User:Mohammad adil/sandbox4



When Khalid returned from his talks with Mahan, he informed Abu Ubaidah and the other generals that there would be no more talks, that the issue would be decided by the sword, that the battle would begin the next day. Abu Ubaidah took the news with his usual stoical acceptance of the will of Allah. As Commander-in-Chief he would organise the army for battle and conduct the operation according to his tactical judgement. His military skill was not, however, very great, and he knew it. Khalid knew it, and most of the officers of the army knew it. Abu Ubaidah would fight the battle in a sensible manner, and would react to changing tactical situations like the good, steady general that he was. But with the enemy four times superior in strength, soundness and common sense were not enough. A much finer quality of generalship was required for this battle, and Khalid decided to offer his services to act as the real commander in battle.

"O Commander", said Khalid to Abu Ubaidah, "send for all the commanders of regiments and tell them to listen to what I have to say."



Khalid immediately set about the reorganization of the army into infantry and cavalry regiments within each corps. The army consisted of 40,000 men, of which about 10,000 was cavalry. This force was now organised by Khalid into 36 infantry regiments of 800 to 900 men each, three cavalry regiments of 2,000 horses each and the Mobile Guard of 4,000 horsemen. The commanders of the cavalry regiments were Qais bin Hubaira, Maisara bin Masruq and Amir bin Tufail. Each of the four corps had nine infantry regiments, which were all reformed on a tribal and clan basis, so that every man would fight next to well-known comrades. Much of Khalid's corps of Iraq was absorbed in the other four corps, while the best of it remained with him as the Mobile Guard. The archers, most of whom were Yemenis, stood interspersed in the front rank. On the first approach of the enemy the archers would open up and bring down as many of the Romans as possible. As the assailants clashed with the Muslims, they would be killed with spears, and thereafter the men would draw their swords.

broken Azra hills and the Jabal-ud-Druz; and into this region the Muslims could withdraw in safety and be invulnerable in case of a reverse. Behind part of the Roman position, however, lay the forbidding ravine of the Wadi-ur-Raqqad-deep and precipitous. As a discouragement to retreat this was fine and would probably make the Romans fight more desperately; but in case the Romans were worsted in battle and cut off from the northern escape route, the ravine would prove an abyss of death. Against it they would be caught like mice in a trap. However, the Romans had no intention of losing this battle.

This topographical situation was uppermost before Allah. Lo! Allah loves the steadfast!" 3

While Khalid was going past one of the regiments, a young man remarked, "How numerous are the Romans and how few are we!" Khalid turned to him and said, "How few are the Romans and how numerous are we! An army's strength lies not in numbers of men but in Allah's help, and its weakness lies in being forsaken by Allah" 4

Other commanders and elders, while exhorting the men to fight, recited verses from the Quran, the most popular one being: "How many a small group has overpowered a large group by Allah's help, and Allah is with the steadfast." [Quran: 2:

and eagles and wolves. But they were also human beings and thought of their wives and children to whom they would bid farewell in a few hours-perhaps for the last time.

This was the eve of Yarmuk …. the greatest battle of the Century…. one of the decisive battles of history .... and perhaps the most titanic battle ever fought between the Crescent and the Cross.

1. According to some reports, the families were put on a hill well to the rear. This, as we shall see from the course of battle, could not have been so. 2. Waqidi: pp. 129-30. 3. Ibid: p. 137. 4. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 594.