Third Battle of Katwa
The Battle of Katwa (1763) occurred between the Nawab of Bengal, Mir Qasim and the British East India Company in 1763. Dissatisfied with Nawab Mir Qasim's administration, the English deposed him in favor of his father-in-law Mir Jafar and officially declared war against Mir Qasim on July 7, 1763. The English command was given to Major Thomas Adams, who led a small force, variously estimated as between 3,000 and 5,000 men, of whom, approximately 1,000 were European. The Nawab had a total of approximately 25,000 troops at his disposal, led by the Armenian general Gurgin Khan. Although the Nawab's forces were numerically larger, they were hastily cobbled together and riven by internal strife. The Nawabi force that confronted the English at Katwa was a much smaller contingent under the leadership of the accomplished general Muhammad Taqi Khan, the Faujdar of Birbhum.
