Chapter 7: Historic Battle of Panipat

As the sun rose in the sky, its rays cast a glow over the battlefield, illuminating the presence of a large sea of mighty warriors from two large factions, resolved to erase the other's existence and claim the title of ultimate empire of north India.

Hemu, seated atop his war elephant Hawai, surveyed the vast expanse before him with steely determination. Beside him, his generals stood, their faces displaying determination and seriousness.

"Today, we will make history!"

Hemu's voice thundered across the battlefield, echoing off the surrounding hills as he addressed his assembled warriors.

"Today, we prove our valor and our strength and maintain freedom for our next generation through our own hands! Today, we crush our enemies beneath our feet!"

A mighty roar erupted from the ranks of Hemu's army, the sound echoed through the air like a thunderclap. With a nod from their leader, the army advanced like an unstoppable force, with soldiers, elephants, and horses ready to unleash devastation upon their foes.

The Mughal forces, arrayed in disciplined ranks across the battlefield, watched with wary eyes as Hemu's army advanced. Their commander, Ali Quli Khan, surveyed the scene with a cool detachment, his mind already calculating the best course of action.

"Prepare yourselves," he called out to his men, his voice cutting through the tense silence. "Today, we face a formidable foe. Thirty years before our ancestors defeated the Afghans with mere numbers and today history shall repeat itself. Victory is certainly ours! Allah hu Akbar"

As the Mughal forces witnessed the speech of their commander, a sense of pride filled into their ranks. But their resolve remained unbroken, and with a collective cry of "Allah hu Akbar," they rallied themselves .

Amidst the chaos, Ali Quli Khan's voice rang out clear and commanding. "Prepare the canons!" he ordered, his words cutting through the din of battle.

"Let the cannons roar !"

With practiced precision, the Mughal gunners sprang into action, their hands flying as they loaded the cannons with ammunition. The air crackled with tension as the cannons were aimed towards the advancing forces of Hemu, their barrels trained on the enemy with deadly accuracy.

"Fire!" Ali Quli Khan commanded, his voice a thunderous roar that echoed across the battlefield.

'Boom!' 'Boom!' 'Boom!'

With a deafening roar, the cannons erupted in a volley of gunfire, sending a storm of metal hurtling towards the oncoming forces of Hemu. The earth trembled beneath their feet as the projectiles tore through the air, seeking their targets with deadly intent.

As the battle raged on, the relentless boom of cannons kept echoing across the battlefield, shaking the very ground beneath their feet. Hemu's forces faltered under the onslaught of the deafening bombardments, their ranks thrown into disarray by the sheer force of the explosions.

But Hemu, undeterred by the chaos unfolding around him, rallied his troops with a resounding cry. "They are only twenty cannons!" he shouted above the chaos of battle. "And they can only fire limited rounds! We are five hundred strong! No matter how fierce their onslaught, we will not be defeated by such ants! Spread out but stay in formation .Rush to those artillery pieces and crush them to dust!"

His words ignited a renewed sense of determination among his warriors, who rallied around their leader with unwavering resolve. With a mighty roar, they surged forward once more, their ranks bristling with spears and shields under the guard of 500 elephants as they advanced towards the enemy lines.

The Mughal commanders, Shah Quli Mahram and Sikandar Shah, watched in horror as Hemu's forces bore down upon them with unstoppable momentum. Despite their best efforts to halt the advance, the fear of Hemu's towering elephants and expert marksmen on their backs deterred their troops from standing their ground.

In desperation, they attempted to disrupt Hemu's advance, sending wave after wave of infantry and cavalry to stall his progress. But their efforts proved futile in the face of Hemu's standard formation onslaught.

As Hemu's forces closed in on the enemy artillery, the cannons fell silent, their barrels smoking from the heat of continuous fire. With a triumphant cry, Hemu's warriors descended upon the cannons, their swords flashing in the sunlight as they hacked and slashed at the massive machines of war.

Within moments, the once formidable artillery lay in ruins, shattered by the relentless assault of Hemu's forces. The tide of battle had shifted, the destruction of the enemy cannons tilting the course of the conflict in favor of Hemu's army.

With a triumphant roar, Hemu's forces surged forward, driving the Mughal forces back with renewed vigor. The battlefield echoed with the sounds of victory as Hemu's warriors fought with unmatched ferocity, their spirits lifted by their decisive triumph over the enemy's most fearsome weapons.

As the sun shown brightly in horizon, casting little shadows across the blood-soaked earth, Hemu stood triumphant amidst the wreckage of battle. Finally the main clash begun.

As the two armies clashed with earth-shattering force, the air filled with the sounds of battle: the clash of steel on steel, the thunder of hooves, the trumpeting of elephants, and the cries of the wounded and dying.

Hemu's elephants, their massive forms towering over the battlefield, charged forward with unstoppable momentum, trampling everything in their path. Behind them, his cavalry thundered across the plain, their swords flashing in the sunlight as they cut down their foes with ruthless efficiency.

But the Mughals were not so easily defeated. With disciplined precision, they formed a shield wall, bracing themselves against the onslaught of Hemu's forces where the enemy Archers unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows, darkening the sky and finding their marks amidst the chaos of battle.

Amidst the ongoing carnage, Hemu fought with the fury of a man possessed. From atop his war elephant, he threw his mighty spears with devastating force, cleaving through the ranks of his enemies with each thunderous blow.

"Forward! For glory and Freedom!" he roared, his voice carrying over the din of battle as he urged his men onward.

But even as Hemu's forces pressed their advantage, the Mughals fought back with equal ferocity. Their cavalry, with their swift and agile motion, rushed through the chaos, striking at the flanks and rear of Hemu's army with deadly precision.

Caught between the hammer and the anvil, Hemu's forces began to falter. The ground shook beneath the weight of the advancing Mughal cavalry, their swords flashing in the sunlight as they cut down Hemu's warriors with ruthless efficiency.

Despite the mounting casualties, Hemu refused to yield. With a defiant roar, he stimulated his favorite war elephant Hawai forward, leading a desperate charge against the heart of the Mughal army.

As Hemu's forces gained momentum, the tide of battle began to turn in their favor. Exhausted and demoralized, the expert Mughal soldiers found themselves unable to withstand the relentless onslaught of Hemu's troops. The combination of shield and spear proved to be a formidable defense against the Mughal cavalry charge, while Hemu's own cavalry skillfully held their ground against the enemy's cavalry's relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Hemu's archers and musketeers targeted the enemy captains, disrupting their formation and sowing chaos within the Mughal ranks. With each passing moment, Hemu could sense victory within his grasp, and with a determined resolve, he led his unit forward, his eyes blazing with the fire of triumph.

Victory was within reach, and Hemu was ready to seize it. But even as he fought, a sense of unease gnawed at his soul.

Suddenly, amidst the chaos of battle, disaster struck. A chance arrow, fired from the ranks of the Mughals, found its mark and hit Hemu's eye, lodging itself deep in his side. With a cry of pain, he collapsed forward from his seat, his vision swimming as darkness closed in around him.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Hemu's fate hung in the balance. Then, with a mighty crash, he toppled from his elephant, his body crashing to the earth below.

The battlefield fell silent as both sides watched in stunned disbelief. Raamya and Shadi khan were both stunned as they refused to believe reality and lost their flow. With their leader captured or fallen, the chain of command collapsed. Hemu's army wavered, their morale shattered by the loss of their indomitable commanders

Sensing their moment of weakness, the Mughals pressed their advantage, surging forward with renewed vigor. With a triumphant cry, Ali Quli Khan led his forces in a final, devastating charge, sweeping aside the remnants of Hemu's army with ruthless efficiency and capturing a lot of fleeing soldiers as prisioners who ever get caught with their main leaders included.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the blood-soaked earth, the battle was over. The Mughals stood victorious, their banners fluttering in the evening breeze as they celebrated their hard-won triumph.

But amidst the wreckage of the battlefield, some questions remained unanswered: what would become of the fallen warrior, whose name had struck fear into the hearts of his enemies? And the fate of his army who are now prisioners of war, who followed him till the end?