Battle of Guagamela

Guagamela

Macedonia vs Persia

Prologue

Ten years after the Greek victory at Marathon, Darius' son Xerxes pulled-out all the stops in his quest for vengeance. A Persian force of 250,000 men crossed the Hellespont along with 700 warships to provide naval support. The initial Persian advance was unstoppable. Xerxes overran indefensible northern Greece, defeated a small Spartan army at Thermopylae, and sacked Athens. The Athenian admiral Themistocles, however, managed to lure Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis. There the Greek fleet ambushed the Persians and inflicted heavy losses. With his lines of communication, supply, and retreat now endangered due to a lack of warships, Xerxes abandoned the war.

After this glorious victory Greece entered a golden age. Trade, art, and science all reached new heights through mental giants like Plato and Sophocles. However, the brutal 27-year Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta brought the golden age to an end. Although Sparta 'won' the war by taking Athens in 404 B.C., all the Greek cities were devastated. None ever really recovered and became easy pickings for the Greek kingdom of Macedonia 50 years later.

In 336 B.C. the Macedonian king Phillip II was assassinated. Although it was never proven, most suspected that one of the Phillip's queens, Olympius, had arranged the murder so that her son Alexander would become king. Although the Macedonians were considered 'rednecks' or 'hillbillies' by the southern Greeks, Alexander was no country hick. His childhood tutor was Aristotle himself, and Alexander had proven he had a clear head under fire while fighting the Greeks alongside his father.

After spending three years suppressing revolts in Greece and the Balkans, Alexander did the unimaginable: he crossed the Hellespont with some 50,000 men and invaded the empire of Persia. On paper it was suicide to attack Persia, whose territory stretched from the Black Sea to the Indus River, but Alexander was not dissuaded. Curious, ambitious, and brilliant in equal measure the 23-year-old king quickly proved he was up to the challenge. Soon after crossing into Persian territory Alexander defeated a 40,000-man army of Persians and their Greek mercenaries at the River Granicus. A year later in the mountains of northwest Syria, Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius and his 250,000-man army at the battle of Issus.

After Issus the Persians fell back into the heart of their empire to regroup. Alexander, meanwhile, marched south along the Mediterranean coast, conquering Syria, Israel, and Egypt. In 331 B.C. he marched his army back north and into the Persian heartland. Darius gathered another 250,000-man army and marched to the wide plain of Guagamela to meet the Macedonian invaders.

For both armies this battle would be do-or-die. Darius had his back to wall; his two crushing defeats had cost him half his empire, and now the Greeks were almost to Babylon's gates. Alexander, on the other hand, had committed his entire army and was deep in enemy territory. If he lost he would have no chance to regroup or retreat. The fate of the entire known world would hinge on the outcome of a single day.

The Armies

Macedonia-As in all previous Greek armies, the Macedonian infantry fought in phalanx formation. However, the Macedonians had taken the phalanx to the next level by using 18-foot instead of 8-foot spears and training for greater speed and maneuverability. What really set the army of Macedon apart from other Greek armies, though, was its excellent heavy cavalry and Alexander's ability to coordinate both types of units for maximum flexibility and power.

The standard Macedonian battle tactics were 'hammer-and-anvil' tactics. The infantry would function as the 'anvil' to hold the enemy in place while the cavalry functioned as the 'hammer', smashing at the critical point. Macedonian coordination and tactics made their army the most advanced in the world. However, even with these advantages, Alexander would be hard-pressed to defeat the Persians' 5-to-1 numerical superiority on the open desert.

Persia- The Persian army was a massive juggernaut of 250,000 men drawn from all corners of the world. Darius commanded numerous types of units including: Syrian spearmen, fierce Afghan tribesmen, swift Asiatic cavalry, and Persian chariots, just to name a few.

After losing the battle of Issus due to the narrow mountain battlefield, Darius intentionally chose the wide plain of Guagamela to give his thousands of cavalry and colossal infantry formations room to maneuver. He even went so far as to have the ground leveled to make it perfect for his chariots. Although no longer on the cutting edge in weaponry (e.g. chariots had been in use on battlefields for 1,000 years ) the Persians would still be fighting on a field perfectly suited to their way of war. It looked like Alexander had gotten too cocky and bitten of more than he could chew.

The Battle

The Persian army deployed with large numbers of cavalry on both flanks, with chariots and baggage elephants in the center and the infantry behind them. On the other side of field Alexander put smaller cavalry forces on his left and right, with he and his elite cavalry in the center. Behind his horsemen he lined-up archers and javelin men. Behind his ranged troops were his veteran Macedonian soldiers. Lastly was a reserve phalanx composed of mercenaries and meant to counter any Persian flanking maneuver.

As the two armies closed with each other, Alexander took the initiative to avoid being flanked. He took most of his cavalry, including his super-elite Companion Cavalry, to the far right of the battlefield. This drew the Persian cavalry away from the prepared field. Alexander then charged the Persian cavalry to avoid being surrounded.

Darius saw that with Alexander and his cavalry engaged, the plain was open for his chariots. 100 chariots were ordered to charge the Macedonians. Each chariot had razor-sharp blades attached to the wheel hub, designed to mow down infantry like grass. The Macedonians held their nerve, however, and the crack Macedonian archers shot down the Persian chariot horses.

His chariots having failed, Darius ordered a mass attack of cavalry and infantry against the weaker Macedonian left wing. He also ordered his center cavalry to reinforce his attack against Alexander and the Companion Cavalry on the Persian left. However, these movements left Darius without any forces between him and the Macedonians. Alexander saw the opening and lead his Companions on an all-out charge for Darius.

When Darius saw some 1,600 super-elite heavy cavalry bearing down on him, he lost his nerve; and as a result, his empire. The Persian king abandoned his massive army and some $3,000,000,000 dollars in treasure in a mad dash for survival. Alexander couldn't afford to chase Darius, however, as his left wing was buckling under the massive Persian attack that had left the way to Darius open. A few Persian cavalry units had even broken into the Macedonian camp. Alexander charged back and, along with the mercenary reserves, managed to defeat the Persian attacks and save the Macedonain army.

When the main body of the Persian army discovered their king had fled, they too broke ranks and ran. The Macedonians pursued and slaughtered them by the thousands until nightfall. The battle of Guagamela was over, and with it, Persian control of Asia.

The Aftermath

Alexander would hunt Darius for nine months, but the two kings would never meet again. In 330 B.C. Darius was killed by some of his few remaining supporters. When Alexander found Darius' body, he wrapped him in his own robe and had Darius buried with full royal honors.

After Guagamela, Alexander was unstoppable. Over the next several years he would conquer everything from Babylon to the borders of India. However, after he won his fourth incredible victory in 326 B.C. at the Hydaspes River the rest of the Macedonians had had enough.

Despite his pleas and exhortations, Alexander couldn't convince his war-wearied men to take one more step east. Against his will Alexander returned to Babylon to solidify his gains and plan future conquests. In 323 B.C. Alexander became sick during a massive drinking party. He died a few days later, after saying he would leave his empire to the strongest.

Not one of his generals was strong enough. The empire split into three separate kingdoms, each ruled by a different lieutenent of Alexander the Great.

Although his empire died with him, Alexander's true impact was felt through the massive infussion of Greek ideas across the eastern world and vice-versa. Also, a city he founded on the Egyptian coast and named after himself, Alexandria, would become the capital of knowledge and philosophy. In short, Alexander took what had been developed during the Greek Golden Age and spread it across the world.

Next Week- The Battle of Zama. Rome vs. Carthage.