First Battle of Panipat (1526)

 The First Battle of Panipat was fought on 21 April 1526 in North India between the occupying forces of Babur and the Lodi Empire. It was the start of the Mughal Empire. This was one of the first battles fought with gun powder and field artillery.

Babur introduced field guns at panipat, 1526

Until 1524, Babur's aim was to only extend his rule to Punjab, mostly to fulfill his ancestor Timur's legacy, as it had previously been a part of his kingdom. Sections of north India were ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty at the time, but the kingdom was collapsing and there were several defectors. He was invited by Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab, and Ala-ud-Din, Ibrahim's uncle.He sent an envoy to Ibrahim, pretending to be the legitimate successor to the country's throne; however, the ambassador was arrested in Lahore and released months later.

In 1524, Babur set out for Lahore, Punjab, only to discover that Daulat Khan Lodi had been forced out by forces sent by Ibrahim Lodi. The Lodi army marched out and was defeated when Babur arrived in Lahore. In reaction, Babur burned Lahore for two days before marching to Dipalpur, where he appointed Alam Khan, another rebel uncle of Lodi's, as governor. Alam Khan was deposed easily and fled to Kabul. In reaction, Babur supplied Alam Khan with soldiers, who later joined forces with Daulat Khan Lodi and besieged Ibrahim Lodi at Delhi with approximately 30,000 troops. He beat them and drove Alam's army away, and Babur realized that Lodi would not let him invade Punjab.

Babur's forces were reported to number about 15,000 troops and had between 20 and 24 pieces of field artillery. Babur reported that Lodi had about 100,000 men, though this included camp followers, and that the battle force totaled 30,000 to 40,000 men, including at least 1000 war elephants.

Babur defended his right flank towards the city of Panipat while digging a trench paved with tree branches to protect his left flanks after learning the strength of Ibrahim's force. He arranged 700 carts bound together with ropes in the middle. There were breastworks for his matchlock men between every two carts. Babur also made certain that his soldiers had enough room to rest and fire their weapons.

When Ibrahim's army landed, he discovered that the path to Babur's army was too small for an assau
lt. Though Ibrahim redeployed his troops to accommodate the narrower front, Babur easily exploited the situation to flank the Lodi army. Many of Ibrahim's soldiers were unable to participate in the fighting and left as it turned toward them. 

Ibrahim Lodi, along with 20,000 of his men, was killed on the battlefield. Timurids won a decisive military triumph at the Battle of Panipat. Politically, it acquired Babur new territories and began a new period of his long-lasting Mughal Empire's establishment in the center of the Indian Subcontinent.