COMMANDER // 1776–1811
Yashwantrao Holkar
Lifespan
1776 – 1811
Active service 1802–1805 — 5 battles across 1 war; first command at age 26.
Profile
Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar also known as Jaswantrao Holkar, was an Indian statesman who was the Raja of Indore State and a well-known military officer belonging of the Holkar clan of the Maratha Empire. A gifted military leader, he was educated in accountancy as well as literate in Persian, Marathi and Urdu. An early and vigorous opponent of British schemes and attempts to dominate and colonise India, Holkar soon entered into conflict with the British East India Company, which was expanding into Central India from the coast. He fought the Second Anglo-Maratha War against the British, and though occasionally bested in the field, fought a number of successful battles and was able to compel them to enter into a treaty relationship with him that recognised Holkar as a sovereign and independent ruler, thereby escaping the humiliating subsidiary alliance treaty unlike other Maratha chiefs. His early death, however, led to most of his other strategies to halt British EIC expansion remaining unrealised.
Battles (5)
1802
Battle of PoonaSecond Anglo-Maratha War · Indore State
1804
Battle of DeegSecond Anglo-Maratha War · Maratha Empire
1804
Battle of FarrukhabadSecond Anglo-Maratha War · Maratha Empire
1804
Battle of Mukandwara PassSecond Anglo-Maratha War · Maratha Empire
1805
Battle of BharatpurSecond Anglo-Maratha War · Bharatpur State