Battles & Campaigns · 1817
Battle of Khadki (Kirkee)
Khadki, Pune, Maharashtra, India
What happened
East India Company troops under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Burr fought the army of the Peshwa, chief minister of the Maratha Confederacy, led by Bapu Gokhale. The Peshwa's army, around 28,000 strong, attacked the British Residency in Pune, and the British force of about 3,000 marched out to meet it. Gokhale ordered a great cavalry charge, but it got stuck in boggy ground in front of the British line. The charge broke, and the Maratha forces withdrew.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The Peshwa lost the battle and fled Pune. The British then took the city of Pune.
What came next
The British took the Peshwa's palace, Shaniwar Wada, on 17 November 1817, and the Peshwa surrendered in 1818. Khadki later became a British army cantonment.
Timeline
- 22 January 1732Shaniwar Wada palace is completed.
- 5 November 1817The British win at Khadki.
- 17 November 1817The British take Shaniwar Wada.
- June 1818The Peshwa gives up power to the British.
- 27 February 1828A great fire burns Shaniwar Wada.