Information Warfare: The Battle of the Hydaspes River

Younghusband hated the film Alexander, but I loved it. (He liked Gladiator, I hated it—so our tastes often differ when it comes to films.) But rewatching my favorite scenes from the film, the portrayal of Alexander’s trec into India, specifically the Battle of Hydaspes River, is truly beautiful.

First, here’s the history they don’t tell you. Approaching India through the Khyber Pass, Alexander’s army came to the bank of the Hydaspes River, where the King of Porus sat on the opposite bank ready to repel any crossings. The Hydaspes is a deep and fast moving river—an attacking army forced to cross the river would face a major disadvantage.

What did Alexander do? Information warfare, otherwise known as the expectations game. He waited several days, marching his troops up and down the banks, testing the watters with apparent failure, and spreading rumors among the local peasants that the water were too high. This was soon learnt by the King of Porus, and the Indians became complacent.

A few days later, Alexander crossed the Hydaspes with a small force seventeen miles upstream. The King, seeing the main body of the army 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 the prince was killed.

Realizing that the force remaining across the river was the diversionary force and that Alexander was leading a smaller attack force, the King moved to attack, but was caught off guard and ended up fighting on two fronts. A map of the crossing is here, a map of the battle plan can be seen here.

The battle was deadly—Macedonian phalanxes, accustomed to cavarly and infantry, faced armored war elephants. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and this is what the movie Alexandershows best.

Phalanx v.s. elephant!

But imagine if the invading Macedonians didn’t have the advantage of information warfare. In politics and war, seducing your enemy with the belief that he is the stronger position is one way to gain the upper hand.