Greatest battles

HYDASPES RIVER, NORTHWESTERN INDIA, MAY 326 BCE

A step-by-step guide to Alexander the Great’s Battle of Hydaspes River

Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, built an empire that stretched from Greece in the west to Iran in the east in little more than a decade. In the course of doing this, he clashed with the mighty Persian Empire, itself one of the largest territories the world has ever seen. Alexander’s famous battles with the Persian king Darius III, beginning with the Granicus River in 334 BCE, followed by Issus in 333 BCE and culminating in the final victory at Gaugamela in 331 BCE, are still studied by military tacticians today.

However, while Gaugamela is often held up as Alexander’s greatest battle, he didn’t stop there. Insisting that he should hold all of Persia’s domains, he set about conquering its far-flung provinces.

After spending 329-327 BCE taking Bactria and Sogdia, the Macedonian was poised to enforce his suzerainty over the last of Darius’ lands: India. To Alexander, this was an almost mythical land, where the Olympian god Dionysus had once trod. It was here that the King of the Four Quarters of the World finally discoveored his limitations.

In 327 BCE, Alexander moved south down the Hindu Kush mountain range and continued on through Bajaur and Swat. He crossed the Indus River over a bridge of boats and quickly found a local ally in Taxiles of Taxila, who sought Alexander’s aid against a rival Indian ruler, Porus, king of the Pauravas in today’s Punjab region.

When Alexander attempted to traverse the wide and deep Hydaspes River (now known as the Jhelum), Porus lined up his army, including hundreds of armoured elephants, on the opposite bank. A contested river crossing is one of the most trying of military operations, ancient or modern. Alexander had to summon all of his famed tactical genius to overcome it.

Fought in May 326 BCE, the Hydaspes would be the first battle in which the Macedonians faced war elephants. Alexander had first encountered these animals at Gaugamela, where they had been part of Darius’ army, but they had taken no part in the actual fighting. Here, they would prove to be frightening opponents. The Indians would also prove to be some of the fiercest combatants that Alexander ever encountered, and the Hydaspes itself was the most difficult of the four set-piece battles that he fought in his career.

Though Porus would be defeated, his nobility was such that Alexander allowed him to keep his throne. In addition, Porus’ spirited showing at Hydaspes persuaded the Macedonian rank-and-file that going even deeper into India was a terrible idea. Beyond Porus’ realm, they soon learned, lay a vast land filled with other larger and more powerful kingdoms with many more elephants.

Alexander’s unhappy and exhausted soldiers had had enough. With their clothes and gear deteriorating in the hot and humid climate and nothing to look forward to except more bloodshed, they would go no further. Alexander was forced to give up his dreams of conquering India and turned his army around, headed towards home.