Alexander the Great War Tactics

Introduction
While today’s wars tactics involved precision-guided missiles and missile defense shields, the armies of ancient times relied upon cruder and simpler weapons, such as sticks and stones, to make war. However, one thing that has not changed over the course of history is that war is about resources and the victor is the one who adapts to the times and to the environment as well as the one who has the most friends. Born in 356 BC, Alexander the Great modernized and revolutionized war by showing what it meant to assess the environment, adapt, and strike. This paper will discuss the tactics Alexander used, what knowledge he inherited from his father, how he influenced Kamehameha, and how his use of tactics was on full display in the Battle of Gaugemela.
Tactics Alexander Used
When Alexander’s father Philip II died, he left the Macedonian army in the hands of the young man. Alexander quickly reorganized the army and incorporated the latest innovative technology available—siege machinery (Hughes, 2018). From a tactical vantage, Alexander saw siege warfare as the next necessary step in combat because it empowered him to assault formidable defenses. Whereas ladders were the primary instrument of soldiers tasked with assaulting small towns and villages with only minor defenses, something like siege machinery was necessary to batter the walls and defenses of more fortified cities.
Thus, Alexander relied upon the genius of Diades, his chief engineer (Hughes, 2018). Diades evolved the borer with his trupanon borer (a large wooden beam with a metal head), by protecting it within a wooden shell, called a tortoise, and by increasing its power and destructive force with the use of ropes and pulleys. The trupanon borer was used to destroy large enemy defenses and was part of the collection of siege machinery (Hughes, 2018).
Another siege engine was the epibathra—the drawbridge used to cross from siege tower or ship. Alexander also used ditch-filling tortoises, rams and siege towers—a new version of which was designed on a timber chassis. This was the Helepolis and was a terrifying sight for those defending their ramparts because it toward above them and was basically a moving, fortress with men inside ready to leap over the walls and take over the interior.
Alexander also made use of stone throwers—the lithoboloi and petroboloi—used at the sieges of Halicarnassus and Tyre. He also used arrow-firing torsion catapults to cover his soldiers on the ground. Best of all, all these tools were portable, which gave Alexander great advantage. Combined with his foot companions and the phalanx formation that Alexander used, these weapons and war machines made Alexander’s Macedonian army an incomparable force to reckon with (Hughes, 2018).
What Alexander Inherited from His Father
Aside from the foot companions and some of the base model siege machines and artillery, Alexander inherited a disciplined military from his father. It was Philip II who trained the men to be the best in the world, capable of taking on the Persians. As Roos (2019) points out, “Philip II left Alexander the Great a fierce army.” Philip II made the army the most important aspect of Macedonian society. Everything became centered around the military. He focused on raising the best soldiers by training an elite group of archers, javelin throwers, infantry and cavalry (Roos, 2019). Soldiers started training from the best families at the age of 7—so basically as children they were taught to be soldiers in the military. It was similar to today’s elite cadet families in the West. The Royal foot companions were Philip’s idea as were the Hypaspists, which consisted of a 500-man infantry unit that surrounded the king in battle. Philip also upgraded the weaponry by transitioning from a short spear to a long spear with an iron tip that could punch through armor and throw off charging chariots. All of this helped Philip defeat both Athens and Thebes, and it was during this fight that his 18 year old son Alexander came into his own on the battlefield: it was Alexander who led the charge that broke the ranks of the Athenians (Roos, 2019).
Philip II was essentially many things in his life: he was the father of Alexander the Great; the unifier of Greece; the founder of the first territorial state in Europe, and a strategic and tactical genius. The Macedonian army was unknown to the world before Phlip II came to power. He single-handedly trained the Macedonian army to be the best in the world. His method of reform was to focus on three distinct categories: Equipment, Training, and Tactics. In all things, Philip was exceedingly disciplined (Classics Dissertation, n.d.).
Thus, from his father, Alexander inherited more than a well-trained army and a host of new, innovative weapons. He inherited a disciplined mind and the courage to lead. Philip was a strong leader who put himself forward as an example to others, and Alexander inherited that sharpness of mind and that ability to put himself forward as well. That is why Alexander led his soldiers into battle and why they loved him for his bravery.
Alexander the Great Influenced Kamehameha
Just like Alexander united his empire, Kamehameha I united the Hawaiian Islands by conquering using similar tactics. For example, Alexander’s big four foundations for success in war were sustainability, mobility, speed, and flexibility. He would have no problem using whatever he came upon wherever he was for his own advantage against the enemy. He saw everything strategically, thinking of the hills, the ridges, the geography from a tactical point of view. He saw everything in terms of mobility, how it would impact his speed and the speed of the enemy. Everything was a matter of balance and advantage, whether or not he could leverage what lay bare before him and use it to gain the advantage over the enemy. That was Alexander’s way of thinking, and it was also Kamehameha’s way of thinking in his war to unite Hawaii (Archeology, 2013).
Alexander used everything in the city to his advantage and showed dexterity and flexibility in this manner. And though the army in the past would have traveled with many non-combatants, women, and slaves, it would later become apparent that having all these non-combatants traveling with them in this manner was a major disadvantage because they literally had no mobility, sustainability, or speed. Philip II therefore had set about addressing the issue by cutting out ox carts, and reducing the number of non-combatants, women, and slaves among his army when they traveled. This elimination helped to make the whole easier to feed, train, and move (Classics Dissertation, n.d.). Alexander’s army was even stronger, faster, and better suited to fight with consistency because it was one that had been brought up in the discipline of Philip II. The big bonus of Alexander’s army was its organization within the phalanx fighting formation. It was this that Kamehameha used in his efforts to take hold of Hawaii (Archeology, 2013).
In the battle of Nu’uanu, one of the battles that helped Kamehameha unite the islands of Hawai’I, Kamehameha used the phalanx formation to fight the enemy and secure victory. The battle began when Kamehameha arrived with two divisions in Wai’alae and Waikiki to pursue Kalanikupule’s army in P’owaina. Kamehameha used a a flanking division over Papak’lea. The enemy’s army was quickly overwhelmed, essentially caught between two divisions of Kamehameha's army and was thus forced tor retreat where allies waited.
Kalanikupule’s army was no match for Kamehameha’s tactics. They retreated further up the valley to another heiau where Kamehameha's army forced the Oahuans to surrender. While all of this was happening Kamehameha also found a ridge line on the Pauoa flat and ordered a small reserved fleet to run the trail. Tactically speaking, this was right out of Alexander’s own playbook. It was a demonstration of how to use one’s surroundings for one’s advantage and how to stay mobile, fast, and efficient. This fleet was ordered by Kamehameha to flank Kalakapule’s army and thus Kamehameha and the fleet cornered the weakened Oahuans on a ridgeline that essentially left the latter with no choice but to surrender or be killed. Kamehameha thus showed great speed, mobility, and sustainability in terms of using his environment to his advantage (Archeology, 2013).
The Battle of Gaugemela
In this decisive battle of Alexander against the Persian Empire, Alexander’s forces were heavily outnumbered but Alexander used superior tactics and maneuvered his light infantry in such a way that it caused the Persians to open a gap where they were vulnerable. Alexander did this by sending his phalanx to attack on the left while he rode to the flanking position on the right, drawing the Persians to him and making Darius vulnerable. It was then that the Macedonians had to attack at the right moment with speed. Their superior training and weapons helped them achieve the victory and here and Alexander’s daring and ability to make quick decisions no matter the environment was a huge advantage over the sedentary enemy that was reacting rather than being proactive in the battle (Classics Dissertation, n.d.).
Conclusion
Some tactics of the high school generation that could be used in solving wars and differences with their knowledge and resources would be to focus on using the tools they have available to them and leveraging their strengths. What are the strengths of the high school generation? One is going to be their command over technology. They have grown up as digital natives (Prensky, 2001). They are familiar with communications technology, such as social media, and are capable of sharing and disseminating information instantly. They can develop networks of contacts, which is just as valuable as any phalanx of Alexander in today’s digital age, for the phalanx of social media networked followers is strong, lightning fast and capable of delivering blows to an enemy’s credibility in an instant. Uprisings have been conducted thanks to social media, like the Arab Spring in the Middle East, and social media has been a huge tool in events like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. The high school generation can use the tactics of communication, integration and collaboration to solve differences and to gain advantages over enemies. Those who control the information are the ones who have the power, and have knowledge of how to use social media is a great resource that the high school generation can use.
References
Archeology. (2013). Kamehameha. Retrieved from https://www.archaeology.org/issues/95-1307/features/1094-kamehameha-moku-ula-maui-oahu
Classics Dissertation. (n.d.). The Military Revolution: What were Philip II’s Reforms of the Macedonian Military and how Revolutionary were they? Retrieved from https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/the_military_revolution_-_what_were_philip_iis_reforms_of_the_macedonian_military_and_how_revolutionary_were_they.pdf
Hughes, T. (2018). Was Alexander’s army destined to conquer? Retrieved from http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2018/08/02/why-alexander-was-destined-to-conquer/
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
Roos, D. (2019). How Alexander the Great Conquered the Persian Empire. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/alexander-the-great-defeat-persian-empire