Battle of the Hydaspes River
Military Conflict|image=
|caption=A painting by
Charles Le Brun depicting Alexander and Porus during the Battle of the Hydaspes|conflict=Battle of the Hydaspes River|partof=the
Wars of Alexander the Great|date=
326 BC|place=Near the Hydaspes River (now known as
Jhelum River)|result=
Macedonian victory|combatant1=
Macedon and their various
Greek,
Persian and
Indian allies|combatant2=
Hydaspes (
Indian kingdom)|commander1=
Alexander the Great|commander2=
Porus|strength1=4,000 cavalry
50,000 infantry|strength2=2,000 cavalry
20,000 infantry
200
war elephants|casualties1=Many infantry
(~4,000 dead)
Few cavalry|casualties2=Many cavalry
Many infantry
~100 war elephants|
The
Battle of the Hydaspes River was a
battle fought by
Alexander the Great in
326 BC against the
Indian king
Porus (Pururava or
Purushotthama in
Sanskrit) on the
Hydaspes River (now the
Jhelum) in
Punjab. The kingdom of king
Porus was situated in that part of ancient India which has become modern day
Pakistan. The battle was the last major war fought by Alexander. Although victorious, Alexander's exhausted army mutinied and refused to go any further into
India. His tired army saw the use of
war elephants for the first time in years since
Gaugamela. Porus put up a fierce resistance against the invading Macedonian army.
*Macedonians and various other Greek, Persian and Indian allies, led by Alexander. With about 4,000
cavalry and 50,000
infantry.
*King Porus with 200
war elephants, 2,000 cavalry, and 20,000 infantry.
[Plutarch. The Life of Alexander the Great, year 75.]The Macedonians also had a significant force (some say five times the amount Alexander commanded). Under the control of
Craterus, they posed as a diversionary force across the river (see below).
The battle took place on the east bank of the Hydaspes River, (now called river
Jhelum, a tributary of river
Indus) near present day Lilla and Bhora,
Pakistan.
After Alexander's defeat of the last remnants of the
Achaemenid Empire under
Bessus and
Spitamenes in
328 BC, he started a new campaign versus the various Indian kings in
327 BC. Some place the invasion force as 120,000 men, others say that the fighting force was probably no more than 35,000 men, at most a third of it as cavalry.
The main train went into modern day Pakistan through the
Khyber Pass, but a smaller force under the personal command of Alexander went through the northern route, taking a Fortress at Aornos (modern day Pir-Sar, Pakistan) on the way. In early spring of the next year, he combined his forces and allied with
Taxiles (also Ambhi), the King of
Taxila, against his neighbor the King of
Hydaspes.
|
Alexander's crossing of the Hydaspes river |
The King of Hydaspes drew up on the left bank of the Hydaspes River, and was set to repel any crossings. The Hydaspes is deep and fast enough that any opposed crossing would probably doom the entire attacking force. So Alexander waited for several days, with lots of marches and counter-marches and information warfare (letting the local peasants "know" that he considered the water too high for crossing, which was learned of by Porus). One night, sensing a sense of complacency in Porus' camp, Alexander crossed the Hydaspes with a small force 17 miles upstream. Porus, seeing the main body under the command of Craterus still in front of him, did not believe that it was a significant crossing, and sent only a small cavalry force under his son to oppose it. The force was easily routed, and Porus' son was killed.
When the battle actually started, the Alexandrian cavalry was to the right of their line, but Alexander sent a group of cavalry to circle behind the Indians and attack them from behind. The Indians were poised with cavalry on both flanks, the war elephants in front, and infantry behind the elephants.
These
war elephants presented an especially difficult situation for Alexander. Most of his success on the battlefield has been due to his ability to separate the enemy lines and drive his crack
Companion cavalry into the opening. This was used with devastating effectiveness at both
Chaeronea and
Gaugamela. However, the Indian elephants scared the Macedonian horses. The mere scent of these incredible creatures forced Alexander to modify his strategy.
Alexander started the battle with a customary charge on the right flank (the Indian's left) with predictable results, the Indian left became weak, and Porus reinforced that side with cavalry from the right. This left nobody to oppose the circling cavalry that attacked the Indian cavalry from behind. This was exactly what Alexander wanted. He was able to destroy the Indian cavalry without bringing his mounted units near the elephants. Had the Indian cavalry not been destroyed they could have endangered his phalanxes later in the battle, and the Macedonian horse may not have been able to support the foot soldiers against the Indian cavalry due to the proximity of the elephants.
|
Combined attack of cavalry and infantry |
Meanwhile, the
Macedonian phalanxes and the attached Persian infantry had advanced to engage the charge of the war elephants, which was stopped, albeit with heavy casualties to the infantry. The
mahouts of the elephants were killed, and some hamstrung, the Alexandrian force eventually surrounded the Indian force. After massive casualties, Porus, who was wounded in the fighting, surrendered.
King Porus was one of many Indians who impressed Alexander. Hit by at least six arrows in the battle, but still on his feet, he was asked by Alexander how he wanted to be treated. "Like a king" was the response. Porus was also very tall, almost seven feet in height, in contrast to Alexander, who was of average height.
Casualty figures are hard to come by, but the Indians are said to have lost all of their cavalry, much of their infantry, and over 100
war elephants. The Alexandrians captured over 80 elephants, and suffered a heavy toll in their infantry. The losses to their cavalry arm was much less by comparison. Historian
Peter Green argues that Alexander lost as many as 4,000 men, mostly phalanx troops. They had borne the brunt of the fighting against the elephants, as the horses of the Macedonian cavalry had refused to go near the beasts.
Porus' bravery and war skills impressed Alexander. Despite the defeat, Alexander spared Porus' life and let him rule Hydaspes in Alexander's name. This was the furthest that Alexander went, as his army refused to go any further after seeing the first real use of the war elephants and being exhausted by eight years of continuous campaigning.
This was not the first time that either the Persians or the Macedonians saw war elephants. There were 50 in
Darius's army at the
Battle of Gaugamela but they appeared not to have much impact on the battle. Hydaspes River might have been the first time they saw an elephant charge. The combat against these attacking pachyderms was said to have had a fearful psychological effect on Alexander's men, particularly those in the phalanxes. That they withstood the war elephants was a tremendous testament to their discipline and skill as soldiers.
Some Indian historians are of the opinion that Alexander retreated because of the massive casualties his army suffered during the war with Porus. Certain scholars believe that the war between Porus and Alexander ended in a stalemate. They argue that the very fact that Porus continued to rule his empire even after the battle proves that Alexander's army did not win the war.
[The Kingdoms of Southern India.] Though Alexander managed to conquer only the north-western portion of India, his invasion had an important influence. By curbing the fierce tribal warlords in the
Hindu-Kush and neighbouring regions, he paved the way for the creation of the Great
Mauryan Empire, the second empire to conquer all India.
Alexander died a few years later in
323 BC and his empire fell apart to civil war. After various battles and revolts, Hydaspes again became independent.
As a result of this battle, Alexander founded two cities, Nicaea (Victory) at the site of modern day Jalapur and Bucephala at the site (possibly) of Bhera in
Pakistan.
Bucephalus was the name of the horse that Alexander rode on, having died either during battle or right afterwards of weariness and old age.
*
Livius Picture Archive: Hydaspes (Jhelum)
