Jews in the Galilee and marched south to Judea after. This tactic would force Judas to respond in open battle, lest his reputation be damaged by inaction and Alcimus's faction gain strength by claiming he was better positioned to protect the people from future killings. Bacchides then took a route toward Jerusalem that likely surprised the Maccabees: the arduous route through Mount Beth El, which required climbing an arid mesa. The Seleucids, possibly with an element of surprise, approached "Berea" next to set up their camp. Berea may be a corruption of Beera/Birra (modern Al-Bireh) and was just south of Beth El. A mere kilometer (.6 miles) away, Judas and a Maccabee army camped at Elasa.Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 380–389 Bacchides' army is recorded as 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. The size of the rebel army facing them is disputed; 1 Maccabees implausibly claims that Judas's army at Elasa was tiny, with 3,000 men of which only 800 (1 Maccabees) or 1,000 (Josephus) would actually fight. Historians suspect the true numbers were larger, possibly as many as 22,000 soldiers as a high estimate, and the author downplayed their strength in an attempt to explain the defeat. The battle The Maccabees and the Seleucids fought on the plateau between Elasa and Berea. While the terrain there was not perfectly flat, its slope is still open and gentle enough to allow satisfactory use of phalanx tactics, which likely favored the experienced Seleucid heavy infantry. The Seleucids deployed with cavalry on their flanks, a heavy infantry phalanx in the center, and skirmishers including archers and slingers in front. Bacchides himself commanded from the elite cavalry on the right flank, as was custom in Hellenistic armies. Judas opted to attack the right flank of the Seleucid army hoping to kill the commander, similar to the victory over Nicanor at the Battle of Adasa; the loss of a commander could rattle the entire army. The elite horsemen on the right retreated from the Jewish advance, and the rebels pursued, possibly as far as Baal-hazor (modern Tall Asur) at the foot of the Judaean Mountains. The battle is described as lasting from "morning until evening", suggesting that the pursuit by Judas's force after Bacchides may have lasted some time. This retreat may have been a tactic from Bacchides, however, to feign weakness and draw the Maccabees in where they could be surrounded and defeated, their own retreat