State your opinion: The French helped to increase the military strength of the Marathas.

Answer: I agree with this statement.

• Mahadji Shinde realised the need for a modern army after Panipat. He appointed the Frenchman (Savoyard) General de Boigne to train his army.
• De Boigne raised disciplined infantry battalions, trained them in European drill, and set up workshops to make guns and cannons; later Perron commanded it.
• With this army Mahadji Shinde became powerful in north India and controlled Delhi; other Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars also employed European officers.

So French officers strengthened Maratha artillery and infantry, though this army was not enough to stop the British later.