Which battle of Alex the Great is your favorite?

[Anonymous]

<FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>If you don’t see your battle in the poll, don’t hesitate and write about it.</FONT><FORM method=post action="http://p208.ezboard.com/fgreekarmytalkfrm8.processVote?topicID=6.topic"><table border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 width="55%"><tbody><tr><td><input type="radio" name="choice" value="1"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>The Battle of Granicus</FONT></td></tr><tr><td><input type="radio" name="choice" value="2"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>The Battle of Issus</FONT></td></tr><tr><td><input type="radio" name="choice" value="3"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>the siege of Tyre</FONT></td></tr><tr><td><input type="radio" name="choice" value="4"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>The Battle of Gaugamela</FONT></td></tr><tr><td><input type="radio" name="choice" value="5"><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=2>The Battle of the river Haydaspes</FONT></td></tr></tbody></table><P><input type=submit value="Vote"></form><a HREF=http://p208.ezboard.com/fgreekarmytalkfrm8.showMessage?topicID=6.topic&pollResults=on><FONT FACE="Verdana,Arial" SIZE=1>Show results</FONT></A> <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Got to be Gaugamela. It was the biggest and the last chance of Darius to stop the Macedonians. I'd say Issus second, and the siege of Tyre third. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Well, the Granicus is the only battle of Alexander I'm familiar with, so I can't decide yet. Can anyone reccommend some sources of good analyses of each battle?<br>
<br>
I couldn't imagine being on a horse, fording a river and killing men who want to kill me. It blows my mind how a man can kill another man in such an organized and bloody manner. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Calvan,<br>
<br>
Napoleon said: “What would have been if Alexander was defeated at Issus where Darius was on his way of retreat or at Gaugamella where Tigrus, Eufratus and desert were at his back and 900 km to Macedonia?â€ÂÂ

[Anonymous]

Wade1066,<br>
<br>
Don't try to do that at home. You might get killed doing that. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub152.ezboard.com/bgreekarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=warrior11>warrior11</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://www.chathome.com.ua/smile/182.gif" BORDER=0> at: 11/16/03 6:23<br></i>

[Anonymous]

"Don't try to do that at home."<br>
<br>
Never. Thank God for modern warfare. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Quote:</em></strong><hr>What do you think about it? Or it is success that distinguishes unreasoned from ingenious?<hr><br>
I'd tend to go with success distinguishing the man. I think he was very lucky for quite awhile, and then his luck ran out. There is a book called <em>What If?</em> that includes a chapter by Victor Davis Hanson about "what if" Alexander had been killed at Granicus, as he very nearly was. He was saved by "Black" Cleitus - whom he later murdered in a fit of drunken anger. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Quote:</em></strong><hr>a chapter by Victor Davis Hanson about "what if" Alexander had been killed at Granicus<hr><br>
Oops! It was Josiah Ober. Hanson's piece is about the Greeks losing at Salamis. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

I want to tell some words about each battle.<br>
<br>
The Battle of Granicus. Bravery. Infringement of rules of military art.<br>
the siege of Tyre. Persistence. Persistence worthy the Romans (only the Romans could repeat this feat)<br>
The Battle of Gaugamela. The most dangerous battle for Alexander.<br>
The Battle of the river Haydaspes. Top, peak of military talent of Alexander. Battle should enter textbooks of military art.<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

My vote would have to go to the battle of jhellum, although gaugamela was redone throughout history and was very influential.<br>
<br>
Also, I have read an interesting thought on the Granicus. Peter Green, in his book ALEXANDER OF MACEDON: A HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY, he includes an appendix concerning this battle, and the fact that no one really knows what happened, as all of the reports of the battle are different. It is too in depth to go into in a post, but it generally states that the battle may have begun with a dissasterous charge, which Parmenio was against and probably failed miserably. Alexander could not let it get out, with him only beginning his empire, and propaaganda just pretended it did not happen. It might also explain Alexander's harsh treatment of Memnon's mercenaries, especially when he employed greek mercenaries liberally afterward: they delt him a horrible blow in the first days of the battle.<br>
<br>
To get a better idea of this, I would recommend the book! <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub152.ezboard.com/bgreekarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=clearchus>Clearchus</A> at: 1/24/04 19:35<br></i>

[Anonymous]

Jhelum.<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Jona Lendering]

None of these: I prefer the battle of the Jaxartes, because it involved four types of weapon (artillery, ships, infantry, cavalry) which needed to cooperate.

Gaugamela is, in my opinion, very overestimated ([url:zuk0bj6j]http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_z7.html[/url]).

[Anonymous]

It were all great battles to me. At the Granikos he stunned the experienced men, such as Parmenion and some veterans. At the Issus he defeated Darius personally for the first time, the siege of Tyre was very remarkable, due to his own stubborness. King Nabopolassar (I think it was he) tried to take the city in 13 years and eventually he failed. Alexander laid siege for 8 months and succeeded. Then Gaugamela, it still is an amazing tactic Alexander worked out, heavily outnumbered but he knew exactly what to do and when to do it, and relied on the strength of his phalanx commanders, especially Parmenion. Also at the Hydaspes he knew perfectly how to win from enemies he had never seen before and trembled his army.

But one of the most things that I appreciate about Alexander is the fact that, because of his stubborness, he always leads his army and is wone of the first men to crush into the enemy lines. That inspires the soldiers to follow their king, someone who lives like them and not someone who wants to live in the luxury kings used to do. A very good example is the city in India (can't remember the name). Not a single soldier wanted to get onto the ladders and attack the city. Alexander did, with three others (the person who carried his shield and I think it were two officers). They attacked a whole army with just the four of them. That inspired his army to follow their king, because he was in serious danger.

[Comerus Gallus]

[delete] The Pondid Man coment :lol:

[Jona Lendering]

A very good example is the city in India (can't remember the name). Not a single soldier wanted to get onto the ladders and attack the city. Alexander did, with three others (the person who carried his shield and I think it were two officers).

There's no need to apologize for forgetting a name, because the name is not recorded. It is called "the town of the Mallians" in our sources. There is a romantic, old identification with modern Multan, which appears to be a contraction of something like Malava + -stan (country), a presumed Parthian name. This identification also requires that we assume that Arrian's account confuses two rivers, which is possible because the author of Arrian's source, Ptolemy, was not present. Personally, I believe the identification. (Pictures:[url:2xqzasux]http://www.livius.org/a/pakistan/multan/multan.html[/url] ).