Gaugamela

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

The misuse of words is common in Ashkehanzim Mockingbird theatrics, and people being lazy never ask a question like, "What made Alexander the Great, great?"

In the Bible Alexander is shown as a leopard, and it did fit his prowess a military commander. In the world of his father, King of Macedonia, there were two ideas of organized combat. The first was to mass large numbers of troops, and in the Persian's idea, they sent out detachments of 5 to 20 to attack the enemy lines with spears and daggers.
Archers were always a component for long range warfare, mingled with cavalry which would strike at the flanks of an army.

In Europe, or Greece another warfare was developed in the phalanx, or the organized line or square with men protected by shields, and holding daggers or spears.

The warfare which would win out would be the Greeks, and what Alexander developed would be the mode of combat in warfare until gunpowder became an art of war. The heavy infantry of the phalanx would only become vulnerable to cavalry with long spears.

Thus we arrive at Alexander the Great in his battling the orgnaized armies of the Persian Empire. Alexander battled Darius III's forces 3 times. The first two instances, were the same mistake which the Persians made in fighting the Greeks in they chose a theater with limited space which favored the small units of the Greek infantry.

It was at Gaugalmela in northest Syria on the Tigris that Alexander though met the Persian army east, as he had just destroyed the Perisan army west, in open combat which favored the Persians.

When the Macedonians appeared, Alexander took 4 days before he went into combat. As Darius III was in command of this force again, the question is if he should have struck Alexander first, instead of preparing the field, a smooth field for scythe chariots to operate, and waiting to be struck.

One can understand Darius III's holding behind his lines, because Alexander had sent Darius running for his life the first time they met. In tactics though, the tactician in me, would have unleashed on Alexander's right, against the Companion Cavalry which he rode with, most of the Persian cavalry, just to see if a surprise attack might wipe out the Macedonian cavalry which would have changed the order of battle later.

What took place though is what the Lame Cherry created below in a series of slides which explain what Alexander did, in being faced with a superior force, to which he could not extend his lines to meet the Persians, in he would have been immediately outflanked. This is the Battle of Gaugamela on the Tigris.

The Battle of Gaugamela.

The order of battle was a straight Persian line as shown in red below. Darius III had his cavalry as wings, infantry across the line, chariots in the front center, his Immortals surrounding his main position with cavalry. In reserve were the conscripts behind the Persian line.
Darius III always commanded from the center. Alexander always commanded from the right wing of his cavalry.

In many ways Alexander had an American counter part in George Custer. Both commanders took great pains in planning their operations, but in combat were quite rash in showing no fear of death, and exposing themselves to danger.

Alexander opened the battle by placing his forces in a rectangle. The Macedonian phalanx in the center. The Companion Guard on the right with Alexander and the Thessolonian cavalry on the left. Two wings of infantry angled off the cavalry. In reserve, behind the main line were the Greek Hoplites.

Alexander moved forward with the right wing, and at an angle pulled the entire formation to the right, so he was moving thee entire time down the fixed line of the Persians. As he moved to the Persian left, Darius III was forced to react against this combined force about to outflank and overwhelm the left flank.

He dispatched both of his wings of cavalry with infantry against the Macedonian right and left flanks where a brutal battle took place.

2

The Macedonian right was shaken, but due to the infantry held without the ebb and flow of cavalry battles. The Macedonian left though began fixed in position as it was being overwhelmed. A hole being opened up between the left and the center, the Persian middle cavalry rode through the lines and began looting in the rear.

Darius III then seeing that Alexander as about to breach the prepared chariot field, ordered the chariots forward. Macedonian archers killed the horse and those the broke through, had the lines opened for them, where the charioteers were killed in the rear.

At this point, everything which Darius III had prepared in tactics were working perfectly. His larger force had encircled the Macedonian left, the Persian cavalry was pressing hard on the right and had checked the battle.

It was at this point though that Alexander achieved the opening he had designed.

When the middle cavalry stormed through the Macedonian lines to their rear, the natural progression was that other Persian forces would flow to where the battle was being won on the Macedonian left.

A large gap had appeared in the Persian lines between their middle and their right. It was then that Alexander's cavalry became active and attacked.

In the dust which blinded combat, Darius III had his first warning of problems when he began hearing the metal clank of Macedonian cavalry smashing it's way toward his center position on his right. This was compounded as once Alexander drove forward, the natural flow of the Macedonian lines followed and the phalanx flowed into the gap in the Persian lines.

The heavy infantry of Macedonia felled the Persian infantry like trees with a buzz saw. Soon a spear killed Darius' driver and the Persian middle lost confidence as about the same time Darius III. Darius made up his mind to run for his life, and he ran.

Alexander chased Darius III for two miles, but was reminded that there was still heavy fighting in his rear and that needed to be dealt with. Alexander turned and ran into the Persian middle cavalry in retreat. A heavy battle ensued and he lost 30 men, but the route was building as both attacking forces for the Persians on the right and left began to disengage as they understood their peril as their king had fled.

Alexander did not catch Darius III. He found another Darius' chariots abandoned, but Darius fled north with his eastern cavalry and the troops who would still follow an emperor without an empire. He was later assassinated.

Alexander did not have anyone teaching him this military art which was absolutely created by him. That is what made him great. There were not any do overs when your head was on the line. He was forced to create a way to fight superior forces, and did so in knowing that maneuvering made his force larger than it was. Alexander figured out as a genius that as his forces moved, that the other army would have to react to that movement. His movement was not exposing him to danger, but when the Persians moved, it exposed them to danger.

It was discipline of the Macedonian wings which is what made this battle flow to Alexander's domination. If his wings collapsed, he would have been defeated. He needed time for the order of battle to develop and his wings held in order for the gaps to form in the Persian center, for him to exploit them.

This is one of thee most remarkable battles in history.  Alexander has a number of battles and he rose to the tactics in every situation. He was as astute in major battles as in minor skirmishes. He knew how to command in every situation. He was the complete tactician.

That is why he was great.

Nuff Said

agtG