According to Marco Polo 's account , in the early stages of the battle , the Turkish and Mongol horsemen " took such fright at the sight of the elephants that they would not be got to face the foe , but always swerved and turned back , " while the Burmese forces pressed on . But the Mongol commander Huthukh did not panic ; he ordered his troops to dismount , and from the cover of the nearby treeline , aim their bows directly at the advancing elephants . The Mongol archers ' arrows threw the animals into such pain that they fled .