Chapter 111: Mumbai Battle: Gains And Losses
With the naval battle concluded, a momentary calm settled over the southern part of Mumbai. The Vijayanagara Battleship, now stationed in the recently captured area of Dadar on the south side of Mumbai Island, Was standing there majestically, Wearing the scars of battle. As Vijay stepped onto this island for the first time in his current life, he was confronted with a harsh reality. Distressing scenes of emaciated and withered people unfolded before him, making it evident that the inhabitants of the streets had endured days without a proper meal, reduced to nothing but skin and bones. Despite Vijay's efforts to distribute the limited food available, the prolonged effects of starvation and disease had taken a severe toll.
Despite Vijay's assistance, the harsh conditions had taken a toll on many, and while some showed signs of improvement, several middle-aged men who appeared to have aged 60 years succumbed to the harsh conditions one after another. The frequency of deaths was so rampant that even bystanders on the streets grew accustomed to the grim reality, witnessing at least two burial processions daily. When Vijay inquired about the situation, he was told that the average life expectancy here was only 40 years.
Knowing that he was Fuming, clenching his fist tightly until it bled. He was infuriated by the dire state of affairs, Hence Vijay promptly launched a crackdown on all Mughal officers, nobles, and lackeys in the Dadar area. In the ensuing days, it transformed into a nightmare for the Mughal lackeys and nobles, treated like rats on the street. Even the lowest scum of society, whom they had previously looked down upon, would point them out, informing Vijay's enforcers of their locations. Desperate to escape this hellish environment and flee to the northern side of Mumbai, they searched desperately for any possible way because they believed a counterattack strategy was being prepared to launch on the Dadar area. The Mughal lackeys knew that their side would spare nothing until the influence of Vijayanagar on this land was eradicated. However, fate took an unexpected turn as the entire Dadar area was placed under lockdown.
Fortunately, the goodwill among the lower classes toward the Vijayanagara army increased due to the assistance provided with food and water, helping them endure the difficult times. The crackdown continued relentlessly until the main culprit of this misery was discovered, hiding in the basement of a horse shed. This individual was none other than Mustafa Ali, the commander of the South Mumbai army. In this era, political and military powers were intertwined, giving rise to individuals like Mustafa who managed both affairs in a specific region.
Seeing the middle-aged man, who had appeared lively and healthy just a few weeks ago, no one would recognize him in his current state. He seemed to have shed 10 kilograms of weight, with black circles around his eyes and bloodshot eyes. His haggard appearance, coupled with torn clothes stained with the blood of his guards, depicted a life of hardship. However, no one felt pity for him, as his suffering was seen as well-deserved.
It is ironic because he was the first one to run away from the battlefield, and he almost succeeded if it weren't for a soldier who noticed that when he walked inside the horse shed, he dropped his Talwar by mistake. The soldier heard a dull sound, a "thud," which indicated there was air on the other side of the object, like an empty water tank.
He knew something was wrong and called for his comrades, opening the wooden floor pieces. Behold, it was the commander of the Mumbai South army, with his guards guarding him very closely. Before he could react, the guards, who were very tense to begin with, swung the sword at the soldier's neck, lobbing off the head of the person who discovered the commander. Witnessing this scene, his companions did not stand still as they plunged into action and soon beheaded the guards. Although they sustained some injuries, they got the job done, but it was a pity for the comrade to die.
With his guards being dealt with, Mustafa did not resist as he accepted his fate and waited for his death. Fortunately or unfortunately, his death did not come as he was tied up and carried away. This was not because the soldiers were merciful; no, they wanted to split this guy into pieces. However, there was a smart guy among them who pointed out his luxurious attire, even though it had been destroyed right now. The fact that such elite guards were guarding him meant that he was an important person.
When Vijay heard this story, even he felt a little sorrow for the soldier who had died. So, he promised in front of everyone, "Those who have died in this battle, their families would get a monthly allowance from the empire, and the kids would have priority in civil and military services, along with first-grade education."
This promise made all the soldiers move, as they were not only fighting for the Empire; they were also fighting for a good life for their wives and kids. Hearing Vijay's promise, they were relieved, and their morale increased as they felt their burdens were lessened.
As for Mustafa, he was soon brought in front of the Mumba Devi temple he had robbed. Seeing this person aroused instant fury in every citizen's mind as they remembered the atrocities he had committed. There wasn't even a chance to list out his sins, as he was quickly drowned in the rocks thrown by the people. Soon, he was beaten to death by the very same people he had scorned.
The Mumba Devi temple bears the scars of a tragic past, marred by historical invasions and adversities. Throughout the centuries, this sacred site has withstood various onslaughts, including a notable invasion just a couple of years ago in 1647 by the Mughal noble and a looming threat in 1692 when Aurangzeb, the future Mughal emperor in a parallel Earth timeline, ordered its destruction. Despite the relentless trials, the temple stands as a resilient symbol of Mumbai's cultural heritage.
In the present day, the temple may appear weathered and impoverished, yet it remains a powerful embodiment of the enduring spirit of Hindus. Pilgrims and locals continue to flock to the site, offering prayers that celebrate the goddess's strength and honour the city's rich history, undeterred by the disdain shown by the Mughals. The Mumba Devi temple serves as a poignant testament to Mumbai's resilience and the unwavering faith of its people, a legacy that endures into the 21st century.
After clearing out all the weeds, Vijay sat down to assess the casualties of the battle. Soon, he took in a report given by Narasimha. In this battle, unfortunately, 618 naval soldiers died, along with the loss of 8 Dutch Whisperer frigates. On the main capital battleships, there were no deaths, but there were a few injuries sustained because of the impact caused by the 8-kilogram cannons fired by the Mughal Navy.
The heavy infantry, positioned at the forefront of the defence, bore the brunt of the Mughal onslaught, resulting in a casualty rate of a hundred individuals early into the battle. Ten squads at a time valiantly resisted the barrage of Mughal arrows, and when cannons entered the fray, the toll on the heavy infantry became even more severe. Deployed extensively in the cleanup battles, they served as the frontline tanks, absorbing damage, but their resilience had its limits. Despite being fully armed, they were not impervious to harm, leading to additional casualties. The occupation of Dadar witnessed a total of 500 casualties among the heavy infantry. A few members of the engineering corps sustained injuries, and 1200 from the light infantry lost their lives. The cumulative death toll of this expedition surpassed 2318 individuals, with injuries reaching 5000, predominantly among the light infantry.
It was a huge loss for the Vijayanagar army, with only 9 brigades remaining, with the rest being auxiliary personnel.
While Vijay was feeling depressed, Ramaiya was very happy, as he had managed to gain a foothold in Mumbai relatively easily with comparatively very few losses of personnel. He had noticed that Vijay was very sensitive when it came to the loss of soldiers while completely ignoring the overwhelming victory they had produced by defeating two brigades consisting of at least 10,000 soldiers of the Mughals. However, Ramaiya did not point it out to Vijay, as he felt like Vijay had become more accepting of these losses, as he even grieved for a single soldier at the beginning of his reign at the time of the Dutch battle.
As for the material gains, as this was a poor part of Mumbai, there was not much wealth to speak of, but there was a considerable amount of wealth in the vaults of the Mughal nobles and lackeys. It was soon discovered that there were at least 20 tons of silver, 5 tons of gold, 500 tons of grain, salt, spices, iron, antiques, stolen idols, and different goods, in varying amounts. This was just the smaller part of Mumbai Island, and Vijay couldn't imagine what more could be found in the rich area.
The resources were put to good use: the grain was distributed to the people, the money was used to make more weapons as it was sent back to the empire, and the idols and antiques were returned to the original temples. If the temples were destroyed, Vijay even lent a little money to rebuild the temple to reestablish the glory of the idols.
"We are ready, Your Highness," Ramaiya said, quickly assembling the army again in the open square beside the Mumba Devi temple. Vijay did not want to give any breathing space to the Mughals, so he quickly assembled the army again just after a day of rest. He fully intended to conquer Mumbai within Two days.
Chapter 112: Reclaiming Paradip Port
While Vijay is planning for his next attack, things are going very well for Narasimha Naik as he is on his way with a brigade, moving towards Puri.
First, let's talk about the events that happened a few days ago.
Narasimha Nayak departed from the Visakhapatnam Port simultaneously with Vijay's departure from the Mangalore Port. He was leading four brigades aboard the man-of-war battleship seized from the Dutch, with the remaining soldiers transported on temporarily acquired merchant boats, courtesy of the wartime requisition. Additionally, the fleet included 10 Dutch Whisperer frigates, enhancing their naval capabilities for the upcoming endeavours.
Much like Vijay's fleet, Narasimha Nayak's capital ship was also equipped with a formidable 20 kg calibre cannon. With a wealth of experience in various battles, Narasimha exuded a calm and composed demeanour as he stood firmly on the deck, savouring the refreshing sea breeze. The journey swiftly progressed, and within a few hours, they arrived at the estuary of Lake Chilika. Situated in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Lake Chilika is renowned as the largest saltwater lake in Bharat, spanning the cities of Puri, Khurda, and Ganjam. This expansive lake, a major regional attraction, is formed by the confluence of water from 52 rivers and tributaries. Its water levels fluctuate between 900 to 1165 square feet, covering a vast area totalling 1165 square kilometres.
Narasimha Nayak swiftly deployed a compact scouting vessel to assess the presence of any Mughal naval forces in the vicinity. The scouting report confirmed the existence of 30 Mughal frigates, with a few ships among them displaying signs of inferior quality. Determined to eliminate this potential threat, Narasimha promptly initiated a naval confrontation. However, being primarily an army general, he faced challenges in effectively commanding the battleships. Unlike Vijay, who navigated a comparable situation with the advantage of extensive future knowledge and the wealth of information stored in his mental knowledge bank, Narasimha grappled with the intricacies of naval strategy.
Fortunately, the captain of the ship assigned to Narasimha was an experienced fisherman and a fast learner in the Naval Academy. He was even praised by Dutch sailors as a born Navy commander. Before Vijay left for battle, he sent his knowledge through telepathy to this talented individual. Unfortunately, with the limited time, Vijayanagara couldn't produce more talents like him.
Gangadhar, the captain of the second Vijayanagara battleship, came up with the strategy, seeing how the general was embarrassed to arrange it. As the Mughal fleet had still not discovered the larger fleet in the Bay of Bengal, a frigate trio was sent, escorting a mid to large-sized merchant ship flying the Vijayanagara flag. The capital ship was behind the opening of the estuary, making it undetectable to the Mughal ships.
The Mughals who saw the merchant ship had their eyes light up, as this large ship was being escorted by some military vessels, a sight they had never seen before. They had, on numerous occasions, observed small merchant ships flowing in and out of the kingdoms in the northeast part of the Mughal Empire. Most of the time, these ships carried some silk or spices, commodities the Mughals had an abundance of. However, the use of military vessels to escort a merchant ship was a new and intriguing sight. They took the Bait, The Mughal ships sailed towards it like a wolf spotting a flock of sheep.
The bait had worked as the Mughals entered the mouth of the estuary towards the Bay of Bengal. Pair after pair of ships left the estuary as they advanced towards the merchant ships, but this is where their doom awaited. The frigates that were used to escort the merchant ship suddenly made a hard manoeuvre and started firing at them. The Mughals found it ridiculous as they had 30 frigates compared to the three of the enemy.
However, the slowest Mughal ship, slightly damaged and experiencing reduced speed, sent a distress signal in horror. This prompted all personnel on the remaining ships to turn back, only to witness a full battle group led by a large thousand-ton behemoth slowly appearing behind a curve. As expected, the fireworks began. More than 20 frigates were immediately destroyed, and the rest, realizing they had no chance of victory, surrendered. The ten frigates came under the control of General Narasimha Nayak and Captain Gangadhar.
Considering the estuary as a good place for defence, three Dutch frigates along with the captured ten Mughal frigates, along with two battalions, were arranged to guard the lake.
After the small skirmish, the battle group set sail again for the actual location, the Paradip port. Half an hour later, the battleship made its way to a small fishing town called Paradip. Paradip was not yet a port as Vijay made it out to be; the Paradip port of modern-day India was established in 1966 for the convenience of iron ore and industrial raw material transportation into and outside of Odisha, as the area around the Paradip port was rich in iron ore resources.
Vijay decided to capture here for various reasons. Personally, it held sentimental value as this was the place where he interned during his previous life while studying metallurgy. Geographically, Paradip seemed ideal for a port due to the presence of a small estuary in Paradip town that could be easily developed for larger ship docking. From a strategic standpoint, the port served as a crucial point for countering the Mughal Kolkata Navy, acting as a strategic spearhead. This decision also aimed to foster improved trade relations with the northeastern Hindu countries of Bharat.
As the Mughals did not attach great importance to the town of Paradip, there were only a few surveying officers around who were easily brought into custody. The battleship couldn't dock at the Paradip town, so it stayed in the Bay of Bengal sea. The rest of the small and medium-sized merchant ships of 150 tons and below were being unloaded batch by batch.
Soon, the three brigades of infantry and three battalion artillery men, along with the rest of the auxiliary soldiers consisting of the engineering corps, scouting corps, and the rangers, had disembarked.
To be continued...
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