The Campaigns of Alexander (Classics) (25 page)

The winter had brought Alexander’s men considerable distress, as much snow had fallen during the course of the siege, and supplies were short. Chorienes, however, offered a gift of two months’ rations for the whole army; from his stores on the rock he distributed grain, wine, and dried meat – so much for each tent, or mess – and declared that, even so, he had not used a tenth part of what had been laid in for the siege. Alexander’s respect for him was much increased by this, for it clearly indicated that the surrender had been a matter not of necessity but of deliberate policy.

Alexander’s next move was for Bactra. Craterus, with a force consisting of 600 Companions, his own and Alcetas’ infantry battalions, and those commanded by Polysperchon and Attalus, was ordered to march against Catanes and Austanes, the last two in the territory of the Pareitacae to be still refusing submission. There was a sharp clash, in which Craterus was victorious; Catanes was killed in action, and Austanes was taken prisoner and brought to Alexander. Of the native forces under their command, about 120 cavalrymen were killed and 1,500 infantry. After this success Craterus proceeded with his men to join Alexander in Bactra. It was in Bactra that Alexander had
his unpleasant experience with Callisthenes and the boys.

Towards the end of spring
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Alexander began his march for India, leaving Amyntas in Bactria with a force of 3,500 mounted troops and 10,000 infantry. He crossed the Indian Caucasus, and in ten days reached Alexandria, the town he had founded in the territory of the Parapamisadae during his first expedition into Bactria.
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The governor, whom he had appointed on that occasion, he dismissed for incompetence, and increased the population of the settlement by the addition of families from the neighbourhood and such of his own men as were unfit for service. Nicanor, one of the Companions, was put in control of the actual settlement, and Tyriaspes was made governor of the territory of the Parapamisadae and of the rest of the country as far as the river Cophen.
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Then, by way of Nicaea, where he offered sacrifice to Athene, Alexander marched for the Cophen, having first sent instructions to Taxiles
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and the Indians west of the Indus to meet him at whatever time each might find it convenient. Taxiles and the other chiefs obeyed the summons, bringing with them the sort of presents which are most valued in their country, and offering to give Alexander the twenty-five elephants they had with them.

Alexander now divided his force. Hephaestion and Perdiccas, with the battalions of Gorgias, cleitus, and Meleager, half the Companions and all the mercenary cavalry, were ordered forward to Peucelaotis, in the direction of the Indus. Their instructions were to take over
either by force or agreement all places on their march, and on reaching the Indus to make suitable preparations for crossing.
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Taxiles and the other Indian chiefs were sent with them, and Alexander’s orders were duly carried out when the force arrived at the river.

Astes, the governor of Peucelaotis, caused some trouble, but lost his life in the process and involved in his own ruin the town in which he had attempted to hold out. It was taken by Hephaestion after a thirty days’ siege. After Astes’ death, Sangaeus was put in control of the town – he had deserted Astes some time previously and joined Taxiles, a circumstance which enabled Alexander to trust him.

Alexander’s next objective was the territory of the Aspasians, Guraeans, and Assacenians.
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The force he took with him consisted of the Guards, all the Companion cavalry not at the moment serving under Hephaestion, the so-called Foot Companions, the archers, the Agrianes, and the mounted javelin-men. The route, which followed the river Choes, was rough and mountainous, and the crossing of the river was no easy task. Once over, he ordered the main body of the infantry to follow at their own pace and himself with the mounted troops and about 800 Macedonian foot, whom he also mounted still carrying their infantrymen’s shields, pressed on with all speed, following a report that the natives thereabouts had taken up defensive positions either in the hills or in such towns as were strong enough to offer a chance of resistance. Attacking the first of these towns which lay on his route, he had no trouble in driving in the force which was stationed outside, and compelling the men to take refuge
within the defences; but during the operation he was wounded in the shoulder by a missile which pierced his corselet. The wound was not serious, as the corselet prevented the missile from going right through his shoulder. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, and Leonnatus were also hurt. Alexander then took up a position opposite the section of the town’s defences which appeared most promising for an assault, and moved foward at dawn the following day. There was a double ring of defence-works round the town, and the outer one, which was carelessly constructed, was forced by the Macedonians without trouble; at the second the enemy maintained a brief resistance, but once the ladders were in position and the defenders began to suffer losses from the missile weapons concentrated upon them, they abandoned the town and made a dash for the hills. Some were killed as they were trying to get away, and all prisoners were butchered by the Macedonians in revenge for the wound they had given Alexander; the greater number, however, escaped to the hills, which were not far off. Alexander razed the town, and moved on to another – Andaca – which was surrendered to him. Craterus and the other infantry commanders were left in the district to organize affairs as the situation demanded, and to reduce any other towns which refused submission, while Alexander himself continued his advance with the Guards, the archers, the Agrianes, Coenus’ and Attalus’ battalions, the picked cavalry squadron and some four regiments of the other mounted Companions, and half the mounted Archers. His route lay towards the river Euaspla, and after a long march he reached on the second day the town where the governor of the Aspasians was. The natives were no sooner aware of his approach than they fired the town and made their escape to the hills, with Alexander’s men in hot pursuit all the way. Many were
cut down before the rough hill-country enabled them to shake off their pursuers.

During the pursuit, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, actually spotted the chief of the Indians of this district: he had already reached a hill and was trying to get away with some of his guards. Ptolemy, though he had a much inferior force, nevertheless rode for him; but it was too steep and too rough going for his horse, so he dismounted, gave it to a man to lead, and continued to chase the Indian on foot. Seeing him coming, the Indian and his guards turned to face him. They met; and the chief struck Ptolemy in the breast with his long spear, which pierced his corselet but did not penetrate his body. With a blow clean through the Indian’s thigh, Ptolemy laid him flat, and began to strip him, whereupon his guards, seeing that their chief was down, turned and fled. Other Indians, however, on the neighbouring hills, grieved at the sight of their leader’s body being carried off by the enemy, came hurrying down, and a fierce struggle ensued over the corpse. By then Alexander and his cavalrymen, now dismounted, were not far from the hill; they joined in the
mêlée
and finally succeeded in driving the Indians into the hills and getting possession of the body.

Having crossed the range, Alexander came down at a settlement called Arigaeum.
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He took the place, though it had been burnt and deserted by the inhabitants. He was rejoined there by Craterus and his troops, all his instructions having been successfully carried out. It occurred to him that the site of Arigaeum had much to recommend it, so he ordered Craterus to fortify the place and settle in it any of the natives in the vicinity who were willing to go there, and such of his own men as were unfit for service.
That done, he moved on towards the region where report had it that most of the native forces had concentrated, with an eye to their own defence, and came to a halt at the foothills of a range of mountains.

While he was encamped at this spot, Ptolemy, who had been sent foraging and had gone ahead of the army with a small party to reconnoitre, reported that he had seen the enemy camp-fires, and that they were more numerous than their own. Alexander received this report with some scepticism, convinced as he was that the number of camp-fires was a ruse; he determined, therefore, to advance. Part of his force he left where they were at the foot of the mountains, and himself moved forward with a body of troops which he thought sufficient to meet the situation according to the report he had received. As soon as they got a close view of the fires, he split his force into three, putting one section, consisting of the units of Attalus and Balacrus, under Leonnatus, a member of his personal guard, another, consisting of one third of the Guards, the units of Philip and Philotas, two regiments of archers, the Agrianes, and half the cavalry, under Ptolemy, son of Lagus, while the third section he took charge of in person and advanced with it to where the natives appeared to be concentrated in the greatest numbers.
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The Indians were rendered confident both by their numbers and by their position, which was a commanding one; so when they saw the Macedonians coming, contemptuous of their apparently inadequate strength they began to leave the high ground and advanced to meet them. A fierce battle followed, the result of which, however, was not long in dispute where Alexander’s section
was concerned. Ptolemy’s section did not wait to be attacked on the level ground; the natives held a hill, and Ptolemy pressed forward in column to what appeared the best point for assault; he then surrounded the hill, leaving a gap in his line for the enemy to get through, should they wish to make their escape. Here, too, there was a hard struggle – for the Indians’ position itself presented a tough problem, and they happened to be much the best and most courageous fighters of all the tribes in that part of the country. None the less, they, too, were driven from their hill, while the third section, under Leonnatus, was equally successful. According to Ptolemy’s account, the total number of prisoners was over 40,000, and more than 230,000 oxen were taken. Alexander picked out the finest of them, as they seemed to be of uncommon size and beauty, and expressed a wish to send them to Macedonia to work on the land.

From there he marched to the territory of the Assacenians, who were reported to be prepared for resistance with 2,000 cavalry, over 30,000 infantry, and thirty elephants at their disposal. His force consisted of the Companions, the mounted javelin-men, the battalions of Coenus and Polysperchon, the thousand Agrianes, and the archers, while Craterus, who by now had completed the fortification of the town the settlement of which he had been left to organize, brought along for him the more heavily armed units and the siege engines, in case of need. Alexander’s route lay through the country of the Guraeans. The river which gives the district its name proved difficult to cross, being both deep and rapid; and the large round stones with which its bed is strewn gave a treacherous foothold. None the less, the native troops, when they saw Alexander coming, had no heart to stand massed to meet him, but broke up and straggled away in groups to their
various towns, where they proposed to defend themselves and to save their homes – if they could.

Alexander’s first move was against Massaga,
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the largest town in this neighbourhood. On his approach to the walls, the natives were so confident in the effectiveness of some 7,000 mercenary troops from the interior of India, whom they had in their pay, that they advanced at the double as soon as they saw the Macedonian army begin to take up its position. It was clear to Alexander that the fight would take place close to the town; he determined, therefore, to draw the enemy on, in order to ensure that, if they were repulsed – as he was certain they would be – they would not have a short and easy way of retreat within the protection of their walls. Accordingly, the moment he saw them come pouring out of the town, he gave the order for withdrawal to a piece of high ground rather less than a mile from the position he had originally intended to take up. This apparent sign of defeat put fresh fire into the enemy; and in a disorderly rabble they came charging on. But as soon as his men were within range of their arrows, Alexander gave the signal to face about and brought the phalanx at the double to meet them. The first to go into action were the mounted javelin-men, the Agrianes, and the archers, and, while they were engaged, Alexander steadily advanced at the head of his infantry. The Indians were badly shaken by this unexpected reversal, and in the close fighting which ensued they broke and withdrew to the town. About 200 of them were killed, and the rest shut themselves up within their defences.

Alexander advanced his infantry close under the walls, and an arrow, shot from them, wounded him slightly in the ankle.

The following day he brought his machines into action
and had no difficulty in making a breach. The Macedonians tried to force their way through, but, as the Indians offered stout resistance, the assault was temporarily called off. The day after that, the attack had more power behind it: a wooden tower was brought up; from it the archers shot with greater effect, and that, added to the weight of missiles from the catapults, did much to keep the defenders within bounds. Even so, the Macedonians were unable to force their way in.

On the third day Alexander once more brought his infantry into action, and from one of the siege engines threw a bridge across the breach in the wall. Over this he led his Guards, the unit which, by the same tactics, had helped him to the capture of Tyre.
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The men, their blood being up, pressed forward in great numbers, but their weight was too much for the bridge, which broke under them and let them down. At this the enemy with a shout of triumph poured in a hail of missiles – stones from the wall, arrows, or anything else they had or could lay their hands on – while others rushed out through the little gates between the towers and rained blows upon the Macedonians before they could recover themselves.