Logistics and Sieges of Alexander the Great Essays

Alexander the Great inherited one of the most powerful armies in the ancient world from his father Philip. The army used a unique spear phalanx that was virtually unheard of outside of Macedonia, and the army was well trained and supported. Additionally Philip felt the use of siege weaponry was of great importance and invested in engineers to aid him. Philip even used siege weaponry on the field in battle some times. Philip set the stage for his son to dominate the known world, and even gave him a road map for conquering Asia minor, but an army and siege weapons are only a portion of an armies success. Especially when planning a long protracted campaign far from home. Alexander’s conquest of Asia was heavily influenced by two very†¦show more content†¦Only enough carts and animals to carry the siege equipment, tents, rations, and other equipment required by the army were used. All additional rations would have to have been carried via Alexander’s fleet. Memnon wanted to pursue a policy of scorched earth and then bring the war to Greece to prevent Alexander from being able to wage war abroad, and if the other Persian generals had followed his advice Alexander would have most likely had to return to Macedonia and never been able to accomplish anything outside of Greece. Due to the Persians vanity they decided to instead attack Alexander directly without razing the countryside and were defeated leading to Alexander gaining the foothold he needed in Asia. A likely scenario would put a seven day limit on the amount of rations the army carried with it in a temperate climate and a two day limit in desert regions where the army could not forage for additional food, water, and fodder. No matter how many pack animals an army used the maximum amount of rations that could be carried would be twenty five days due to the feed required by all of the animals. Another problem with adding additional animals to the supply train is the sheer number of animals required to carry everything. Should the Macedonian army use enough animals to carry the maximum twenty five day amount of rations the number of animals would have stretched over thirty miles and with anShow MoreRelatedEssay on Alexander the Great: The Campaign of Gaugamela614 Words   |  3 Pages The combination of Logistics and Tactics permitted to Alexander III the Great to be successful during the campaign of Gaugamela. Prior to the battle, Alexander the Great decided to take the same r oute Darius took on his way to Issus. He knew that if he wanted to march toward Babylon, he couldnt go through the lower valley of Mesopotamia as there was not sufficient supplies available for his army and the daily temperature in summer is 49 º C.(tactic) He figured out that if Darius larger army andRead MoreThe During The Middle Ages2108 Words   |  9 Pagesit under control. 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