Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

614 THE ARMY DIVIDES.march was to be across the desert of Gedrosia. This wasan unknown route, never successfully traversed by an army,and never attempted, except, tradition said, by Semiramis,whose entire army perished in the passage.To avoid having toogreat a force to feed in crossing thisdesert, and because it was not now necessary to keep so largea body for further military operations, which would probablybe limited in extent, Craterus, who had been kept in commandof the army during Alexander's western campaign, wasnow ordered to start on his overland trip with a large part ofthe troops and the elephants. His route lay through Arachotiaand Drangiana, and with him went a number ofinvalidedMacedonians and Companions who were to return tofKp.\»^N*»Routes of Craterus and Alexander.Hellas, the phalanxes of Attalus, Antigenes and Meleager,and part of the archers. This column crossed the mountainrang-e which runs down the west bank of the Indus from theCophen, separating the luxuriant tropical vegetation of Indiafrom the barren table-lands of Persia, probably through thepass now called Bolan.There was an additional motive for Craterus' march, in