ORDER OF BATTLE // October 25, 1802
Battle of Poona
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 45,000 estimated
Indore State
20,000
Medium-confidence figure
Peshwa
25,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Poona was fought between rival factions within the Maratha Confederacy, pitting the forces of Yashwantrao Holkar against the combined army of Peshwa Baji Rao II and Daulat Sindhia. The Peshwa's force of 25,000 suffered approximately 2,000 casualties against Holkar's 20,000. Though the British East India Company took no part in the engagement, the battle's outcome proved directly consequential for British India: the defeat destabilized Baji Rao II's position as Peshwa and drove him to seek British protection, setting in motion the diplomatic and military chain of events that produced the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805. The battle thus acted as the proximate cause of a wider conflict that would ultimately extend British dominance over central India.
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