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Paper Abstract: Discusses his four most significant battles. The strategies he employed that made each battle a success, and secured his place in history of a great military leader. The use of his army to establish his kingdom. His inspirational leadership and conception of strategy and tactics. Examines each battle. Alexander the Great as a role model for war. Paper Introduction: This paper discusses the four most significant battles fought by Alexander the Great: Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela, and Hydaspes. It examines the strategies he employed that made each a success and that have secured his place in history as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Philip, king of Macedon, became a father in the summer of 356 B.C. Barely 20 years later, Philip was assassinated, and his son, Alexander, assumed the throne and inherited the kingdom and army of his father. In the twelve years of his reign, until his death in 323 B.C., he used that army to establish a kingdom, utilizing strategies and tactics that gave him the name of Alexander the Great. Richard A. Gabriel and Donald W. Boose Jr. write, “There is little in Alexander’s early life that presaged his ability to plan and execute battles with such success . . . Alexander of Macedon turned to the task with a natural gift” (218). He also had the advantage of being given a remarkable army. Doyne Dawson argues that Alexander, like Julius Caesar, “only sought decisive battle when they knew they had strong armies” Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. He also had the advantage of being given aremarkable army. This paper discusses the four most significant battles fought byAlexander the Great: Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela, and Hydaspes. His strategies and tactics continue toprovide useful examples for modern generals, even those with access tosuperior technology and improved communications. . Inthe twelve years of his reign, until his death in 323 B.C., he used thatarmy to establish a kingdom, utilizing strategies and tactics that gave himthe name of Alexander the Great. Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 1994.Santosuosso, Antonio. Eugene N. He won the battle by continually misleading Porus about his trueintentions. The battle of Issus (333 B.C.) taught Alexander never to lose contactwith the opponent in the field. At Issus, Alexander had experimented with the use of an independentflank guard, and, by this battle, he made flank guards an important part ofhis tactical approach. Darius, though a competent opponent,did not have as well disciplined an army, and his cavalry could not holdranks against Alexander's or respond to changes in command and direction asquickly and expertly as the Macedonian forces. One key element toAlexander's strategy was to mask some of his troop movements from Dariusand create a trap, in which what appeared to be a weak flank was actuallyable to overcome part of the Persian cavalry after they had moved in forwhat seemed to be an easy kill. Antonio Santosuosso calls the battle of Granicus (334 B.C.), "asplendid example of the sophistication of the Macedonian army.Strategically, it showcased Alexander's ability to grasp the initiative andto deliver a killing punch" (124). The Persians cooperated in this, attacking almost as soon asAlexander landed, rather than following the advice of the Greek mercenarygeneral, Memnon, who suggested allowing Alexander to advance unopposeduntil he was cut off from his source of supplies and more vulnerable toattack. Boulder, CO: Westview P, 1997.Turbiville, Graham H. Max G. Boulder, CO: Westview P., 1997.Gabriel, Richard A., and Donald W. Beyond the right wing of his main army, he posted aflank guard made up of heavy cavalry and a mixture of archers and javelinthrowers. Mainwaring and William J. "Alexander's Epic March." Archaeology 51:3 (May-June 1998): 1.Dawson, Doyne. Gabriel and Boose write, "This maneuverwas nothing short of brilliant, while the ability to carry it off wassufficient testimony to the training and discipline of the Macedonian army"(255). While it was begun as an extension of Philip'sopposition to the Persians as the means of uniting the disparate Greek city-states, Alexander's campaigns and his aims soon took on a much moreambitious flavor. 215-244. Alexander of Macedon turned to the taskwith a natural gift" (218). Gabriel and Donald W. Alexander's success was also due in part to tactical errors by thePersians. The Origins of Western Warfare: Militarism and Morality in the Ancient World. He then moved to surround Porus' forces, leaving the Persians withlittle maneuvering room. write, "There is little inAlexander's early life that presaged his ability to plan and executebattles with such success . Boulder, CO: Westview P, 1996. In fact, he was gradually moving the bulk of his force across 17miles upstream, at a place where thick underbrush and an island in themiddle of the river helped also to keep most of these troop movementshidden from Persian scouts. The Origins of War: From the Stone Age to Alexander the Great. As a leader, Alexander was a unique personality. His immediate objective was to faceDarius' army in the field and defeat it decisively, in order to establish aquick victory and get himself out of the financial crisis of building hisnavy. When this force met Alexander's, the Macedonian used tactics hehad learned from an earlier battle to hold the enemy position with horse-archers and then charge the main body in a wedge formation. Alexander quickly determined that he was being followed and turnedhis army around to face the enemy. Faced by the Persian forcescommanded by Porus across the banks of the Hydaspes, Alexander spentconsiderable time seeming to scout the river for a good crossing, thensettled in to camp noisily in one spot, apparently giving up the idea ofcrossing the river and engaging the Persians in battle. Then, rather than pursuing the retreatingPersian cavalry, he turned against the line of Greek mercenaries, attackingtheir flanks and rear with his own cavalry while leading the infantryagainst the center line. Ferrill writes,"Alexander was genuinely a rare, inspirational leader of men in battle, andhis conception of strategy and tactics was a quantum leap ahead of any ofhis predecessors" (187). Boose Jr. S. He writes, "Some of Alexander'ssuccess in this area stemmed also from his realization that an army welltrained, strictly disciplined and highly motivated was less likely to takeneedless casualties" (216). It examinesthe strategies he employed that made each a success and that have securedhis place in history as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Philip, king of Macedon, became a father in the summer of 356 B.C.Barely 2 years later, Philip was assassinated, and his son, Alexander,assumed the throne and inherited the kingdom and army of his father. The Great Battles of Antiquity: A Strategic and Tactical Guide to Great Battles that Shaped the Development of War. Doyne Dawson argues that Alexander, like Julius Caesar,"only sought decisive battle when they knew they had strong armies" (156),and the army that Philip had put together was strong, well trained, andwell disciplined. He decided to dispatch a smaller force to the north, commanded byhis son. Soldiers, Citizens, and the Symbols of War: From Classical Greece to Republican Rome, 5 -167 B.C. In this, his first major battle, Alexander chose to attackimmediately, rather than waiting, and the first part of his success was dueto a superiority of weaponry. Richard A. Althoughconsiderably outnumbered, Alexander again had the advantage ofsignificantly better trained and disciplined troops. . At the battle of the Hydaspes (325 B.C.), Alexander again hid hissignificant troop movements from the enemy. He discovered the army waiting for him on the inland bank of theGranicus River, a few miles from the sea. On his extreme left flank, the guard was made up of cavalry.These flank guards were charged with preventing the Persians from takingover the flanks and attacking the army from the rear, and they were quiteeffective. Boulder, CO: Westview P, 1996.Ferrill, Arther. Boose Jr. Alexander managed to attack the Persians from twosides at once, in a complex series of feints designed to confuse the enemyand force it into what did not at first appear to be a vulnerable position. Alexander set out to fight Persia and its king, Darius III. However, he notes that theymay also have had little faith in the ability of the Greek mercenaries tohold their line and therefore did not use these troops as effectively asthey might have. Alexander's boldness on the field of war established forhim a permanent place in history. Augustine in The City of God whoclaims that a pirate, captured by Alexander, asked him, "What do you meanby warring on the whole world? Alexander the Greatremains a significant role model for war on a grand scale. National Security." Managing Contemporary Conflict: Pillars of Success. I do my fighting on a tiny ship, and theycall me a pirate; you do yours with a large fleet, and they call you aCommander" (234). Ferrill writes, "Some historians believe that the Persiansadopted an otherwise absurd battle plan because they had only one limitedtactical objective - to kill Alexander" (196). Ed. observe that Alexander's plan forconquering the Persians could be divided into five phases: (1) secure hissupport at home in order to prevent revolution and maintain his resources,(2) invade Ionia to provide a starting place and opportunities to maneuverfurther, (3) neutralize the powerful Persian navy, (4) find, battle, anddestroy the Persian army, and (5) consolidate Greece and Persian culturesinto a single entity (227). In the great battles of Issus and Gaugamela against the Persian king, Darius III, he used genuine hammer-and- anvil tactics as he drove through the Persian line and turned against the rear of the enemy infantry (188). Gabriel and Donald W. Turbiville quotes St. The heavier Macedonian lances provedsuperior to the lighter spears of the Persians, allowing him to break thecenter of the Persian line. Arther Ferrill argues that one of Alexander's importanttalents was his regard for his men and his ability to fight with as littleloss of life on his part as possible. Borza comments on the landscape ofmuch of Alexander's journeys: "We are astounded that the young Macedonianking could have led an army through this alien wilderness while retainingthe loyalty of his men through much of it" (1). RichardA. Ferrill summarizes these four important battles: In the great cavalry battles of the Granicus and the Hydaspes his instinct was to charge head-on and to engage the enemy . In the battle of Gaugamala (331 B.C.), Alexander's scouts reportedthat advance Persian cavalry were on the plain of Gaugamela. By the time Porus wasinformed of the crossing, most of the troops were now on his side of theriver. Works CitedBorza, Eugene N. Alexander himself was highly visible in battle, wearing alarge white-plumed helmet, and the swarm of Persians who rushed toward thesight of that plume diverted some of the force away from the rest ofAlexander's troops. . Even in those battles, however, he was careful to coordinate his cavalry attacks with infantry support, to take advantage of his integrated army. Boose Jr. "The Implications of the Organized Crime Phenomenon for U. Olson. Alexander's campaign was tested in a number of major battles, four ofwhich are key to his success and to his reputation as a great militarystrategist. The armyshattered on impact, and Porus' son was killed. Alexander had just passed through Issuswhen Darius discovered the field hospital that Alexander had left there.Darius killed most of the wounded men housed there, sending some of theirsevered hands ahead as a message to Alexander. . Graham H. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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