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The Persians were paying
heavily for their advance, but they exulted in the success that
they were gaining. Andarzaghar was beside himself with joy. Victory
was just round the corner. He had not reached the top rung of the
Persian socio-military ladder, but now he saw visions of a 100,000
dirham-cap. The Muslims continued to fight with the suicidal desperation
of wild animals at bay. They had reached the limits of human endurance;
and some even began to wonder if Khalid had at last met his match.
A little more of this and the front would shatter into a thousand
pieces.
Then Khalid gave the signal. We do not know
just what this signal was, but it was received by those for whom
it was intended. The next moment, over the crest of the ridge which
stretched behind the Persian army appeared two dark lines of mounted
warriors-one from the Persian left-rear, the other from the right-rear.
Cries of Allah-o-Akbar rent the air as the Muslim cavalry charged
at a gallop; and the plain of Walaja trembled under the thundering
hooves of the Arab horse.
The joy of the Persians turned to terror.
While a moment before they had been shouting with glee, they now
screamed in panic as the Muslim cavalry rammed into the rear of
the Persian army. The main body of Muslims under Khalid, refreshed
and strengthened by the sight they beheld, resumed the attack against
the Persian front, at the same time extending its flanks to join
hands with the cavalry and completely surround the Persians. The
army of Andarzaghar was caught in a trap from which there could
be no escape.
In an instant the disciplined Persians turned
into a rabble. When groups of soldiers turned to the rear they were
pierced by lances or felled by swords. When they turned to the front
they were struck down by sword and dagger. Recoiling from the assaults
that came from all directions, they gathered in an unwieldy mass,
unable to use their weapons freely or avoid the blows of their assailants.
Those who wanted to fight did not know whom to fight. Those who
wanted to flee did not know where to go. In a mad urge to get away
from the horror they trampled each other and fought each other.
The battlefield of Walaja became a hell for the army of Andarzaghar.
The ring of steel became tighter as the
furious charges of the Muslims continued. The very helplessness
of the Persians excited the Muslims to greater violence, and they
swore that they would not let the Persians and Iraqi Arabs escape
this time.
In this the Muslims succeeded. A few thousand
imperial warriors did get away; for no army can be so completely
destroyed that not a single survivor remains, but the army as a
whole ceased to exist. It was as if a vast chasm had opened under
it and swallowed it up. While the armies of Hormuz and Qarin had
suffered crushing defeats, the army of Andarzaghar was annihilated.
The army of Andarzaghar was no more. (For a graphic illustration
of the phases of this battle see Map 13 below.)
Andarzaghar himself, strangely enough, managed
to escape. But the direction of his escape was towards the desert
rather than the Euphrates, and having no desire but to put as much
distance as possible between himself and the hell of Walaja, he
went deep into the desert. In the desert the ill-fated man lost
himself and died of thirst.
After the battle Khalid got his exhausted
men together. He realised that this battle had imposed a terrible
strain upon them. It had been the fiercest of the three fierce battles
which they had fought in Iraq; and he wanted to make certain, that
their spirits were not dampened by memories of the trial, for more
trials awaited them.
He addressed the men. He started by praising
Allah and calling His blessings upon the Holy Prophet. Then he continued:
"Do you not see the wealth of the
land of the Persians? Do you not remember the poverty of the land
of the Arabs? Do you not see how the crops in this land cover the
earth? If the holy war were not enjoined by Allah, we should still
come and conquer this rich land and exchange the hunger of our deserts
for the abundant eating which is now ours." 1
1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 559.
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