Transcript After the Battle of Granicus

After the Battle of Granicus
What happened
Alexander had shown superior
tactics
• He showed many attributes of a good army leader during this battle
• These were: (list what good qualities as a commander he showed before and during the
battle)
• The Persians were beaten and many fled
• After the battle, Alexander did something unusual.
• He disbanded his fleet (his navy/boats). The reasons Arrian gives for
this are:
- He had no money
- His fleet were too weak to fight the Persians
- He was in control of all the ports in Asia Minor and thought he
could keep the Persian fleet out.
Disbanding the fleet
Alexander took a considerable gamble by sending his fleet
away, which was a decision that could have backfired.
But he was very lucky.
He knew his strength lay in his army and that he was weak
in ships. Where as the Persians had a very strong naval
fleet and a weak ______. He couldn’t beat the Persians
at sea so he wanted to fight them on __________, this
would be done by preventing the Persian fleet from ever
being able to dock anywhere for supplies. He could do
this by capturing all the ports in the east Mediterranean.
• p. 46, Paul Artus book. Read the information under the
heading ‘Miletus’ and ‘Disbanding the fleet’
• Take notes on key info from this page
Homework, very important to
complete.
• Answer questions on ‘The Greek Mercenaries Issue’.
p.36
• Read and highlight ‘The Gordian Knot’ p. 38 & 39
• Answer questions on ‘The Gordium knot’ p. 40
• Answer questions on ‘The battle of Granicus’ p. 41 & 42
• Read and Highlight ‘Ionian cities of Asia Minor’ p. 43
• Answer questions on ‘Disbanding the fleet’ p. 44
Halicarnassus
• Read & highlight p. 45 (in your workbooks)
about ‘Alexander in Caria: Halicarnassas,
Autumn 334BC’
• Answer questions on ‘ Halicarnassus’
(Hamilton worksheet) p. 46
Order of events so far….
334 BC
1)
2)
3)
4)
Arrived in Asia M____
Visits T___
Battle at Granicus R_____
Battles at Miletus (Athenian fleet block
entrance to harbour, preventing Persian fleet from
entering. This makes the city fall to Alexander’s
control. Greek mercenaries who lve in Miletus
escape to a near island, Alexander employs them
instead of punishing them.)
5) Alexander disbands his f____
6) Battle at Halicarnassus (Memnon &
mercenaries surrounded Halicarnassus with a
moat. Alexander filled the moat & broke
through the walls. Memnon fled to a near
island. Orontopates escaped to harbour.
Alexander retreated & left an army behind who
eventually won 3 years later. This battle proves
that disbanding the fleet was a m_________.
Because the Persian fleet controlled the sea
now)
7) Alexander sends recently married troops
back home to Macedonia for a break.
Arrian: “No act of Alexander’s ever made him better
loved by his Macdonians”
333 BC
8) Alexander rebuilds the fleet
9) Gordium knot (propaganda)
10) Alexander gets sick at Tarsus
11) Battle of Issus
Hmmm…
• What did the events at Miletus and
Halicarnassus show us about Alexander?
= His military skill and that he does make
mistakes, and the lengths to which he was
prepared to go to maintain control
The battle of Issus. The facts:
Date: November 333 BC
o Alexander was at Mallus when he heard Darius III was camped east
of the Syrian gates.
o Alexander was excited to finally get to fight him & travelled non stop
to get there.
o Darius had actually by-passed Alexander and was encamped at
Issus
o At Issus, Darius discovered Alexander’s sick and wounded troops
and killed them (what are they sick and wounded from?)
o Darius then moved south to fight Alexander
o Alexander realised his mistake and turned back with great speed to
meet Darius. He camped at the Pillars of Jonah.
• Darius’ army outnumbered Alexanders…..
5 to 1.
[ note: darius travelled with his family & wives of officers]
The two armies met: On the narrow coastal plain near Issus
* Sea on one side
* Mountains on the other side
* River Pinarus between them
This location suited Alexander’s smaller/bigger (you choose the right one) army
And there was not enough room for Darius’ big Army to arrange their cavalry.
So…the mistake Alexander had
initailly made, became an
advantage.
Alexander arranged his army thus:
- Allied greek cavalry on the left (sea) side
under Parmenios’ command
- The phalanx in the centre
- Macedonian cavalry on the right (mountain
side) under A_________’s command
- Archers and light infantry at an angle to
counter the Persian’s on mountain side.
Diagram it….
Darius’ army
Arranged his army like this:
• Solid wall of defenders in front line.
• Mountain side = heavy infantry
• Sea side = cavalry under Nabarzane’s
command
• Greek mercenaries (hoplites = foot
soldiers) in centre
• Rest of troops + Darius = centre back, no
room for them anywhere else
The Persian’s plan
• They were up on the north bank of the river Pinarus so
Alexander had to cross to attack (just like at the battle
__________). But this time there were no muddy river
banks. They wanted to use their cavalry t to get around
behind the Macedonians on the sea side.
Alexander’s plan
• To block this, Alexander put the Thessalian cavalry on
his left (the sea side) strengthened by archers and
javelin throwers.
• He ordered Parmenio (in command of the left, as
always) not under any circumstances to leave any gap
between his troops and the sea for the enemy to get
through. He didn’t see any threat coming from the
Persians on the mountain side.
The battle of Issus homework
• Your task for this battle, is to write a detailed account of what
happened using the following resources:
• Paul Artus book, p.47 - 48
• Your workbooks, p.47, also take note of the diagrams
• Study materials ‘The battle of Issus’ p.42
• You will be attempting to answer this previous exam question:
At the end of 333BC Alexander defeated the Persian King,
Darius III at the battle of Issus in the South of Turkey.
Discuss:
- The events leading up to the battle
- The tactics used by each of the commanders in this battle
Tips for the layout/structure to a good answer.
• List the events that have happened prior to the
battle – his father’s death, the battle at
granicus, halicarnassus, miletus, disbanding the
fleet. List what achievements he had and what
mistakes he had made.
• Describe Alexander’s eagerness to fight King
Darius III
• Describe the situation in Darius III’s camp
• Describe where the two met to fight
• List the layout of the armies (what was
positioned where)
• Describe Alexander’s attack
Tips for the layout/structure to a good answer
continued.
• Describe Darius III’s action in battle
• Describe how Darius was defeated
• List the ways in which Alexander was successful
in battle
• Describe how Darius’ troops would be feeling
after this
• Outline what Alexander did after the battle to
show he was now ruler of Persia
• List what Alexander and his troops now had on
their side
• Discuss whether Alexander deserved the win at
this battle
• End 