The Macedonian soldiers stood transfixed on the flood plain as the Pauravan army advanced toward them. The ground shook with each step the great lumbering war elephants took as they advanced toward the wide-eyed Greeks. In towers atop the elephants' backs, expert archers fired down on the Greek spearmen.
Never before had the Greeks encountered elephants in battle. Although their commander, 30-year-old King Alexander of Macedon, had devised special tactics to deal with the elephants based on discussions with local allies, the average soldier had scant knowledge of the precautions their king had taken.
Soon the monstrous beasts, some of which let out an otherworldly scream as they waded into the Greek lines, were grabbing Greek soldiers with their great trunks and hurling them through the air. The Greek foot soldiers recoiled with shock and backpedaled toward the ferry landing on the Hydaspes River. Their officers shouted for them to hold their ground to no avail. Alexander had never been beaten in combat in a decade of conquest, but on this spring day in 326 BC he seemed closer to defeat than ever.
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