Drew nix, july 2008 the richly illustrative and authoritative alexander the great at war examines alexander s campaigns in detail. He was undefeated in battle and became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves. Military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics. In his book, entitled historys greatest military commanders, author barry linton covers these leaders and great military commanders in fascinating detail, highlighting their distinguishable backgrounds and origins. Alexander the great 356323bc is arguably the greatest military. Alexander the great military strategy how alexander never. Alexander was born in pella, the ancient capital of macedonia in july 356 bc. This alexander the great book by philip freeman studies the inquisitive mind that would serve alexander the great throughout his rule over greece and throughout each of his military campaigns. His parents were philip ii of macedon and his wife olympias. He was born in pella in 356 bc and succeeded his father philip ii to the throne at the age of 20. The main reasons for the pauravans defeat were alexanders use of tactics, and the macedonians superior discipline and technology. Stephen english as he will be by publication took the military career of alexander the great as his phd thesis. The romans derived many of their military tactics from alexander the great, but they also incorporated military tactics that were different from alexander the greats strategy.
Ancient conqueror, modern devotees the new york times. By providing specific, detailed examples from alexander the great s life and military campaigns, the author shows how to identify and use the most effective sources of power according to current leadership theories. This book will be of great interest to students of strategic studies, military. What were philip iis reforms of the macedonian military and how. According to the social identity theory of leadership, a leaders. Guy maclean rogers in his book alexander random house, 2004. Now of course, such normal officerlike attires were only worn during times of peace and planning, and were eschewed in favor of elaborate dresses during actual battles. Then, when all was at last in place, alexander divided his cavalry, one portion under coenus, while he led the other portion against poruss left.
Alexander the great an illustrated military history. This book is an expansion of his ma dissertation which professor rhodes. Stephen english investigates every aspect of the macedonian forces, analysing the recruitment, equipment, organisation, tactics, command and control of the. The date of the battle is an important date since its result shaped world history. This book focuses on grand strategy and military strategy as practised over an extended period of time and under very different circumstances, from the. David lonsdale argues that since the core principles of strategy are eternal. Alexander was arguably the greatest military commander ever. Most of his thirteen ear reign as king of macedon was spent in hard campaigning which conquered half the known world, during which he was never defeated in open battle and never besieged a city. Upon the assassination of his father king philip ii of macedon in the summer of 336 bc, he took over the reins of power of a now united greece. How alexander the great conquered the persian empire history. His army his battles his enemies general military paperback march 22, 2011 customers who viewed this item also viewed.
What are some of alexander the greats military tactics. The lessons taught, tactics used, and losses suffered stand as a testament to their lives and accomplishments. The force that under the command of alexander the great invaded and conquered the persian empire, thus ensuring the extension of the hellenistic culture to most of the world known at that time, was composed in total from 40,000 experienced and wellarmed fighters a cavalry. By the age of 32, alexander the great grew from being the newkid king of macedon, greece, into the king of the world. Syria and palestine surrendered to the will of alexander the great he implemented the same tactics of cyrus the great which the authors explain as, a policy of offering amnesty to cities that submitted peacefullybut dealing mercilessly with those that resisted. He owes a credit to his father, king philip ii of macedon. I liked how the book presented true stories of these commanders and everything that they went through. The macedonian army was a well trained and disciplined force which alexander used with great skill. An excellent example was the battle of jaxartes in 329 b.
Logistics of alexander the great in his campaign youtube. This book offers a strategic analysis of one of the most outstanding military careers in history, identifying the most pertinent strategic lessons from the camp. Alexander the great, sun tzu, julius caesar, napoleon bonaparte, and 30 other historical commanders as want to read. The 6 leadership secrets of alexander the great ancient heroes. Shock tactics on the ancient battlefield armchair general. Two years later he led his combined macedonian and greek army into asia and began the greatest military conquest in world history.
Possibly the most famous commander in history, alexander the great never. His source for the first part of book 16, which is particularly relevant for. How the macedonian phalanx conquered the world history hit. Alexanders father, philip ii, developed the phalanx, a box formation for.
Alexander the great this book offers a strategic analysis of one of the most outstanding military careers in history, identifying the most pertinent strategic lessons from the campaigns of alexander the great. Alexander the greats empire stretched from the balkans to modernday pakistan. Alexander rested his men as he studied the pauravan army from afar, this as craterus forded the river with the remainder, consolidating the macedonians along the riverbank, perhaps 50,000 strong. Oct 23, 2018 alexander the great alexander iii of macedon, was a military genius who changed the nature of the ancient world and he did it in little more than a decade. The invasion of india by alexander the great as described by arrian, q. The spectacular career of alexander the great represented a watershed in military history. That work is nearly done only about 4 chapters left to go, and. Mar 19, 2009 dr stephen english was recently awarded his phd for his thesis on the military career of alexander the great. In his writings, he alluded to seven criteria of war and remarked that, by means of these seven considerations i can forecast victory. The macedonian army meet the elite ancient soldiers who. Sep 19, 2020 this alexander the great book by philip freeman studies the inquisitive mind that would serve alexander the great throughout his rule over greece and throughout each of his military campaigns. To enable that movement, alexander used light armor for his army. Perfecting new weapons and tactics pioneered by king philip, the young alexander led his forces into asia, conquering the persian empire and.
The force that under the command of alexander the great invaded and conquered the persian empire, thus ensuring the extension of the hellenistic culture to most of the world known at that time, was composed in total from 40,000 experienced and wellarmed fighters. Alexander the great is one of the most famous men in history, and many believe he was the greatest military genius of all time julius caesar wept at the feet of his statue in envy of his achievements. Alexanders final masterpiece savagery on the hydaspes. Less than two centuries before alexander s campaign of conquest, in the state of wu, in modern day china, a brilliant general known to history as sun tzu, was winning distinction for himself through his shrewd tactics and generalship.
Alexander the greats military accomplishments, sample of essays. It was under such leaders as philip ii 382336 bc and alexander the great 356323 bc of macedonia and hannibal 247183 bc of carthage that the first great strides were made in military science. Yet, despite his military accomplishments, ancient reco. Jun 30, 2015 in fact, alexander s fascination with his own formed military brotherhood was so great that he himself often dressed in the uniform of a companion cavalry regiment. Yet, while biographies of alexander abound, there are relatively few fulllength books dedicated to the macedonian army which made his dazzling conquests possible and which proved itself the most formidable machine of the age. And perhaps even the word genius is an understatement for who might have been the greatest general the world has ever seen. This book examines alexander s campaigns in detail, and his victories and the tactics that ensured them are explained and described with the help of maps, illustrations and reconstructions to bring the epic career of one of the ancient civilizations greatest generals to life. There are not many books on alexander the great that do. The leadership portrayed by alexander s father was so good such that it is only alexander could out perform him. Detailed book about alexander the great, his battles, tactics and what we know about him as a person.
I want to know whether this is true or whether alexander s tactics and strategy played a significant role or whether both the formidable army and alexander s own tactics and strategy had equally. In the last two videos, we described military reforms of philip ii of macedon and how he changed his infantry, cavalry and siege weapons. Mar 22, 2011 this book examines alexander s campaigns in detail, and his victories and the tactics that ensured them are explained and described with the help of maps, illustrations and reconstructions to bring the epic career of one of the ancient civilizations greatest generals to life. I felt like the author did a great job with this book and i learned a lot more than i knew before about some of the greatest military commanders.
You might think alexander the great conquered most of the known world by having a massive, wellequipped army, but he was outnumbered at most of his battles. A study of combined arms warfare by alexander the great. Doc alexander the great and the art of war aaron tsang. Jul 09, 2016 unlike emphasis on force or strength, the book stresses psychological and stealth warfare, with a focus on terrain, weather and knowing the enemy and one itself.
The mediterranean basin saw the dawn of modern military strategy and tactics. The rise of macedonia, the battles, campaigns and tactics of alexander, and the collapse of his. Alexander the greats military accomplishments, sample of. The battle of the hydaspes was fought in 326 bc between alexander the great and king porus. His influence on future military leadership and tactics 2411 words10 pages great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate. During his life, he ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen, which stretched from ancient greece to india. One of the other great military tactics of alexander the great was his rapid charge. I dont really read many history books, but its really a genre that i could get into. The invasion of india by alexander the great as described. The book tells us the world he was born into and the world. Nov 27, 2014 the book deals with the battle of gaugamela that took place on 1st october 331 b. Would the french have been beaten at the battle of. Stephen english investigates every aspect of the macedonian forces, analysing the recruitment, equipment, organisation.
The army of alexander the great epub pen and sword books. Alexander was a brilliant mind, great tactician and military specialist. Oct 10, 2010 alexander the great is the biggest general not only by military point of view as with a small army but well equipped and organized and with a capable general stuff of generals to assist him, managed to conquer and abolish the biggest empire of the known world at that time but also spread the greek culture to the east and created the hellenistic culture which had the well known impact in all. Apr 08, 2004 an entertaining and enlightening book about alexander the great, whose leadership and strategic genius made him one of historys greatest empire builders, and who has since influenced and inspired a great number of people from different fields business, politics, military. Tarn, in his book alexander the great, chronicles the events of the life of the macedonian king, but unfortunately, he does not go into much detail of the psychological shock tactics in alexander s campaigns in asia minor, persia, and in greece.
The 6 leadership secrets of alexander the great ancient. After the assassination of his father, king philip ii, alexander took command of a newly united kingdom that combined the military might of macedonia and greece. He often made in battle adjustments, but he needed his army to be able to move fast and quickly relocate from one to another position. Tutored in his youth by aristotle and trained for battle by his father, philip ii, alexander the great grew to become a. Alexander used tactics in ensuring victory to his army. The army of the kingdom of macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. He had a small army seldom exceeding 40,000 menbut a constellation of bold, revolutionary ideas about the conduct of war and the nature of government. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mould of achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both greek and nongreek cultures.
The 34 best wars of alexander the great books, such as god of war, the. The use of more advanced war tactics can be traced to the times of alexander the great. How alexander the great conquered the persian empire. This book is a must read for anyone who aspires to excellence as a leader in their field or profession. Alexander was the greatest of all conquerors in the course of world history. The battle tactics of alexander the great kathleen d. The book also recommends divide and conquer, avoid battles, use enemy tactics against itself, and surprise attacks.
It was created and made formidable by king philip ii of macedon. Wikimedia commons like most successful leaders, alexander was lucky. Nov 26, 2004 in alexander the great, his 1973 biography, which was reissued this fall by penguin, robin lane fox, the british dean of alexander studies and an adviser on mr. They were easily stuck in the ground, allowed to attack with several ranks and protected soldiers from arrows when everybody got their spear toward the. It was under such leaders as philip ii 382336 bc and alexander the great 356323 bc of macedonia and hannibal 247183 bc of carthage that the first great strides were made in military. Feb 19, 2020 i was drawn to alexander the great for his genius. This caused fear and chaos to occur among the opponents army. Alexander the great is without doubt one of the greatest military leaders of history. His influence on future military leadership and tactics 2411 words 10 pages great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate. We often hear that alexander inherited a very powerfull army which did his conquests for him while his generalship played little part in his success.
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