November 326 BC · India (modern Punjab / Sindh border, Pakistan) Theater
November 326 BC
The Malli tribe — among the most warlike in India — had retreated to their fortified city rather than surrender. Alexander's assault party scaled the walls on ladders; the ladders broke under the weight of the men following. Alexander found himself inside the walls with three companions. Rather than retreat, he dropped into the city and fought with his back to the wall, killing several Malli personally before a arrow punched through his breastplate into his lung. He collapsed; his companions formed a shield wall over him. The main army, frantic at the silence from inside, tore at the walls with bare hands and finally broke through to find Alexander near death. He nearly died. The army's terror that he might not survive shook it to its foundations.
Commanders