alexander

46 THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
One can imagine that at some point, an Indian soldier
pointed out the obvious: ‘‘The River Hydaspes cannot be
crossed in the face of our opposition. Alexander is keeping
his army fit and disciplined until the fall and winter, when
the snows gather in the Himalayas and the river will be easier
to cross. Thus, it is unnecessary to march opposite the
enemy every day. We have identified all possible fords and
can simply garrison them with soldiers or cavalry—for
rapid message communication, in case they do try to
cross—and an elephant, whose smell will keep their cavalry
from crossing.’’ The Indian officer corps agreed, and they
garrisoned all the fords. This is exactly what Alexander
wanted. He wanted Porus to relax his vigilance. Only with a
relatively unimpeded crossing could Alexander get the army
across.
The crossing itself was simple and clever. The army had
actually been practicing marching silently. Each unit had
learned to pad its armor and weapons, so as to make no
noise. The army also reconnoitered a path that let the men
march north without being seen. On the night of the subterfuge
crossing, the army split in two, with those marching
doing so in silence. Because marching armies produce
clouds of dust, Alexander chose a night that had torrential
rain, to further reduce the Indian army’s anxiety about a
possible night crossing. Finally, he would have insisted that
the same number of fires be burned, in keeping with the
normal routine. A large allocation of alcohol for those remaining
at Alexander’s camp would keep the men’s spirits
up and voices loud, so the Indians would observe the same
number of fires and about the same level of noise as the full