MILITARY BATTLES - BATTLE OF KHANDAK

General

1.         Battle of Khandak was the 3rd battle fought by the Muslims against Quraish under the leadership of Prophet (SM) from 24 February to 31 March 627 AD.  The concept of trench was first introduced in this battle and thus the battle was named after it. Muslims won decisive victory in this battle.

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Background History/ Causes of War/ Politico-Military Situation

2.          Following were the major causes/background of the battle of Khandak or Politico-Military situation prevailed before the battle of Khandak was as follow:

              a.      Political Situation.

           (1)       Establishment of New Islamic State in Medina.     After Hizrat of prophet (SM), new Islamic state was formed in Medina. Propagation of Islam got new momentum and Quraish was jealous about this.

                       (2)       Losing Dominance by Quraish.        The divine personality of the prophet (SM) frightened and agitated the Quraish leaders of losing their leadership and influence over the Meccan. The Quraish decided on wiping out Muslim dominance.

                      (3)       Conflict of Faiths.        The new dynamism of Islam created a conflict with the older faith. So, the general people without understanding, considered Islam as a great threat to their belief and lifestyle.

(4)       The Betrayal of Jewish Tribes.            Bani Quainqa and Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina because of their conspiracies with the Quraish against Muslims. These expelled tribes influenced the Quraish and other tribes to fight another decisive battle with the Muslims.

(5)       Neighbouring Bedouins.             Bedouins of Medina were mainly dependent on looting and plundering for their livelihood. The rise of Islam was a great threat to their greedy habit, so they joined the Quraish in a common cause against the Muslim.

b.         Military Situation.

(1)       Revenge of Badar and Uhud.    The result of Badar and Uhud not only frustrated but also frightened the Quraish about their existence.  So, before leaving the battlefield, Abu Sufian challenged to meet the Muslims and restore lost pride after one year. Quraish and Jews sent their delegation all over the Arab. They recruit soldiers from various tribes and organized an army of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry to capture Medina.

 (2)       Incident of Rajee.   The brutal incident of Rajee was never accepted by the Muslims.  The death of six Shahabis compelled the Muslims to give the Meccan a good lesson.

c.         Economic Situation.          Occupation of Medina by the Muslims deprived the merchants of Mecca to continue their trade with Syria. They also apprehended that, further expansion of Islam would also restrict their passage to Iraq and Bahrain.  So they decided to drive away the Muslims from Medina.

Figure-1: Military Battles-Economic Situation

Salient Features of the Battle

3.         The salient features of the battle are as follows:

a.         Description of the Battle Field.             Important features of the battle field/ ground are appended below:

(1)       Medina.         It was a small township inhabited by few thousand Muslims. Medina was considered to be the vital ground.

(2)       Lava Fields.        East of Sheikhein and south of Jabal Bani Ubed stretched vast lava area which was impossible for major military movements.

(3)       Hill of Sil ‘A’. It was the most prominent hill about 400’ high, a mile long running general north to south located in the east of Jabal Bani Ubed and west of Medina.

(4)       Mount Uhud.            Located 4 miles north of Medina and raised to a height of about 1000’. The feature was about 5 miles long.

(5)       Orchard. In the south of Medina there was an undulating area of orchard, making it unsuitable for the movement of the force.

Figure-2: Military Battles-Description of the Battle Ground

4.        ORBAT.        

Serial	Type	Allied Non-Muslims				Muslims
		Quraish	Ghatfan	Others	Total
1.	Infantry	4000	1800	4200	10,000	3000
2.	Cavalry	300	300	-	600	35
3.	Camel	1500	-	-	1500	-

5.         Battle Plan of Meccan Allies.

           a. Concept of Operation. To annihilate the Muslims by a cavalry assault followed by
           Infantry sweep.

            b.        Plan. Meccans planned their offensive operation in three phases as followed:

(1)       Phase-1. Advance up to Medina.

(2)       Phase-2. Seize of Medina.

(3)       Phase-3. Destruction of Muslims by annihilation.

6.         Muslim Plan.

            a.         Factors for Consideration.

(1)       Terrain Analysis.

(a)       South of Medina was covered by orchard.

                                (b)       East and South West were covered by lava fields and broken grounds preventing movement of large body of troops.

(c)        The north, North East and North West was open to invasion.

Figure-3: Military Battles-Direction Open to Invade

(2)       Threat Analysis.    On receipt of the intelligence about impending attack by the Quraish, the Prophet (SM) appreciated that, attack will be launched from the north being an open country.

Figure-4: Military Battles-Expected Direction of Attack

b.         Concept of Operation.           Appreciating own numerical inferiority, the Prophet (SM) decided to def Medina at the outskirts and deny enemy invasion. Accordingly a Persian follower Salman Farsi gave the plan of digging a trench along the most likely approaches.

Figure-5: Military Battles-Concept of Operation

c.         Detail Plan for Defense.

                     (1)       The Trench.      

(a)       Size.   The trench would be 3.5 miles long, 15 feet width with varying depth up to 15 feet.

(b)       Obstacle Integration.      The trench would be integrated with existing natural obstacles like rocks and mountains.

(c)        Strength of the Trench.   Excavated rocks and stones would be used as missiles while the earth would be dumped on the home bank to make it higher.

(d)       Layout.          It ran from Sheikhen to the hill of Zubab and then west to Jabal Bani Ubed.

(2)       Other Tactical Arrangements to Make The defense Aggressive.

           (a)       Concentration Area/Camp.   Muslims established their camps just ahead of Mt Sil A.

Figure-6: Military Battles-Concentration Area

                                (b)       Strong Points.

                                            (1)       Different Muslim Communities to prepare and guard the trench. There would be 10 men per 40 cubits of space.

(2)     Bani Qureiza were to guard the south part as they were in a pact of non-aggression.

Figure-7: Military Battles-Location of Bani Qureiza

           (c)     Command Post.  Mount Sil ‘A’ dominating over the entire northern front would serve as the Command Post.

(d)       Mobile Reserve.

           (1)       Bulk of the force was to remain uncommitted to strike at any point if the enemy might manage to get a foot hold across the trench.

           (2)       A mobile force of 500 men were to petrol the various areas not covered by the ditch led by Hazrat Ali.

Figure-8: Military Battles-Mobile Reserve

           (e)       Protective Elements. To guard against surprise, the ditch was lightly covered along its entire length by 200 archers placed on the hills dominating the ditch.

d.         Administration Aspects.

(1)       Food reserve be sufficient.

(2)       New wells constructed, existing ones maintained.

(3)       Women to cook food and take care of wounded.

                      (4)       All dates from neighboring orchards be harvested so that they may be denied to enemy.

7.         Conduct of The Battle.

Figure-9: Military Battles-Conduct of the Battle

a.         Concentration by Enemy.             On 24 February, the Allies arrived near Medina and established their camps. Quraish camped west of Mount Uhud. Ghatfan and other tribes camped about 2 mile east of Mount Uhud.

b.         The Seize of Medina.         On 26 February, the Allies advanced towards Medina to contact the Muslim force. Finding a well dug trench sys all along, they were surprised. However, they deployed along the trench and started the battle by throwing arrows and stones.

d.         First 10 Days of Seize.      For first 10 days, several attempts were made to cross the ditch on horse back but failed to make any headway.

e.         Efforts by Allies.     On 15 March, 7 x Cavalry including Ikrama could cross the ditch near Zubab hill, but they were beaten back having one casualty on Muslim side and two in allied. On 16 March, Khaled-bin-Walid after crossing the ditch had to retreat finding the Muslims forming up.

 f.         Muslims Ambush on Allied Logistic Convoy.        With the prolonged seize, the Meccan faced difficulty in obtaining food and fodder. Again a caravan of 20 camel carrying food was ambushed by the Muslims - aggravated the logistic problems.

g.         Diplomacy and Psychological counter move by Prophet (SM).          The Meccan tried to bring Bani Quraiza to their side.  This attempt was annulled by the Prophet by his brilliant diplomatic and psychological Counter move.

h.         Desert Storm.          On 18 Mar, a sudden violent storm struck the allied camps which destroyed their tent, ration and equipment.

j.         Termination of the Seize.             The Meccan gave up hope of success. The alliance split up into different contingents and they retreated.

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8.         Result of the Battle.     After 23 days of fruitless seizure, lots of logistic problems and suffering from weather as well as mistrust among the allies, Quraish finally accepted defeat and left Medina.

Diplomacy and Psychological Effort Taken by Prophet (SM)

  9.     The Bani Quraiza located in the south of Medina had a pact of non-aggression with the Muslims. Abu Sufyan, through his Jewish allies tried to bring the Quraiza clan to his side. The Quraiza clan if joined hands with the Quraish would put the Muslims at a very disadvantageous position. To deal with this issue, the Prophet(SM) did follow diplomacy:

a.         Aim of the Diplomacy.  To create a rift between Allied tribes with a view to reduce numerical and morale strength.

b.         Secret Negotiations with Ghatfans. Prophet (SM) started secret negotiations with the Commanders of Ghatfan Army. He (SM) offered Ghatfan to abandon the federation in exchange of one third of the dates production of Medina. The Ghatfans accepted this, but this could not be mat as some Muslim leaders expressed their reservation about it.

c.         The Exploitation of Opportunity.           The third Ghatfan’s Chief Naeem Bin Masud embraced Islam secretly. He was well known and influential to all three major partners of the Meccan allies. He went to Prophet (SM) and expressed his desire to help the Muslim.

d.         Naeem’s Ruse with Bani Qureiza.         Naeem went to Bani Qureiza and convinced them, if the Muslims win, the Quraish and Ghatfans might return home safely leaving Bani Qureiza unprotected under the mercy of the Muslims. They should thus have some Meccan leaders as hostage, which would act as token of guarantee for their safety.

e.         Naeem’s Ruse with Quraish and Ghatfan.  Naeem then went to the Quraish and said to Abu Sufian that you have made a pact with a people who are disloyal and unreliable. On the plea of safety, the Qureiza very soon would ask for some Meccan leaders as token of safety. Finally they would hand them over to Muslims to restore their relationship with Muslims.

f.          Uncertainty Among the Meccan Allies.            Naeem successfully planted the seeds of doubt and mistrust among the allies. As a result the uncertainty emerged in Abu Sufiyans mind. To test the intentions of the Jews, he sent delegation headed by Ikrama to the Bani Qureiza and asked them to join the attack next day with the Quraish. The Jews denied doing so giving the same plea as presented by Naeem. Moreover, it was Saturday (the Sabbath) when Jews are forbidden to fight. Thereby the Bani Qureiza had neatly detached from the alliance.

10.       Outcome of the Diplomacy and Psychological Warfare. The Prophet (SM) very successfully created rift among the allies using diplomacy and psychological warfare. The Quraish being surprised by the trenches, disfavored by the weather, captured of their provisions by the Muslim and finally abandonment by Bani Quraiza decided to break the seize and withdraw to Mecca.

Military Attributes of Prophet (SM)/ Factors Contributing Muslim Victory

11.       The vision and virtues of the prophet (SM) as a great Military leader both at strategic and tactical levels ultimately brought success in this battle. However, to have a clear picture of these one may not only consider the single battle, but to look at all the battles undertaken during that period these are discussed as follows:

a.         Strategy.

(1)       Selection of Time of Encounter. The time selected for the battle of Khandak during a rough season was an appropriate decision by the prophet (SM).

(2)       Non Alignment with Jew Tribes.            Sensing the act of treachery by Bani Quinqa and Bani Nazir the prophet (SM) correctly expelled them from Medina.

(3)       Sound Plan for the Battle.     The great leadership of Prophet (SM) was found in the plan for the battle of Khandak. The Choice of ground, organization of forces, handling of troops and logistic plan led to complete success.

(4)       Estabilshment of Muslim State in Medina. Selection of Medina as the location of the new Muslim state was a great example of Prophet (SM) as a strategist. Medina created an easy excess route to Syria and other Byzantine countries for the Muslim. On the contrary it cut off the trade route of Meccan up to north towards Syria.

(5)       Psychological Warfare.            Psychological warfare as conducted in the battle of Khandak resulted victory for Muslim which might not be attained by the military power.

(6)       Creation of Division within the Enemy.        With the help of Naeem bin Masud, Prophet (SM) could methodically planted the seeds of doubt within the Meccan allies. This created divisions within the enemy.

b.         Tactics.

(1)       Clear Concept of Operation.         The position of archers and cavalry as mobile force at right places and judicious use of them proves Prophet’s (SM) clear concept of Operation.

(2)       Org of Relief. The battle demanded a long period of sustainability and therefore careful organization of relief was done meticulously.

(3)       Flexibility in accepting New Tactics / Outcome of Ditch Tactics.   The prophet (SM) correctly intro trench tactics as suggested by Hazrat Salman, shows the flexibility of his mind which worked tremendously in this battle. The 3.5 miles long ditch gave no scope to Meccan to penetrate the defense though they had superiority in strength and cavalry. Rather it forced them to go for long seize which itself worn them out gradually.

(4)       Selection of Ground / Correct Choice of Ground         The Battle field was naturally protected from east and west by lava field and orchards from the south. Basing on this he (SM) correctly choose the ground and kept open only one option for the enemy to attack from the north which was otherwise protected by the ditch. Enemy was compelled to attack from the north.

(5)       Provision of Intelligence.      Prophet (SM) employed spies to gather information about the enemy movement, intention etc.

(6)       Provision of Cut off Reinforcement.    Knowing from the Spies about the logistic convoy the Muslim successfully attacked on it and capture it.

(7)       Use of Obstracle/ Surprise to Enemy.         The ditches were used as obstacle for the Meccan and were held in strength. Enemy was completely surprised by the ditch on the north. It was a new tactics in Arabian warfare in those days.

(8)       Logistic Planning/ Good logistic Backup.         Sound logistic plan was done by harvesting dates, digging new wells. Thus the Muslim successfully survived the seize.

(9)       Casualty Treatment.       Women’s participation in this war especially for the nursing and treatment of the casualty, saved the fighting strength to a greater extent.

Causes of Meccan Defeat.

12.       Though the Meccan combined forces enjoyed numerical superiority including 600 cavalry but they had to suffer a disgraceful defeat against Muslim. Following were the reasons of Meccan defeat :

a.         Breach of Security.           The Meccan failed to protect the leakage of their offensive plan. Once they started for advance to Medina a number of horsemen moved faster to warn the Prophet (SM) about the impending attack. Muslim also raided the logistic convoy since they could not maintain the security.

b.        Causes of the Battle.      The Meccan forces were composed of heterogeneous tribes with their diverse causes to fight. They lacked cohesion and coordination and thus it was easier for the Muslims to create rift within them.   

c.         Superior Strategy of the Prophet (SM).       Considering the numerical superiority of enemy, the Prophet (SM) decided to defend Medina by digging trenches around the city rather to fight them in open ground. Enemy was surprised by this superior strategy and accepted the defeat.

d.         Prophet’s (SM) Diplomatic Maneuver.         On receiving info about the conspiracy of Bani Quraiza, Prophet (SM) employed Naeem bin Masud to create mistrust among the Quraish and the Bani Quraiza. This was successful in creating rift between them.

e.         Poor Leadership.       The Meccan force always lacked cohesive leadership. As a result of disastrous weather and logistic hazards their leadership could not restore the troops will to fight.

f.          Poor Intelligence.        Not getting any information about the trench system till reaching Medina.

g.         Poor Logistic. Due to the prolonged seize, the Meccan had suffered great difficulty in obtaining food and fodder for them and their horses. Again a caravan of at least 20 camels carrying fodder and dates was raided by the Muslim aggravated the logistic problems.

h.         Bad Weather Condition. During the later stage of the seize, exceptionally cold weather, storm, strong wind and rain shattered the morale of the Meccan. Their tents were swayed away. Commodities, equipment, water containers were damaged.

k.         Under-estimation of the Muslims by the Meccan. The Quraish and her allies under estimated the capabilities of the Muslims. They thought that with their superiority in number and composition of troops will easily destroy the Muslims.

Lessons Learnt

13.       Battle of Khandak was the turning point in the history of evolution of Islam. It taught many lessons to the military thinkers of the future world. Some of those are:

a.         Need for Right Causes.    The Prophet (SM) and his follower were fighting the battle with their utmost dedication for safe guarding the Islam. On the other hand the Meccan had heterogeneous elms with different causes.

b.         Need for Sound Intelligence.           The Prophet (SM) maintained an effective intelligence network to gather information about enemy’s intentions, strength, composition and nature of threat which is a battle wining factor.

c.         Need for Superior Tactics. Though the Meccan had superiority in strength but they suffered disgraceful defeat to the superior tactics of an integrated trench defense of Prophet (SM).

d.         Need for Good Leadership.    Good leadership is a pre-requisite to organize and lead effectively in the battle. The Prophet (SM) displayed good leadership in the battle which earned respects of all commanders.

e.         Need for Sound Logistics.         Adequate and continuous logistics supply is a pre-requisite in a battle. Prophet (SM) adjusted major logistic requirements before the commencement of the battle. On the other hand the Meccan plan was not basing on logistics.

f.          Need for Strong Mobile Reserve. Use of mobile reserve in defensive battle enhance own morale and deter that of the enemy. The Prophet kept strong mobile reserve under Hazrat Ali (RA) to meet contingencies.

g.         Need for Achieving Surprise.      Achieving surprise jeopardies enemy plan. In this battle the Prophet surprised the Quraish by digging trench, which they were not prepared for.

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