November 29th, 1655
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City of Indore, Mughal Empire
*Boom Boom Boom Boom*
At the southern end of the city of Indore, the heavy artillery of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, with their muzzles red hot and steam rising from the bores, were firing volleys at maximum capacity, relentlessly bombarding the southern fortress wall of Indore.
The light artillery of the advanced guard, which was positioned closest to the wall, was installed on fortified artillery positions constructed over the course of a day. Meanwhile, the main heavy artillery of the army, from both the forward and rear divisions, had taken positions further back, continuing their assault on the city wall from the south.
Thanks to the security provided by 20,000 troops dispatched from the Dhul and Amravati fortresses of the northern frontiers, the army had already taken control of the surrounding towns and villages, which allowed the main force in this battle, the western battle group commanded by Vijay, to continue their operations without any hindrance.
It is also important to note that Vijay didn’t want to split his western battle group, as he did not want to reduce the combat effectiveness of the attack by spreading the battle group into two different battlefronts. This strategy of attacking from multiple fronts could only work if he had more troops than he currently had.
So, he fully concentrated his attack power on the southern wall of the city of Indore due to the demographic significance of the people right on the other side of the southern wall.
Also, in case some Mughal soldiers hidden among the civilians in the surrounding towns and villages manage to pass through the defence line formed by these 20,000 troops, the left and right flank units of the main western force, composed of 1,500 soldiers each, are enough to ensure the security of Vijay and his core force of 25,000 elite troops.
The only way the Mughals can disperse Vijay’s western force is to invest a lot more resources into the attack.
Inside the City of Indore
General Islam Zaheer is feeling uneasy in his heart. Amid the constant exchange of bombardment from both sides, it is clear that the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire has both better artillery technology and a larger number of artillery pieces.
"God damn it," he cursed with annoyance and a hint of desperation. Despite their cannons being upgraded substantially in recent years, they could not catch up with the artillery technological advancements of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, which has now almost reached the same level as many secondary European countries.
Recently, even the Ottoman Empire could not sell them better artillery than they already had. Hence, they currently lack a cannon with enough range to reach the heavy cannons of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire.
Even though the further heavy cannons could not be targeted, the nearer light artillery could be hit due to them being in range, right? Theoretically, this statement is true, but it is just not so simple. The light artillery pieces of the enemy, although within range, could not be hit properly due to the enemy boasting faster firepower and being installed on tricky artillery platforms.
It had become very hard to aim at these smaller and elusive targets which are guarded by sandbags from the top of the wall. Additionally, with trenches dug near these artillery stations, it has become very difficult to hit any personnel directly.
In addition, with no counter-weapons present against the heavy artillery of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, these heavy cannons have been firing non-stop for the past 12 hours. Due to this heavy punishment dished out by the heavy cannons, the strong city walls made up of the strongest and toughest stones crumbled little by little.
Although the wall could still hold on for a few hours if only attacked by the heavy cannons, buying enough time for the Mughals to sit it out until the reinforcements arrived, unfortunately for the Mughals, it wasn’t so simple. Vijay wouldn’t just let these Moguls camp safely in their base.
When the Culverin made its debut with a thundering strike launched a few hours ago, the armour-piercing effect of the Culverin Projectile shocked the Mughal General Islam Zaheer.
A few hours ago...
General Islam Zaheer had a frown on his face as he inspected the damage adding up from the firing of these heavy cannons of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, but he still had a composed appearance since he felt like by the time the wall was breached, the reinforcements of the empire should have arrived.
Unfortunately, his illusion was completely shattered by a loud bang he heard from a distance, which he was sure was more than 1000 meters away.
*BOOOM*
A projectile at high speeds, fast enough to not see its afterimage, came crashing down on the wall of the fortress with a loud boom.
Zaheer felt the ground below him vibrating a little, and as he observed the place that was hit, he was shocked to find out that although the projectile was only the size of his fist, it actually shattered a section of the city wall completely and even left a small hole wide enough for a small snake to pass through.
Seeing this, Islam’s face was suddenly drained of blood, his eyes became erratic with fright as he did not know what kind of weapon this was.
Despair had already started to seep into his mind, but he still held out his last hope, thinking, "Maybe this weapon is not so accurate given its power," with a strand of delusion in his mind keeping him from mentally collapsing.
Unfortunately, he would be disappointed, as his mental fortitude was immediately blasted apart like a delicate porcelain vase by another cannon shot from the new culverin cannon.
This shot hit very close to the previous one, with the difference being only a few tens of inches, which ended up superimposing on the previous damage and opened up a gap of a few feet, enough for a small deer to pass through. This damage was only compounded by the constant bombardment of the heavy cannons of the empire, Which acted as a blunt weapon sending shockwaves through the stone wall.
With all three sides of the city being surrounded by Bharatiya troops ( West, East, South ), it left almost no breathing space for the city of Indore.
"No!" Islam, having his allusions shattered, said in a low voice with choked emotions, his mind already in disarray. He quickly retreated from the frontline and withdrew back to his quarters inside the city, where he could feel a little safer.
Back to the present...
General Islam Zaheer, already physically and mentally strained from the relentless Bharatiya artillery bombardment, was startled by the sudden opening of the door.
"Ah!" he exclaimed lightly.
However, upon seeing that it was only his lieutenant who had entered, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew."
Yet, to his surprise, the lieutenant wore an unusual expression of excitement as he entered the room.
Islam was curious about what could make his lieutenant so excited. The light of hope rekindled in his heart as he intently stared at his lieutenant without saying a word, which already signified his permission for the subordinate to speak out.
"Your Excellency, good news! I have received a message that the reinforcements will be here in 40 minutes."
The gloomy face of Islam Zaheer suddenly lit up with a blooming smile. He finally heard about the reinforcements, and they were not too far.
"Good, good, good," he said repeatedly, showing how excited he was. Having already given up hope for the reinforcements’ arrival a couple of moments ago, now that their arrival was confirmed, he couldn’t help but be delighted by the news.
Then, suddenly remembering something, his smile faded as he inquired, "Then what about the structural integrity of the city wall? Can it last until then?"
Hearing this question, The lieutenant suddenly put on a depressed face as he explained the news which Islam had not wanted to hear.
"Unfortunately, the news is not so good, Your Excellency. A section of the wall has almost fallen down, and there is now enough space for a three-column formation to move into the city."
Islam’s heart dropped as he continued to ask, "What about the artillery on the city walls? Can it defend this breach?"
"Unfortunately, no, Your Excellency. The artillery near this breach has already been destroyed by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire."
Hearing this, the tolerance of Islam’s emotion broke out as he loudly screamed with anger. He got up from his chair and proceeded to continuously kick it with rage.
*Bham* "Damn"
*Bham* "Kafirs!"
*Bham* "Damn"
*Bham* "Low lives."
"Rahhhhhhh!"
In the end, Islam even broke the wooden chair made up of antique wood.
P.S. I will combine the battle of both regions, Indore + Balochistan in the upcoming chapters so that I don’t have to write separate chaps for each battle
P.S. Please, Let me know what you think.