Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, capital city - Hampi.

As soon as the battle commenced, Vijay received real-time updates about the unfolding conflict.

On the pivotal date of October 2nd, 1655, a significant blow was dealt to the Mughal Empire through a meticulously coordinated assault employing three distinct methods across multiple locations simultaneously.

Firstly, the Empire’s elite special forces, under the leadership of Dinesh Reddy and Lingesh, executed a highly successful operation, eliminating over half of the naval officers stationed at crucial bases in Gujarat and Sindh.

This strategic manoeuvre severely hindered the Mughal Navy’s ability to mobilize swiftly, given the shortage of officers, thereby presenting a strategic window of opportunity for the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire to capitalize upon.

In response, Admiral Gangadhar, commanding the Navy, wasted no time in seizing the moment. Exploiting the advantage gained by the special forces’ actions, Gangadhar swiftly engaged and neutralized the Mughal fleet already present in the waters prior to the commencement of the assault.

Subsequently, he orchestrated a campaign of chaos within the ports of Surat, Diu, and Khambhat, culminating in the securing of the Gulf of Khambhat.

Amidst these events, Commanders Narasimha Nayak and Ramayya Senapati, at the helm of five divisions, spearheaded an assault on the city of Surat. Capitalizing on the pre-existing chaos instigated by Dinesh Reddy’s operations, they orchestrated a dual-front assault, swiftly overwhelming the city and securing its capture on the very first day.

Meanwhile, as part of a strategy of disruption, Kiran Poojari orchestrated attacks on several towns and villages across the regions of Madhya Pradesh and Bengal, aimed at sowing confusion within the ranks of the Mughal Empire. These assaults were haphazard and targeted various border locations, generating widespread chaos and disarray among Mughal leadership.

On the next day, 3rd October 1655, Sarvesh took command of his own small fleet and set off for the coastal city of Bharuch, which was situated on the coast of the Narmada River. Utilizing the sewer system of the city, he was able to flank the enemies and successfully aid in the capture of the crucial city of Bharuch.

Consequently, this action ended up blocking off the Mughal Empire’s entry or exit from the Narmada River, one of the lifelines of the Mughal Empire’s economy.

On the other hand, Kiran Poojari found himself fending off an assault on the fortress of Kirawada that same day. The Mughals mistakenly believed this to be the staging ground for the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire’s attacks. Their misjudgment led to a painful defeat as Kiran’s forces repelled the invaders decisively.

Initially, under relentless bombardment from the Mughal side, Kiran strategically relinquished the fortress of Kirawada after enduring five hours of continuous siege due to the larger number of enemies.

But as the enemy attempted to advance inland, Kiran capitalized on the well-developed transportation network and formidable defensive measures implemented prior to the battle, with each of the seven fortresses serving as crucial nodes. Reinforcements swiftly arrived, inflicting significant casualties upon the Mughal Empire’s forces.

On the 4th of October 1655, the Mughal Empire hastily assembled a fleet of warships, capitalizing on the fact that the Port of Jamnagar had not come under attack. While the number of warships stationed there was not extensive, they swiftly outfitted merchant ships with cannons to bolster their naval strength.

Despite these makeshift vessels being ill-suited for open waters, their sheer numbers posed a formidable challenge to the Bharatiya fleet, particularly in the confined waters of the coastal battle. Sensing the impending threat, Admiral Gangadhar deftly exploited the terrain, manoeuvring his fleet to strategically advantageous positions within the Gulf of Khambhat.

With precision and coordination, Gangadhar’s forces, aided by the flanking manoeuvre executed by the emerging naval talent Prasanna Nair, swiftly neutralized the Mughal fleet. With the conclusion of the battle, the Mughal Empire’s naval presence in the Arabian Sea was permanently eradicated.

Amidst the unfolding events, Sarvesh achieved a similar triumph in Vadodara. Exploiting the Water Canal, the city’s main waterway, to his advantage, he stealthily infiltrated Vadodara, sowing chaos and opening a window of opportunity for the division of troops under his command.

Coincidentally, it was at this juncture that Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Naik rendezvoused with Sarvesh, having successfully conquered Vadodara City in its entirety.

Kiran Poojari maintained relentless pressure on the Mughal Empire, orchestrating an assault on the city of Jabalpur in the Madhya Pradesh region with a corps-sized army. To the surprise of many, Jabalpur fell swiftly, its meagre and poorly trained defence forces unable to withstand the onslaught.

The capture of Jabalpur only compounded the confusion within the Mughal Empire, as they struggled to discern the true target of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. This uncertainty hindered the effective deployment of reinforcements, leaving Mughal forces thinly spread and incapable of mounting a cohesive defence on any front.

Overall, Kiran inflicted significant damage upon the Mughal Empire while prioritizing the avoidance of casualties whenever feasible. Meanwhile, Yogendra Singh took decisive action on this eventful day, launching successful attacks on various cities and towns in the Bengal region.

This diversionary tactic effectively drew some of the aggression away from the Army led by Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Nayak. Undoubtedly, this day could be considered the most taxing for the Mughal Empire, as they found themselves under attack from all fronts, without a clear understanding of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire’s ultimate objective until this moment.

On the 5th of October 1655, the momentum in the Gujarat campaign came to a temporary standstill as no further cities were targeted for attack. Seizing this opportunity to sow further confusion within the Mughal ranks, Kiran Poojari and Yogendra Singh coordinated their efforts and simultaneously launched assaults on the region of Bengal. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

This strategic manoeuvre once again caught the Mughals off guard, leaving them scrambling to decipher the true intentions of the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire.

As Yogendra Singh and Kiran Poojari initiated their attacks, they swiftly seized control of several border cities and towns in Bengal. When Mughal reinforcements arrived, both Yogendra Singh and Kiran Poojari projected a bold front, suggesting a possible advance further into Bengal.

Despite the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire fielding fewer soldiers, the firepower deployed in each captured town and city along the border matched that of the Mughal Empire. Thanks to the superior industrial and logistical capabilities of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, the Mughals found themselves on equal footing in terms of firepower.

However, as casualties among the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire began to mount and surpassed Kiran Poojari’s threshold, both Yogendra Singh and Kiran Poojari, leading the forces on the Eastern and Western Fronts respectively, made the strategic decision to withdraw. This tactical retreat left the Mughals once again confounded, as they grappled with the unforeseen turn of events.

However, this setback was not the only blow suffered by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. The Mughal Navy stationed in Bengal launched an attack on the coastal regions of the east of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. Despite the Empire having a sizable fleet commanded by Commanders Gautam and Akhil, comprising 120 sloops and 24 frigates, the vast expanse of the coast left some gaps vulnerable.

Exploiting this vulnerability, the Mughal Navy nearly succeeded in capturing the port of Ongole. Fortunately, the tide turned when newly constructed frigates from the Ashoka Shipyard in Visakhapatnam were swiftly pressed into emergency duty, bypassing practical trials.

These frigates flanked the Mughal fleet, diverting attention away from the empire’s main naval forces and ultimately altering And helping the Bharatiya Empire in avoiding the disastrous scenario.

On the 6th of October 1655, Sarvesh achieved success in infiltrating the city of Ahmadabad. With assistance from the Bharatiya External Pragya, he swiftly eliminated obstacles hindering the Empire’s landing operation.

Simultaneously, Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Nayak launched a frontal assault on the eastern front of Ahmedabad City. With the timely arrival of the Empire’s Navy and soldiers under the command of Major General Dhruv Patel, the eastern bank of Ahmedabad fell completely under Bharatiya’s control, effectively isolating and strangling the western bank of Ahmedabad.

Employing the strategic blueprint of choking the enemy to death proposed by Vijay, Dhruv Patel and the Navy from the east, alongside Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Nayak from the west, relentlessly compressed the living space of Mughal leaders stationed on the East Bank of the River Sabarmati.

This fierce battle raged on for two days until the entire city of Ahmedabad was firmly secured by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, solidifying their dominion over Gujarat for the most part.

As the date turned to the present, the 8th of October 1655, Vijay resolved to consolidate and review all pertinent details on paper.

Throughout the onset of the war, Vijay remained far from idle, meticulously overseeing and commanding various departments of the empire to ensure the smooth facilitation of logistics, information dissemination, and raw material supplies to the military forces engaged in battle for the empire.

Whenever a city or port fell under Bharatiya’s control, Vijay swiftly orchestrated the transportation of thousands of tons of cement, medical and food supplies to fortify the defences of the captured territories and to reassure the anxious populace.

Vijay maintained a meticulous focus on intelligence gathering, coordinating the efforts of both Bharatiya External Pragya and Bharatiya Sainik Pragya to gather vital information for military leaders. At times, he engaged in strategic discussions with Kiran Poojari in Nagapur, devising plans to further confound the Mughal Empire or strategies for the complete capture of the Sindh region.

Vijay’s unwavering attention to logistics and supporting industries stemmed from his Knowledge of the past earth of the 21st century, that while warriors win battles, it is logistics that ultimately determines the outcome of the war.

Vijay is in his palace, reading all these reports, and he is very happy with the outcome of the war so far. A total of 216,000 troops were dispatched on this mission, out of which 80,000 were allocated to the Capture of Gujarat, 96,000 to protect the defensive line commanded by Kiran Poojari, and 40,000 commanded by Yogendra Singh to wage skirmishes and guerrilla wars in the northeast.

After the successful capture of Ahmedabad, the power centre of Gujarat, casualties and injuries among the deployed troops were significant. Out of the 80,000 soldiers involved in the operation, 12,000 were injured, and 8,000 suffered casualties.

Similarly, among the 96,000 soldiers defending the border under Kiran Poojari’s command, casualties numbered 12,000, with an additional 20,000 sustaining injuries. In contrast, casualties among the 40,000 soldiers led by Yogendra Singh were relatively low, with around 3,000 recorded, owing to the nature of the battle. However, injuries were still significant, totalling upwards of 8,000.

Vijay was very happy with these numbers as their goal was achieved within a week, and the casualties of the soldiers were within his acceptable range. But what bothered him was the casualty rate of the civilian population, directly or indirectly. Due to this war, millions of people were displaced and became homeless, and the casualties of these civilian populations were in the hundreds of thousands.

Although most of these casualties were because of indirect causes like hunger, starvation, or crime increase in the Gujarat region, all of these were caused by the war. So, even though indirect, the war was responsible for the lives of all these people.

*sigh*

"Unfortunately, this cannot be helped," Vijay muttered to himself. He was aware that although he very much loved to avoid causing casualties among the citizens, it was an impossible task to ask for the military, and this was the price he had to pay to realize his ambition and goals.

Now that the crucial phase of capturing Gujarat had concluded, Vijay’s attention shifted to identifying areas for improvement within the empire’s capabilities. Chief among these was the imperative for enhanced communication channels and the acquisition of improved artillery and weaponry.

Additionally, Vijay acknowledged the importance of establishing two new specialized units within the army to address emerging challenges and augment operational effectiveness.

The first unit, named the Bharatiya Marines, would be tasked with facilitating landing operations, ensuring the swift and efficient deployment of troops in coastal regions. The second unit, known as the Bharatiya Commandos, would specialize in conducting covert operations behind enemy lines.

While similar in function to the existing special forces, the Bharatiya Commandos would represent a formalization and expansion of these capabilities within the military structure.

With plans to establish these new units in the coming days, Vijay anticipated that the consolidation of Gujarat would require approximately three more weeks. During this time, he resolved to concentrate on preparing the essential tools and supplies for the army’s forthcoming operations.

This period of preparation would be crucial in ensuring that the military was equipped with new and more advanced weapons, ready to contribute effectively to the empire’s military endeavours.