As the Mughal forces, a huge 80,000 left from the Agra Fort under Raja Man Singh towards Kumbhalgarh, what made Rana Pratap worried was to hold such a huge Mughal Army for months with a mere 22000 Rajput & Bheel Warriors. Fearing a largescale seige of the KumbhalGarh fort, Rana decided to adopt Guerrilla Warfare & Haldighati located midway between Chittorgarh & Kumbhalgarh was the best spot considering it's terrain.
As you can see this narrow ridge between the two hills is the Gateway to Haldighati. Rana's plan was to choke the Mughal forces between this ridge from the top & cut them apart. The WAR exactly began here on the spot where I stand. The name Haldighati is derived from the Turmeric color of the stones that constitute this valley a part of the Aravalli Range.
The entire battlefield is 8 kms spread. Well the Rana was very successful in his plan & the first couple of hours Mughal forces were routed to the core & they started retreating towards the river which was a trap, because near the river the back up forces or the Mughal Van Guard of around 40000 was waiting for the valiant Rajput & Pathan Warriors of Mewar who were already tired.
Raja Man Singh had realised by the first two hours it will be impossible to win against the Rana till the time he is inside the Ridge. Hence he wanted them in open & the trick worked as the Rajputs encouraged by their success rode out of their hidden positions. The Rana on his part had spotted Man Singh commanding his forces from a top an elephant & headed straight for him. The bloody battle that followed at the place called Rakht Talai will be covered in the third write up.
Please refer the Site pictures -
1. Gateway to Haldighati.
2. Turmeric coloured stones of Haldighati.
3. The cave were Rana Pratap briefly stayed at while retreating from the warfield while escaping to the nearby jungles of Aravalli.
4. The 30ft Ridge that Chetak had jumped with Rana on his back before breathing his last.
5. The burial place / tomb of Chetak.
Will be covering the details of Rakht Talai in next write up.
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