[4] In the 1730s, Bajirao asserted Maratha tax rights in Gujarat, defeating rebel Trimbak Rao Dabhade in 1731 at Battle of Dabhoi; he also engaged in a diplomatic mission to persuade Rajput courts for chauth payments.

[2] Bajirao had been on the expedition to Delhi in 1719 with his father and was convinced the Mughal Empire was disintegrating and would be unable to resist northward Maratha expansion.

[28] The Mughal viceroy of the Deccan, Asaf Jah I, Nizam of Hyderabad, had created a de facto autonomous kingdom in the region.

[2] He was made vizier of the Mughal Empire in 1721 by emperor Muhammad Shah, who, alarmed at his increasing power, transferred him from the Deccan to Awadh in 1723.

The Nizam took advantage of the internal dispute, refusing to pay the chauth because it was unclear who was the real Chhatrapati (Shahu or Sambhaji II) and offering to arbitrate.

[citation needed] On 27 August 1727, Bajirao began a retaliatory guerilla attack on the Nizam with his trusted lieutenants Malhar Rao Holkar, Ranoji Shinde and the Pawar brothers.

[citation needed] He began to destroy the towns held by the Nizam; leaving Pune, he crossed the Godavari River near Puntamba and plundered Jalna and Sindkhed.

[citation needed] He crossed the Tapi River at Kokarmunda and entered eastern Gujarat, reaching Chota Udaipur in January 1728.

He was forced to make peace; he signed the Treaty of Mungi Shevgaon on 6 March, recognising Shahu as the King and the Maratha right to collect taxes in the Deccan.

[10] In his Military History of India, Jadunath Sarkar wrote:"This campaign gives a classic example of what the predatory horse, when led by a genius, could achieve in the age of light artillery.

This irked Shahu's senapati (commander-in-chief), Trimbak Rao Dabhade, whose ancestors had raided Gujarat several times and asserted their right to collect taxes from the province.

Although they originally held only the Janjira fort, after Shivaji's death they expanded their rule to a large part of central and northern Konkan.

[29] After the death of Siddi chief Yakut Khan in 1733, a war of succession broke out among his sons; one, Abdul Rehman, asked Bajirao for help.

[2] The Siddis launched an offensive to regain their lost territories soon after the Peshwa returned to Satara, then Bajirao dispatched a force to prevent them from taking over Raigad Fort in June 1734.

In June 1736, Bajirao dispatched a force under Yesaji Gaikwad, Dhanaji Thorat and Sidoji Barge to gain the control territories like Gowalkot.

Bajirao arrived at Mewar's southern frontier in January 1736, where Rana Jagat Singh II had made arrangements for his visit.

The Maratha chiefs Malhar Rao Holkar, Vithoji Bule and Pilaji Jadhav crossed Yamuna and plundered the Mughal territories in the Doab.

He had received intelligence that the Vazir with his army was coming towards Delhi in rapid marches when he heard that Baji Rao was before the gates of the capital.

Finding himself heavily outnumbered to the Wazir's army and possibility of reinforcement from the other Mughal nobles he made a decision to quickly retreat from Badshahpur during early night.

To counter aid to the Nizam from the Deccan, Bajirao stationed a force of 10,000 (under Chimaji Appa) on the Tapti River with instructions to prevent Nasir Jung from advancing beyond Burhanpur.

Having already secured Malwa through the Battle of Bhopal from Jai Singh II, Bajirao sought to expand Maratha influence by targeting Hyderabad in the absence of the Nizam.

Nasir Jung, having received intelligence about the Marathas' intent to capture the Deccan in the absence of his father, mobilized 10,000 soldiers and marched against Bajirao.

[54] In the ensuing battle, according to some sources, Bajirao suffered defeat, and his army was compelled to make a humiliating peace treaty, marking a significant setback for the Maratha forces.

[56] According to some historical sources, Peshwa Bajirao's last battle took place in Rawarkhedi, Madhya Pradesh in 1739, against Nasir Jung, the Nizam's son.

[33][59] Bajirao was known for rapid tactical movements in battle, using cavalry inherited from Maratha generals such as Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav.

[60] British field marshal Bernard Montgomery studied Bajirao's tactics in the Palkhed campaign, particularly his rapid movements and his troops' ability to live off the land (with little concern about supply and communication lines) while conducting "maneuver warfare" against the enemy.

Baji Rao's army was a purely mounted force, armed only with sabre, lance, a bow in some units and a round shield.

The lightly equipped Marathas moved with great rapidity, avoiding the main towns and fortresses, living off the country, burning and plundering.

They met one reverse at the hands of Nizam's able lieutenant, Iwaz Khan, at the beginning of November 1727, but within a month they had fully recovered and were off again, dashing east, north, west, with sudden changes in direction.

[65] Also describing his twenty years military career, Jadunath Sarkar wrote: Twenty years spent in breathless activity and tireless journeys across the Indian continent, from Delhi to Srirangpatan and Gujarat to Hyderabad, wore out the most wonderful man of action that the Hindu race has produced since the days of the great Shivaji Maharaj.