The Battle of Panipat is the fourth scenario of the Babur campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dynasties of India. It depicts the First Battle of Panipat.
Intro[]
The sound of a cannon being fired is... indescribable! For a while, I forgot about all of my troubles and simply fired a cannonball each day for my own amusement.
Hearing of my new toys, my relatives began pleading for me to retake Transoxiana from the Uzbeks, even awarding me the title "Padshah" — Great King. A decent ploy, but my attention was now fixed on India.
Strictly speaking, India already belonged to me, as Tamerlane had once conquered it for our family. As the last ruling descendant of the great amir, it was only right that I be given back what someone else was only administering for me.
That someone was a man named Ibrahim Lodi: an Afghan pretender who ruled northern India from his capital in Delhi. Seeking to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, I wrote him a friendly letter and gave him a goshawk as a present. All that I asked in return was for my lands to be given back to me.
Unfortunately, Ibrahim Lodi never replied, and so I had to put down the quill and let my cannons do the talking.
With fifteen thousand men I marched on Panipat, a small village on the plains northeast of Delhi. Ibrahim, for his part, mobilized an army of a hundred thousand.
In front of my men, I played the intrepid general unshaken even by this unimaginable number; but secretly I wondered if I had not bitten off more than I could chew...
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources: 800 food, 800 wood, 1,000 gold, 125 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- 8 Camel Riders
- 29 Ghulams
- 6 Hand Cannoneers
- 3 Monks
- 22 Villagers
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- At least one of your Castles must remain standing.
- Complete as many secondary objectives as possible before the battle begins to improve your chances:
Secondary objectives[]
- Raid the Delhi Auxiliary Forces' Supply Stores (Trade Workshops). This will make them train fewer soldiers.
- Destroy all enemy towers on the road to the northeast so that your Ottoman allies can bring powder supplies to your camp and train more soldiers.
- Kill Alam Khan to make his troops not participate in the upcoming battle, or convert Alam Khan so that his forces will fight on your side instead.
- Kill Daulat Khan to make his troops not participate in the upcoming battle, or convert Daulat Khan so that his forces will fight on your side instead.
After the battle has begun:
Main objectives[]
- Withstand the Delhi Sultanate's attacks for 25 minutes.
- At least one of your Castles must remain standing.
After successfully defending the camp:
Main objectives[]
- Destroy the Delhi Sultanate's fortress to clear the road to Delhi.
Hints[]
- Babur is restricted to a population limit of 200 and cannot build additional Castles, Docks, towers or walls — aside from palisades.
- Try to complete as many optional objectives as possible before the Delhi Sultanate attacks — each one will make the upcoming battle easier.
- Make sure that the Ottoman gunpowder deliveries make it to your camp. Without the Turks' gunpowder, you will not be able to train Bombard Cannons or Hand Cannoneers.
- Babur's strategy is to defeat the numerically superior forces of the Delhi Sultanate in a defensive battle. Do not waste soldiers or resources on pointless attempts to go on the offensive yourself before the time is right.
Scouts[]
Your scouts report:
- Babur and his army (1, Orange) have set up a defensive camp in the village of Panipat, awaiting the arrival of the Delhi Sultanate's army.
- Babur has spent much of his recently acquired loot recruiting Ottoman gunpowder experts (2, Red) to assist him in the fight. The Ottoman-led forces mainly consist of Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons.
- The armies of the Delhi Sultanate (3, Green), commanded by Ibrahim Lodi himself, have gathered in the southeast, where they control a large daunting fortress.
- Indian auxiliary forces (4, Cyan) will support Ibrahim Lodi's main army in battle. The auxiliary armies consist mainly of infantry and do not have elite soldiers in their ranks, but are superior in numbers.
- Two Hindustani khans lead the vanguard of the sultanate. These two khans, Alam (5, Purple) and Daulat (6, Blue), are considered fickle and can possibly be persuaded to defect from Ibrahim Lodi and join Babur's forces instead.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Hindustanis): Starts at a defensive camp in the village of Panipat with two Castles. One of them must remain standing in the first two stages of the game.
Ally[]
- Ottoman Gunpowder Forces ( Turks): They have set up a small camp inside the player's base. They train Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons, provided that powder supplies are brought to the camp.
Enemies[]
- Delhi Auxiliary Forces ( Gurjaras): guard a pass from Central Asia in the north as well as supply stores across the map, and have a palisade-walled camp near the Sultanate's fort. They train Skirmishers, Chakram Throwers, Long Swordsmen and Armored Elephants.
- Delhi Sultanate ( Hindustanis): They control a large daunting fortress in the south of the map. While being inactive in the first stage, they attack the player very aggressively in the second stage, particularly on hard difficulty. Their army consists of Elite Ghulams, Hussars, Heavy Cavalry Archers, Imperial Camel Riders, Siege Elephants, and Trebuchets. They resign when their commander Ibrahim Lodi is killed and two of their Castles are destroyed.
Strategy[]
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The player must not waste time for the first 25 minutes. Immediately send all of the Villagers to start gathering resources and build 3-4 Town Centers. Do not send any units on the offensive until the player has maxed the population limit, as the army may be needed for later. Fully-upgraded Imperial Camel Riders and some Monks will be sufficient for the side quests.
The player should start off by destroying the four towers guarding the gunpowder carts, and then focus on booming. As soon as the player has a strong economy with a large army of Imperial Camel Riders, the player can start destroying the Trade Workshops first. As for the Alam and Daulat, they will need the support of many Monks and Hand Cannoneers to guarantee success. While the Camel Riders and Hand Cannoneers are working on the enemy military units, send the Monks to convert the heroes. Converting the heroes is recommended, as not only will the player's new allies aid the player in battle, the player will also unlock the achievement "An Offer You Khan't Refuse". The player must be very careful when moving units near the Delhi position, as if they get too close, Lodi's army will attack early, likely before the player is ready.
Once the peace treaty timer is up, Lodi's army will start attacking, very aggressively. If the player manages to complete all side-quests with their population maxed, the player will have more success in holding off Lodi's assaults. At this point, the player should start training Siege Elephants or Bombard Cannons to stop Lodi's Trebuchets, while the player sends Imperial Camel Riders to stop cavalry units and Armored Elephants. Remember to queue Imperial Camel Riders in the Stables to replenish units lost during the onslaught. The player may also consider to queue Elite Skirmishers to deal with Lodi's Heavy Cavalry Archers. Ghulams are not recommended, as they will only be effective against enemy Heavy Cavalry Archers and Elite Skirmishers, and will be easily dealt with by the other enemy units. The player should not try to take the offensive against Delhi, as enemy units will spawn far too quickly for the player to deal with them all if they overextend.
After 25 minutes of intense fighting, the player can finally bring the fight to Ibrahim Lodi. The player must focus on destroying the Auxiliary Camp first before defeating Lodi's Army. The Delhi Sultanate will resign when Ibrahim Lodi is killed and two of their Castles are destroyed. Once the Delhi Sultanate is subdued, the player wins.
Outro[]
On the field of Panipat the enemy's strength in numbers proved to be its greatest weakness.
Having never faced firearms before, Ibrahim's terrified war elephants were rendered useless by the thundering of my cannons. With little room to maneuver, his fighters huddled together so closely that they became nearly immobile.
Firing straight into their lines, my cannoneers created a bloodbath. Just a few hours after the battle begun, there was nothing left of Ibrahim's army. My men found his body in a mountain of corpses and brought me his head as evidence of his demise.
With Ibrahim's death, the Sultanate of Delhi came to an end. I had a tomb erected for the fallen sultan in Panipat, as a reminder that the great Babur treats even his fiercest opponents with respect.
Historical comparison[]
- The scenario deals with the battle that Babur had in 1526 with the last Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, where the technological superiority of Babur's artillery was decisive, both because Lodi completely lacked it and had never fought a battle against them, and because he frightened the elephants of the Delhi Sultanate by charging them against their own ranks. This battle was one of the first battles on the Indian continent in which firearms, gunpowder, and artillery were used.
- In real life, Daulat Khan and his uncle, Alam Khan, were dissatisfied with Ibrahim Lodi's rule, with the former sending ambassadors to form an alliance with Babur, which led to Babur invading the Punjabi region as reflected in the previous scenario. As such, going for the achievement, "An Offer You Khan't Refuse" (where the player converts the heroes), would be the historically accurate option over killing them.