Editing Third Battle of Panipat (section)

=== Afghan defeat at Kunjpura ===
{{Main|Battle of Kunjpura}}
With both sides poised for battle, maneuvering followed, with skirmishes between the two armies fought around [[Karnal]] and [[Kunjpura]]. Abdus Samad Khan, the [[faujdar]] of [[Sirhind-Fategarh|Sirhind]], had come to Kunjpura, on the banks of the [[Yamuna]] river 60 miles to the north of Delhi with a force of more than ten thousand and supplies for the Afghan force. Kunjpura was stormed by the Marathas who was running short of supplies. Aided by the musketeers under Ibrahim Gardi, the Marathas achieved a rather easy victory at [[Kunjpura]] against an army of around 15,000 Afghans posted there.<ref name="tss" /> Some of Abdali's best generals like [[Najabat Khan]] were killed.<ref name="Verma">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOnKoAEACAAJ |title = Third Battle of Panipat|isbn = 9788180903328|last1 = Verma|first1 = Abhas|year= 2013| publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Imperial gazetteer of India: provincial series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-AO2AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA314|access-date=29 June 2013|year=1908|publisher=Supt. of Govt. Print.|pages=314–}}</ref> Abdus Samad Khan, the faujdar of Sirhind, was also killed during the battle.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Ganda |title=Ahmad Shah Durrani, father of modern Afghanistan |date=1959 |publisher=Asia Publishing house |pages=247 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.5426/page/n267/mode/1up |access-date=19 November 2022}}</ref> [[Mian Qutb Shah]], who was responsible for beheading [[Dattaji Rao Scindia|Dattaji Shinde]] at the [[Battle of Barari Ghat]] was executed by the Marathas after their capture of Kunjpura.<ref name="Ahmad Shah durrani">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Ganda |title=Ahmad Shah Durrani, father of modern Afghanistan |date=1959 |page=247 |publisher=Asia Publishing House, Bombay |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.5426/page/n267/mode/1up}}</ref> Ahmad Shah was encamped on the left bank of the Yamuna River, which was swollen by rains, and was powerless to aid the garrison. The whole Afghan garrison was killed or enslaved.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Also see Syed Altaf Ali Brelvi, Life of Hafiz Rahmat Khan|pages=108–09}}</ref> The massacre of the Kunjpura garrison, within sight of the Durrani camp, exasperated Abdali to such an extent that he ordered crossing of the river at all costs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lateef, S M. "History of the Punjab"|page=235}}</ref>