In 326 BCE, the Battle of the Hydaspes was fought between the Macedonians under Alexander the Great against the Indians under Porus during the Conquests of Alexander the Great.
Why did it happen?
Following his decisive victory at the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander the Great conquered the rest of the Persian Empire. In 326 BCE, Alexander marched into India with 80,000 soldiers and 30,000 camp followers. By May, he had reached the banks of the Hydaspes River, which was guarded by the Indian king Porus. After several days of manoeuvring on the opposite bank, Alexander split his force of 22,000 men in two: one half he led upriver to cross the Hydaspes River by boat under the cover of darkness, while the other half would remain encamped under Craterus. In the morning, Porus sent his son with 2,000 cavalry and 120 chariots to investigate. When the Macedonians annihilated this force, Porus gathered his army to confront them.
Who was involved?
The Macedonian army at Hydaspes numbered 6,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. Alexander led the right wing, while Coenus led the left wing. The phalanx and peltasts were arrayed in the centre, with their left flank protected by a hill. The rest of the Macedonian army, 11,000 in number, was left under Craterus to guard the river opposite the main Indian army. The Indian army at Hydaspes numbered 20,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, 180 chariots, and 100 war elephants. The infantry was arrayed in the centre with war elephants in the vanguard, while the cavalry was positioned on the wings with the chariots in front of the left wing. The rest of the Indian army, about 9,000 troops, was left to guard the river opposite the main Macedonian camp.
What happened?
The Indian war elephants charged the Macedonian phalanx and inflicted heavy casualties before being panicked by javelins thrown by the Macedonian peltasts. The elephants then turned around and trampled the Indian infantry behind them. On the Macedonian right wing, Scythian horse archers advanced to fire arrows at the Indian chariots, which became bogged down by mud and were neutralised. At that moment, King Porus ordered his cavalry on the right wing to move towards the Indian left wing to reinforce his troops there. At the same time, Coenus manoeuvred around a hill to the left of the Macedonian army and attacked the Indian army in the flank and rear. Finally, Alexander charged along the river with his Companion cavalry against the Indian left wing, which completed the encirclement of the Indian army. King Porus was among the last to surrender. Macedonian losses numbered 310 killed, while Indian casualties numbered 12,000 killed and 9,000 captured.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of the Hydaspes was a Macedonian victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Alexander spared Porus’ life and allowed him to continue to rule over his kingdom as a client king under the Macedonians. The Battle of the Hydaspes proved to be Alexander’s last major battle. In September 326 BCE, his army mutinied at the Hyphasis River and was forced to turn back. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE with no heir to succeed him, so his generals, the Diadochi, fought over his empire for the next four decades. In India, Chandragupta Maurya, who supposedly met Alexander during his Indian campaign and based his military ambitions on him, overthrew the Nanda Empire and founded the Mauryan Empire, which conquered most of India until its collapse in 185 BCE.
Bibliography
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Webb, Jonathan. “Battle of Hydaspes River, 326 BC.” The Art of Battle. Last revised 2009. www.theartofbattle.com/battle-of-hydaspes-river-326-bc/
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