Alexander 334–323 BC: Conquest of the Persian Empire

Osprey Campaign #7

by John Warry

Alexander of Macedonia was undoubtedly one of the greatest generals of all time. This book, by John Warry, an expert on the warfare of the Classical world, examines the principle battles of Alexander's campaigns in detail. The battles of the Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela, Hydaspes and the difficult siege of Tyre are all discussed at length. These careful studies shed light on Macedonian in particular the combination of armoured infantry phalanx with fast-moving cavalry. The men and equipment of both Alexander and his Persian enemies are also examined, providing a comprehensive insight into Alexander's life and military actions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Ancient History, Ancient, War, Military Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 1991

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALEXANDER 334-323BC was a great book. It had a little of everything. There were several maps, illustrations, an excellent glossary of historical terms, a chronology, tips on visiting the battlefields, and fine color artwork of friend and foe. Being as this was one of the early Osprey Campaign books, from 1991, there also was a brief write up on wargaming with miniature figures.

I think being a reference for wargamers was one of the reasons players used to support this series. Those playing back in the day could be quite the experts (in their heads) on their chosen field of expertise. They would spend a small fortune on buying their armies and accurately painting them, and then hours of research studying the battle (game) in question. But in a sense they did become quite knowledgeable. For instance, gaming tips suggest that an umpire let the opposing generals only view certain areas of the battlefield during their reconnaissance phase and make armies behave in historical fashion. What this boils down to is the fog of war, where players react and make decisions based on what they know at the time and not sit back and critique with hindsight like a college professor.

Alexander and his battles go hand in hand in this book, and they should be. Alexander marched eastward conquering every city, tribe, and king along the way, never really losing a battle. The author thinks he conquered because he was in a sense exploring. His troops finally told him enough is enough and wanted to go home. Had he not been struck down like the Martian invaders in 'The War of the Worlds' would he have marched and conquered everything to the west?

Alexander led from the front, something I don't think any of our presidents could have done other than Washington. He would go on recon with his bodyguard and make his plans. Trusted generals would make suggestions but it wasn't clear if he ever took their advice. The troops were formed up with the strong phalanx units in the center with cavalry on the wings. Once the battle commenced he would charge with the right wing into the thick of the fight. His loyal Companions fought hard to keep up with him. It didn't matter that the men he was leading were always heavily outnumbered. Only once was he serious wounded.

Four major battles were covered as well as the siege of Tyre. Besides that, there were interesting bits of information included, such as the Greeks marched wearing their footwear but then fought barefoot for better traction and balance!

This is a great book if you can find one.

[Anibal · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Warry is renowned for his exceptional work, "Warfare in the Classical World," which remains one of the best introductory books for studying military conflicts in the Greek and Roman worlds. However, his latest work, focusing on the campaigns of Alexander the Great, falls short due to a significant flaw: Warry attempts to summarize the career of one of the greatest military leaders of all time in a single volume.

The campaign series aims to provide detailed information on specific battles or campaigns, but Warry covers too much ground, offering somewhat detailed information on four large battles and one siege (Granicus, Issus, Tyre, Gaugamela, and Hydaspes). In addition, he briefly touches on campaigns in Bactria, Afghanistan, the return to Babylon, among others. This comprehensive approach proves overwhelming for a single campaign series volume.

This extensive coverage comes at a cost. The section detailing leaders, military forces' description, and organization for both factions is remarkably small and provides minimal information. Warry seems to unquestioningly accept the numbers mentioned by historical sources, particularly the claim of the Persian Empire fielding a 600,000-strong army. While the Persian Empire could mobilize significant forces, accepting such a precise number appears unrealistic and somewhat naive.

The author effectively utilizes 2D maps to illustrate battlefield movements, but due to space constraints, he can't incorporate all sources, leaving some movements open to different interpretations unexplored. Nevertheless, the book serves as a useful resource to learn about Alexander's military campaigns.

While Osprey titles typically offer excellent visual aids, this particular book falls short. Despite a couple of outstanding illustrations by Angus McBride, most of the original art by Richard Geiger lacks the usual level of detail associated with Osprey. The 3D Birdseye views are below standard, though they provide adequate information. Anachronistic representations in photographs of artifacts and drawings based on military equipment are also a disappointment.

The book includes well-crafted 2D maps allowing readers to easily follow both strategic and tactical moves. Additionally, there is a chronology, a useful glossary, a short bibliography, details about the present-day battlefield (now somewhat outdated due to political changes since 1991), and a section on wargaming the campaigns of Alexander.

A warning about the hardcover Portuguese edition by RBA: Avoid it! The translation is atrocious, with numerous errors that even misinterpret the meaning of crucial military terms (e.g. the translator doesn't know what a Pike is!). As for the English edition, it provides insights into Alexander's military campaigns and the battles that defined his legendary name. However, better books were available even by 1991 standards, and attempting to summarize Alexander's entire career in a single campaign series book may not have been the wisest choice.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good details and graphics. The writer seems to put more faith in ancient sources than modern historians. For instance, he straight gave the number of Persians facing Alexander at Gaugamela as 1,000,000 as said by Arrian, although hardly any modern biographer/historian believes it. Warry argues that if we include auxillaries and support crews, it might be a reasonable estimate.

Made me realize a number of things:
1. The phalanx were not as vulnerable as Romans later shown. The vulnerable sides were covered by hypaspists. So who knows, if Alexander has to battle Romans, maybe it won't be easy for the Romans.
2. The numerous Persian infantries at Issus and Gaugamela were almost useless. They were intimidating, however they didn't influence the battle much, and the fact that Darius ran away from the battle regardless of their presence shows that they were not that good. Darius relied more on his immortals and Greek mercenaries. Plus, these Persian infantries were absolutely intimidated by the phalanx.
3. Alexander could have lost the Battle of Gaugamela if the Indian troops which broke through the gap between the left wing and the central phalanx turn back and crush Parmenion's left wing. Alexander was lucky the Persians weren't disciplined and their king had poor nerves.

[Lordoftaipo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexander the Great did something great. So it intrigues me that the stretch of land he had fought so hard would fall into the hands of different people. Apparently good campaigns don’t guarantee subsequent unification, as it never was easy. Part of it takes psychological manipulation, the sort little unlike the Egyptian seer who comforted the Macedonian troops with natural phenomena or the occasional rivalry clemencies of Alexander.

The locations covered of the battles are, though not totally discoverable, places I want to visit. In 1990 when he wrote it, most of them were gone or unsafe to travel. I have but smaller hope for their current state of preservation, which is sorry to hear.

[Christopher Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is number 7 in the Osprey military campaign series and looks at Alexander the Geat's conquest of Persia. It looks in detail at the four major battles of the campaign: Granicus, Issus, Guagamela and the Hydaspes. These campaign books give a very good overview of the battles and are well illustrated with maps, diagrams and full colour examples of the uniforms and weapons of the time.

[Michael Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alexander, king of Macedonia and conqueror in a very few years of a large fraction of the known world, has been a mythic figure for 2,300 years, even among his enemies. The campaigns he pursued and the many battles (and hundreds of skirmishes) through which he led his Macedonians, Greeks, and allied peoples are really too many -- and too varied in type, terrain, and goal -- to be covered in sufficient depth in ninety-six pages. The other volumes in this and Osprey’s other series are much more focused in time and geography. The author is therefore forced to select only five battles spread over the eleven years and several thousand miles of Alexander’s career. The fight against the Persian forces at Granicus, shortly after his army crossed the Hellespont, was his first major victory and the first example of the efficacy of his style of Heroic Leadership. The confrontation at Issus, on the coast near what is now the Turkish-Syrian frontier, allowed him to push on down the coast to Tyre, where his innovative use of a mole to besiege the island fortress enabled him to gain control of the entire eastern Mediterranean as far as the borders of Libya. The book then skips ahead to Gaugamela in present-day Iraq, and finishes up with Hydaspes five years later, on a branch of the Indus -- the point farthest east that Alexander was able to push to. The detail is pretty good, though there is simply a lack of surviving information about many aspects of all five battles. The battle maps are excellent, as always, but the color plates depicting the garb and weapons of individual warriors and soldiers -- usually painted, but here in shaded colored pencil -- are decidedly inferior to other Osprey books. This is one of the less successful entries in the series.

[Leila Anani · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a writer, role-player or wargamer this book is invaluable for information on Alexander's battles: Granicus, Issus, Siege of Tyre, Gaugamela, and Hydaspes - It gives a scene by scene breakdown of troop deployment with multiple diagrams and gives information about the terrain and kit/weapons. It also gives a brief synopsis of the aftermath of each of these battles. The book also contains lots of illustrations and some good maps.

It is limited in what it covers - it only has these 5 battles so if you want Charonea or any of the others you need to look elsewhere. The text is a little stilted and it's a bit impersonal - and it doesn't offer much on the characters of the men that fought - Its very much a textbook of battle strategy - but this is very useful if you want to recreate the battles in any way. Indeed one of the articles is specifically on wargaming Alexander's battles. There are some random things in here - there's a wonderful page dedicated to Athenian orators Demosthenes & Aeschines- but it doesn't have any relevance to the text or really the battles - and again there's some stuff on coinage that seems a bit out of place.

From my point of view its gravest oversight, other than the missing battles and campaigns is the lack of coverage on the generals themselves - I'd have loved a bio of each general with pictures, what battles they fought in which divisions they commanded etc. But you can't have everything and it really is an invaluable resource of what actually happened in each battle and how the troops were positioned.

[Todd N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book as a companion to the Landmark edition of Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander. I've always wanted to buy one of these Osprey battle books ever since my son started leading me to the military history sections of local bookstores. (This was not a section of the bookstore I was previously familiar with.)

Anyway, I'm glad I bought it because it has lots of battle diagrams and detailed explanations of each phase of the battle. Also there are drawings showing the major weapons and armor for each side.

There was a cool computer-generated view of Tyre with enough detail that I could imagine the computer-generated streets flowing red with computer-generated blood.

The writing is okay for a summary of the major action. The writing style is somewhat stilted, and I wouldn't have been surprised if a few of the sentences ended with "and whatnot."

There is a section at the end with advice on war gaming Alexander's battles. That's a bit deeper than I want to get with my admiration for Alexander.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

221 - 2012

Kisah sang Alexander Agung lebih seru yang digambarkan Larry Gonnick di Kartun Riwayat Peradaban.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrative is dry and lacks insight. The real value of this book lies in the maps and images.