Battle of Buxar

The battle was fought at Buxar, a "strong fortified town" within the territory of Bihar, located on the banks of the Ganges river about 130 kilometres (81 mi) west of Patna; it was a challenging victory for the British East India Company. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765. The defeated Indian rulers were forced to sign the treaty, granting the East India Company Diwani rights, which allowed them to collect revenue from the territories of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa on behalf of the Mughal emperor.

Battle

The East India Company troops engaged in the fighting numbered 17,072: 1,859 British regulars, 5,297 Indian sepoys and 9,189 Indian cavalry. Whereas the Mughal Empire and alliance armies were estimated to be over 40,000.

Mirza Najaf Khan commanded the right flank of the Mughal imperial army and was the first to advance his forces against Major Hector Munro at daybreak; the British lines formed within twenty minutes and reversed the advance of the Mughals. According to the British, Durrani and Rohilla cavalry were also present and fought during the battle in various skirmishes. But by midday, the battle was over and Shuja-ud-Daula blew up large tumbrils and three massive magazines of gunpowder.

Munro divided his army into various columns and particularly pursued the Mughal Grand Vizier Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh, who responded by blowing up his boat-bridge after crossing the river, thus abandoning the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and members of his own regiment. Mir Qasim also fled with his 3 million rupees worth of gemstones and later died in poverty in 1777. Mirza Najaf Khan reorganised formations around Shah Alam II, who retreated and then chose to negotiate with the victorious British.

The historian John William Fortescue stated that the British casualties totalled 847: 39 killed and 64 wounded from the European regiments and 250 killed, 435 wounded and 85 missing from the East India Company's sepoys. He also stated that the three Indian allies suffered 2,000 dead and that many more were wounded. Another source says that there were 69 European and 664 sepoy casualties on the British side and 6,000 casualties on the Mughal side. The victors captured 133 pieces of artillery and over 1 million rupees of cash. Immediately after the battle, Munro decided to assist the Marathas, who were described as a "warlike race", well known for their relentless rivalry and unwavering hatred towards Mughal Empire, Durrani Empire, Rohilla Chieftaincies, different Nawabs of the subcontinent (most notably, Nawab of Bengal and Nawab of Awadh), Nizam of Hyderabad and short lived Sultanate of Mysore.

According to one brigadier-general H. Biddulph, "the European infantry was composed of the Bengal European Battalion, two weak companies of the Bombay European Battalion, and small detachments of Marines and of H.M. 84th, 89th and 96th Regiments. The only officers killed were Lt. Francis Spilsbury of the 96th Foot and Ensign Richard Thompson of the Bengal European Battalion."