The
Battle of Walaja was a battle fought in Mesopotamia (Iraq
) in May 633
between the Rashidun Caliphate
army under Khalid ibn
al-Walid and the Persian Empire
and its Arab allies. In this battle the
Persian army is said to be at least
three times the size of the Muslim army.
Khalid
decisively defeated the numerically superior Persian forces using a
variation of the double envelopment
tactical manoeuvre, similar to the manoeuvre Hannibal used to defeat the Roman forces at the Battle of
Cannae
; however, Khalid is said to have developed his
version independently.
Prelude
Prophet Mohammad died on
8 June 632,
Abu Bakr succeeded him as
first
Caliph. Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which
he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout
Arabia in the successful
campaign against Apostasy and restore the
authority of Madinah over Arabia. Once the rebellions had been put
down, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. He launched campaigns
against the
Sassanid Empire and the
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine
Empire) and thus set in motion a historical trajectory that in just
a few short decades would lead to one of the
largest empires in history.After the
Ridda Wars a Muslim tribal chief raided the Persian frontier towns
in Iraq. After the success of these raids Abu Bakr planned to
expand his empire. He started with Iraq, a rich Persian province.
After centuries of Persian power and glory, it was important for
Abu Bakr’s expedition to not to suffer a defeat, for that would
confirm and strengthen the fear for the Persian military strength.
To overcome these concerns he decided that the army that would
invade Persia would consist entirely of volunteers. He put in
command of the army his best general
Khalid ibn al-Walid.Muslims invaded the
Sassanid Persian
Empire in April 633 A.D. and defeated the
Sassanid army in two consecutive battles: the
Battle of Chains and the
Battle of River. Khalid's basic plan was to
inflict as heavy casualties on the Persians as possible, also, to
meet as low resistance as possible along the route of his advance,
his objective was to capture
Hira.
Concentration of Persian army
[[Image:Maneuver at walaja-mohammad adil
rais.gif|thumb|right|280px|
Khalid ibn Walid's variation of the
double envelopment tactical
manoeuvre at
Battle of Walaja. The Muslims surrounded and
destroyed the Persians.]]
After the
Battle of River, the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid
once again set out for Hira; meanwhile the news of the defeat at
the Battle of River reached Ctesiphon
. The commanders of the defeated Persian
armies are said to be some of the most experienced and most highly
regarded figures at the Persian court.The
Sassanian Emperor,
Ardashir III ordered the concentration of
another two armies;Following the orders of
Ardashir III, the Persian forces began to
gather at the imperial capital. They came from all towns and
garrisons except those manning the western frontier with the
Eastern Roman Empire. In a few
days the first army was ready.
The Persian
court expected the Muslims to proceed along
the Euphrates to North-Western Iraq, as they
knew that the Muslim force would not move away from the desert, which they were expected to use to retreat
to, in case of defeat. Expecting the
Muslim army to move west,
Ardashir III picked Walaja as the place at
which to stop
Khalid ibn
al-Walid and destroy his army.
The first of the new Persian armies raised at Ctesiphon was placed under the command of Andarzaghar,
governor of Khurasan
province. Andarzaghar was ordered to move his army to
Walaja, where he would soon be joined by the second army.
He set off
from Ctesiphon, moved along the east bank of the Tigris
, crossed the
Tigris at Kaskar, moved south-west
to the Euphrates, near Walaja, crossed the
Euphrates and established his camp at
Walaja.
On his way to Walaja, the Persian general picked up thousands of
Arabs who were willing to fight under his
standard. He had also had taken command of the remnants of the army
that had fought in the
Battle of River and Chains. When he
arrived at Walaja he waited for Bahman, who was to join him in a
few days. Bahman was the commander of the second army, and one of
the top personalities of the Persian military hierarchy. He was
ordered by the
Emperor to take the second
army to Walaja, where Andarzaghar would await him. The plan was for
Bahman to be the commander of both the armies, and annihilate the
outnumbered Rashidun army in one great battle. Bahman moved on a
separate route to that of Andarzaghar's.
From Ctesiphon, he marched south between the two rivers, heading
directly for Walaja, but he left Ctesiphon several days after the first army started marching,
causing delays.
Preparation of the Muslim army
The
Battle of River had been an
important victory for the
Muslims.
Sustaining lower casualties, the
Muslims were
able to defeated a large
Persian Army
and acquired a vast amount of booty. By now Khalid had organised an
efficient network of intelligence agents. The agents were local
Arab traitors who were hostile to the Persians.
The agents informed Khalid about the concentration of new Persian
armies in the area of Walaja and their much greater numbers. Khalid
had to get to
Hira, and Walaja was directly on
his route.With an army of about 15,000 men, Khalid set off in the
direction of
Hira, moving at a fast pace along
the south edge of the great marsh. A few days before Bahman was
expected, Khalid’s army arrived and camped a short distance from
Walaja.Great numbers of
Sassanian Persians
who had fled from earlier battles took up arms again. The survivors
of the
Battle of Chains joined
Qarin and fought at the
Battle
of River. The survivors of the
Battle of River joined
Andarzaghar
and were now encamped at
Walaja. The Muslims faced two
concerns, one strategic and one tactical:
- The strategic: Two Persian armies were about to combine to
oppose them. To solve this problem, the Muslim commander-in-chief
Khalid ibn Walid determined to
advance rapidly, fight, and eliminate one army (Andarzaghar's)
before the other army (Bahman's) arrived on the scene.
- The tactical: Prevent enemy warriors from escaping battle to
regroup and continue fighting. To accomplish this, Khalid had a
plan and it was to trap and annihilate the Persian army in the
battle field.
Khalid gave instructions to Suwaid bin Muqarrin to see to the
administration of the conquered districts with his team of
officials, and posted detachments to guard the lower Tigris against
possible enemy crossings from the north and east and to give
warning of any fresh enemy forces coming from those
directions.
Troop deployment
The battlefield consisted of an even plain stretching between two
low, flat ridges, which were about 2 miles apart and 20 to 30 feet
in height. The north-eastern part of the plain ran into a barren
desert. A short distance beyond the north-eastern ridge flowed a
branch of the
Euphrates now known as the
River Khaseef.In May 633, the armies deployed for battle, each with
a center and wings. The
Muslim wings were
again commanded by
Asim bin Amr and
Addi bin hatim. The Persians
deployed
Deployment of Muslim (red) and Persian
(blue) armies.
The Persian commander Andarzaghar deployed in the centre of this
plain, facing south-east, with the western ridge behind them and
their left resting on the north-eastern ridge. Khalid formed up his
army facing the
Persian army.
The center
of the battlefield, i.e. the mid-point between the two armies, was
about 2 miles south-east of the present Ain-ul-Muhari, and
35 miles south-east of present Najaf
and 6 miles
south-east to the present Ash Sinafiyah.Persian
army lacked sizeable cavalry, giving Muslims an edge over them.
Persian cavalry was heavily out numbered by the Muslim cavalry, it
mainly was composed of Heavy cavalry and was stationed behind the
wings to guard the flanks.Khalid had 5,000 cavalry and 10,000
infantry with him, knowing that his cavalry outnumbers the Persian
cavalry; he designed his grand maneuver. His plan was the total
encirclement of Persian army using his superior cavalry.
Rather
then launching his cavalry via flanks (as Hannibal did in the Battle of Cannae. ), Khalid making a brilliant use of
terrain, decided to launch his cavalry directly at the rear of the
Persian army routing the Persian cavalry and completing the
encircling of the Persian infantry. For this purpose, the western
ridge in the battle field was to play a decisive role of hiding the
Muslim cavalry for their ambush. Khalid divided his cavalry into
two regiments of 2,000 each and a night before the battle sent them
behind the western ridge. They were instructed to attack on the
Persian rear at Khalid’s signal.
The Battle
Khalid faced the Persians with about 1,000 cavalry and 10,000
infantry. Cavalry was divided into two equal divisions and was
deployed at the flanks. The strategy of the Persian commander in
chief, Andarzaghar, was to go on the defensive and let the Muslims
charge first. He planned to hold off their attacks until they were
worn out, and then launch a
counter-attack to rout the weary Muslim army.
The first phase of the battle went according to Andarzaghar's plan.
Khalid ordered a general attack. The
Sassanid army had reserves which they employed
to replace their men in the front line, giving them the upper hand
over the Muslim army and helping them to carry out their scheme to
wear out the Muslim army. During this time, Khalid is said to have
dueled with a Persian champion of gigantic proportions known as
Hazar Mard and killed him, which was a psychological
victory for the Muslims.As the first phase was over, the second
phase began with the
counter-attack
of the
Sassanid Persian army. Perhaps
seeing signs of fatigue from the Muslim soldiers, Andarzaghar
judged that to be the right moment for his counter-attack. At his
command the Sassanians supported by Persian
heavy cavalry carried out a general attack on
the Muslim front.The Muslims were able to hold them for some time,
but the Persians pressed on. On Khalid’s instructions the Muslim
center started retreating slowly and orderly while the wings held
the ground. This created a crescent shape front allowing more and
more Persian troops inside the formation.
At this moment Khalid gave a signal to his cavalry and they charged
the Persian’s right and left flank. The Muslim
light cavalry could charge at incredible
speed, and they could successfully attack, retreat, regroup and
attack again. This mobility gave them a further upper hand on
Sassanid heavy cavalry, resulting in the routing the Persian
cavalry. They attacked the flanks and rear of the Persian army and
started encircling the Persian army. The main body of the Muslim
army under Khalid ibn al-Walid resumed the attack against the
Persian front, at the same time extending its flanks to join hands
with the cavalry to completely surround the Persians. The army of
Andarzaghar was caught in a trap and could not escape. Recoiling
from the assaults that came from all directions, the
Sassanid army gathered in an unwieldy mass,
unable to use their weapons freely. The battle was over, with heavy
casualties inflicted on the
Sassanid
army. Nevertheless a few thousand imperial soldiers managed to
escape. Andarzaghar too managed to escape, but he moved towards the
Arabian desert instead of the
Euphrates region and is said to have died
of thirst.
File:Mohammad adil rais--B.PNG|Phase-1: Khalid launch a general
attack on the Sassanid army.File:Mohammad adil rais--C.PNG|Phase-2:
Persians launches a counter attack, on Khalid's instructions
Muslim's center slowly and orderly retreated, luring the Persian
army inside the formation.File:Mohammad adil rais--D.PNG|Muslim's
cavalry attack the Persian flank and rear routing the Persian
cavalry.File:Mohammad adil rais--E.PNG|Muslim cavalry and infantry
completing the encirclement of Persian army.
Aftermath
After annihilating another army of
Sassanid
Persians and their
Christian Arab allies at the final
Battle of Ullais, the Muslims
conquered Hira, the capital city of
Mesopotamia in late May 633 A.D. There followed
the
conquest of Al-Anbar and the
successful
siege of
Ein-al-Tamr.
With the fall of the main cities the whole
of southern and central Iraq, with the exception of Ctesiphon, came under Muslim control. In 634 A.D Abu Bakr ordered Khalid ibn Walid to proceed to Syria
with half of
his army to command the invasion of the Byzantine
Empire. Misna bin Haris
was left as the successor of Khalid.
The Persians, under
their new emperor Yazdgerd III, raised
new armies and defeated the Muslims in the
Battle of the Bridge, and
re-captured Iraq.
The
second invasion of Iraq was undertaken under Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās who, after
defeating the Sassanid army at the
Battle of
al-Qādisiyyah
in 636 A.D, captured Ctesiphon. After the
Battle of Nihawand in 641 a whole scale
invasion of Persian Empire was carried out by
Caliph Umar.
References
- Campaigns in Eastern Iraq, "Khalifa Abu Bakr",
Companion of the Prophet. Virtual library of
Witness-Pioneer.
- The Challenge to the Empires By Khalid Yahya Blankinship,
Ṭabarī, pg. 19
- Iraq After the Muslim Conquest By Michael G. Morony, pg.
224
- The Challenge to the Empires By Khalid Yahya Blankinship,
Ṭabarī, pg. 19
- Annals of the Early Caliphate By William Muir, pg. 75
- Annals of the Early Caliphate By William Muir, pg. 75
- Tabari: Vol: 2, page no: 560.
- Abu Yusuf: page no: 142.
- See:Islamic conquest of Persia.
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