Battle of the Hydaspes

In 326 BC, Alexander the Great fought his last great battle against King Porus at the Hydaspes River, now the Jhelum, in the Punjab region of modern Pakistan. Porus held the far bank with a strong army that included war elephants, which frightened horses and threatened the Macedonian phalanx. The river was swollen by monsoon rains, making a crossing dangerous. For days, Alexander kept Porus guessing with feints along the riverbank. Then, during a stormy night, he secretly crossed upstream with a strike force and outflanked the Indian army. In the hard-fought battle that followed, the Macedonian infantry fought the elephants, targeting their drivers and wounding the animals, which panicked and trampled their own side. Porus fought bravely and was wounded before surrendering. According to legend, when Alexander asked how he wished to be treated, Porus replied, like a king. Impressed, Alexander restored his kingdom and made him an ally. Alexander's beloved horse Bucephalus died after the battle. Soon afterward, his exhausted army refused to go farther east, forcing Alexander to turn back.