. Large cooking pots (Hundis) were set up on camel drawn carriages in which "Biryani" was cooked while on the move and soldiers were fed. in fact, Biryani was preferred as it was easy to cook and could last for days. Also, the villages and chiefs enroute had instructions of providing all the necessary materials and food grains etc. to the marching armies. This army was about 100,000 strong and had heavy cannons, elephants, camels, horses and lot of non-combat individuals like family members, cooks, dancers etc. on the contrary the Maratha armies had only horsemen and infantry and carried dry rations to make flat breads and rice and ate it with assorted meat or vegetables. However, most invading armies from Delhi to Deccan resorted to plundering and forcefully taking things away on their way from the villages and cities they passed through. Hopefully this will help get some insights on the way armies moved in those times.