Alexander The Great: The Battle Of The Hydaspe
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Alexander the Great was born on the 20th of July 356 B.C in Macedonia and is one of the greatest military commanders of all time. From a young age, he was tutored by the infamous Aristotle, which is perhaps what gave rise to his greatness. He was king of Macedonia from 336-323 B.C and throughout this period, he achieved many magnificent victories. He succeeded in defeating the Persians and then went on to conquer many territories in Asia Minor and then on into India. In this essay, I will be discussing one of his battles and this is the Battle of the Hydaspes. I will first explain how he succeeded in crossing this monstrous river and then how he defeated Porus and his army. As Alexander moved further into Indian Territory, he faced his first obstacle which was the River Indus. He had no option but to cross this river and he did so by using wooden ships that were anchored using wicker baskets filled with stones. From my reading of Arrian, it is said that Alexander also built a bridge across the river however, this cannot be confirmed. Once he had crossed, he proceeded to march to a nearby town called Taxila, where he was received by the governor Taxiles. Here, Taxiles informed alexander that Porus lay in wait on the opposite bank of the Hydaspes, determined to prevent Alexander from crossing and ready to attack should he even attempt it. It is estimated that Porus had 50,000 infantries, 4,000 cavalries, 300 war chariots and 200 elephants at his disposal. An ally