Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 315: Battle of Makran Part 1

November 23rd, 1655.

The city of Makran, Southeastern Part of the Safavid Empire, on the Gulf of Oman.

With the commencement of the battle for Balochistan, Gangadhar’s fleet officially split into two battle groups, each tasked with their own objectives in the war. The naval operation on the Arabian Sea saw the majority of the empire’s navy deployed, including 189 sloops and 63 frigates.

Meanwhile, the remaining 171 sloops and 41 frigates were stationed at the eastern naval base due to the continued activity of the Mughal Navy in the Bay of Bengal.

In addition to the naval battle for Makran city, another reason for the empire’s focus on the Arabian Sea was its status as the default route for any European merchants, visitors, or even adventurers to the subcontinent. Vijay was particularly cautious, even paranoid, about the possibility of invasion from foreign powers, prompting him to prioritize the defence of this crucial region.

Surprisingly, in the two battle groups that split up, Admiral Gangadhar had actually chosen the smaller battle group that was heading to the port of Ormara with 40 sloops, 14 frigates, and a single battleship.

The decision to focus on Ormara was strategic because it fell within the communication range of the heliograph, making it safer as reinforcements could be swiftly provided. In contrast, targets like Gwadar and Makran would take longer to reinforce. Despite the absence of the Mughal Navy, it was better to be prepared, leading to a heavier concentration of warships at the ports of Gwadar and Makran.

The second and the bigger battle group heading towards the Gulf of Oman split again into two different fleets, one bound for Makran and the other for Gwadar. The fleet headed to Makran received more importance as it was to engage in an actual naval battle. Commander Gautam, serving at the eastern naval base, was dispatched to lead this battle due to his extensive experience in skirmishes.

Trusting in his expertise, he was tasked with initiating the naval battle.

Gautam commanded a fleet of 80 sloops and 28 frigates, while the rest, which were 29 sloops and 21 frigates, commanded by Prasanna Nayar, went to the port of Gwadar.

For the distribution of troops, two divisions of infantry and three battalions of artillery were deployed, along with 1,100 logistic personnel and two field hospitals staffed with medical professionals, totalling 27,500 soldiers and 500 medical personnel on a single battlefront.

However, it’s noteworthy that most of these medical personnel were not female, as female medical personnel were only expected to enter service after January 7th, the day when graduates of the Bharatiya Medical University were introduced. Hence, these field hospitals were currently staffed with experienced male medical professionals.

Back to the troop arrangement:

There are two battlefronts in total for this battle: the western battlefront, which starts at the port of Gwadar, and the eastern battlefront, which starts at the port of Ormara. Both of these battlefronts were commanded by commanders Narasimha Nayak on the Western Battlefront and Ramayya Senapati on the Eastern Battlefront.

As for the defence of the region of Gujarat in their absence, it is actually Vijay who is holding the front with the help of a few experienced lieutenants and major generals.

As for the army dispatched to conquer the city of Makran, it is only 5,000 ground troops filled with infantry and normal Dakshin Bharatiya Empire artillerymen operating cannons ranging from six-kilogram calibre to 20-kilogram calibre, as the giant 30-kilogram calibre was deemed unnecessary.

Along with this, the main force of this battle was headed by Sarvesh and his brigade of 4,000 Bhartiya Marines.

The fleet commanded by Naval Commander Gautam anchored in Jiwani Bay, just 80 kilometers from the city of Makran. Aboard a frigate within the battle group, discussions were underway regarding the tactical briefing for the impending battle. Present at the briefing were Sarvesh, Gautam, and Major General Dhruv Patel, a prominent military figure in the Bharat Kasari Legion.

After a thorough briefing lasting several hours, the battle for Makran was officially initiated.

STAGE 1

In the fleet commanded by Gautam, ten frigates were dispatched, carrying only the Bharathiya Marines, while the remaining ships stayed at Jiwani Bay. The battle for the city of Makran would be led by Sarvesh and his brigade.

Sarvesh, dressed in the new navy blue uniform embroidered with the emblem of the Bhartiya Marines, was sitting on a chair with his twin talwars sheathed on his back beside the captain of a frigate, silently visualizing his battle plan that he had been briefed about.

On the back of the ship, his soldiers, the Marines, were also following the discipline and were silently sitting in their positions, either simply resting their eyes or meditating.

Witnessing this scene, Kushal, the captain of the frigate, was actually surprised because although even the normal army stays disciplined while travelling to their operations, they are not usually this quiet; they are usually rowdy and making fun of each other.

This was the first time Kushal saw such a strict and intense team of soldiers, and witnessing the aura in each and every one of them, it could be seen that this was an elite unit. What was even more nerve-wracking for him was Sarvesh, who sat next to him.

Kushal did not have the guts to initiate a small talk with him, as Sarvesh radiated such a strong and intense threatening aura that the rest of the Marines could be compared to kittens.

The destination of the Marines was not actually the city of Makran but the lake to its east. This lake, called the Chabahar Lake, is only twenty kilometres away from the city of Makran if considered from the coast. The lake stretches inland into the Baluchistan region, coming at the northeastern flank of Makran city, which cuts down the distance to only 13.80 kilometres.

This is the main destination of the Marines as the first stage of the battle is to flank the city of Makran and to take the Mengal tribe who control the city of Makran by surprise.

The distance from Jiwani Bay to Chabahar Lake is only 60 kilometres; hence, within a few hours, the 10 frigates had already reached their location, which is the coast nearest to Chambahar Lake. The frigates halted 100 meters from the coast, as the shallow waters rendered it unsuitable for further navigation, posing a risk of the ships becoming grounded if they ventured closer.

Therefore, Sarvesh and his battalion of 4000 Marines embarked on the canoes, which were tethered to each of the ten frigates, with forty canoes per frigate. Utilizing these canoes, the Marines successfully reached the shore.

Observing the Marines disembarking onto the shore, Kushal breathed a sigh of relief, feeling tense in their presence, particularly with their leader, the rumoured headhunter and twin-bladed demon, Sarvesh. Now, he focused intently on monitoring the actions of these elite soldiers of the empire on the shore. And he was not the only one; his executive officer was also beside him, doing the same thing.

Looking at his XO, who had sweat-drenched on his face, Kushal couldn’t help but lament the experience of his executive officer, who had to personally deal with the Marines himself.

"Captain, what do you think His Excellency the commander is about to do?" The XO asked.

Kushal, who heard the question, turned his head back towards the coast, staring at the fastly assembling unit of the Marines, and said, "Who knows, but that is definitely not something the army could do. If not, why would the command send the most elite fighting force in the empire for this mission?"

The executive officer nodded his head as it made sense.

Within a few moments, the canoes the Marines took, were very quickly assembled on the shore, resembling a lineup of supercars neatly parked in an exhibition.

In front of these canoes, the 4,000 Marines stood in a six-column formation in the position of utmost attention, with Sarvesh inspecting these soldiers from head to toe as he moved between the formations at random, checking each and every soldier to ensure everything matched the protocol.

Kushal, after staring intently for a few minutes, finally heard something from the marines, it was the continuous roars of "check," "check," "check." He understood what was happening, as it was quite normal for the final check to be done before the operation commenced, no matter which unit of the military, But what was different this time was the shouts were more united and louder than any other unit he had heard.

That was not all as it was what happened next which shocked him greatly.

Ten Marines at a time, forming a squad, after unloading their luggage onto the canoes, picked up the boats one by one in a neat line and actually carried them inland.

"Wha...?"

Kushal’s mouth was agape, and his eyes were wide open as he was not able to believe what he was seeing. "What is the commander doing? Is he going to row the boat on the land?" he could not understand. The executive officer was not different as he was dumbstruck by what was happening.

They both looked at each other with the same shocked expression and seeing the cluelessness in each other’s eyes, they silently turned their heads back to the shore to watch this weird and excellent feat of strength demonstrated by the Marines of the empire.