Transcript Alexander The Great, Adventures at Granicus, Miletus and

Alexander The Great, Adventures at Granicus,
Miletus and Halicarnassus
By Alex Schuddeboom
and Caitlyn Downing
Timeline
Map
Events Leading up to Granicus
• Alexander begins assembling forces to go into
Asia Minor and fight the Persian empire.
• Alexander deals with an insurrection at
Thebes.
• Alexander hears that Persian satraps were
waiting to fight him on the other side of the
Granicus river
• Memnon advised the satraps to undertake a
scorched earth policy but was ignored
Before the battle
• Persian satraps set up on the other side of the
river.
• Parmenio advises Alexander till wait till dawn
• Alexander replies “but I should be ashamed of
myself if a trickle of water like this were too
much for us to cross” – Arrian
• Alexander then attacks during the night
Granicus (Deployment)
• Key: Blue = Alex’s forces
Yellow=Companions
Box=Infantry
Red=Persian
Arrow=Cavalry
Stages of Battle
• Reinforced Thessalians feign a charge.
• Gets Infantry to bang weapons against shields to scare Persian
forces
Stages of Battle
Satraps move cavalry to counter
and Companions charge weak middle
Stages of Battle
• Companions engage middle, Thessalians fall
back
Stages of Battle
• Alexander and companions defeat middle and
rejoin
Thessalians to kill satrap cavalry
Stages of Battle
• Companions and Thessalians engage
Satrap cavalry
Stages of Battle
• Persian forces flee
After the battle
• Spoils sent to Greek states
• Greek mercenaries captured were executed –
“Ordering a combined assault by infantry and cavalry,
Alexander quickly had them surrounded and
butchered to a man, though one or two may have
escaped notice among the heaps of dead. About
2,000 were taken prisoner.” - Arrian
Miletus
• The commander at Miletus had contacted Alex
announcing surrender
• When he heard the Persian fleet was nearby
he decided to fight Alex.
• Athenian fleet arrived first and blocked
harbour entrance
• The city soon fell
• Alex negotiated with mercenaries to join him
Disbanding of the fleet
• After Miletus Alex ordered the Athenian fleet to disband
• “Alexander decided to disband the fleet, since he was short of
money; he saw too that his fleet was no match for the
Persians and he had no wish to risk defeat even with a portion
of his force. Moreover, he considered that as he now
controlled Asia minor with his army he no longer-needed a
fleet; by taking the costal cities he would destroy the Persian
fleet, for they would have nowhere to get fresh crews from
and no port to dock at.” – Arrian
Halicarnassus
• A merchant city that with the help of Memnon
had surrounded itself with a 45 ft wide moat
• Alexander began filling in the moat
• When Alex finally got inside the walls
Memnon fled to a nearby island
• The leader of Halicarnassus Orontopotes fled
to a nearby fort and was besieged for 12
months by forces Alex left behind
Summary of Alexander
• Tactics and Strategy – Ingenuity, Originality
and Initiative (seen in all fights)
• Led from the front (Granicus)
• Determination (Halicarnassus )
• Outmanoeuvring Enemy ( Granicus )