The Battle of the Granicus
1.
What was Alexander’s world like? à
In 336 BC, his father dies, leaving him a disunified, rebellious kingdom. At only the age of 20, Alexander needed to
prove himself. He set about putting down the many revolutions. In 2 years, he proved himself to be worthy
and controlled the whole of his father’s empire. Once these things were settled at home,
Alexander began looking to expand on his inheritance.
2.
Alexander led an army of 32,000 infantry and
5,000 cavalry against Persia. He viewed
Persia as trying to incite the Greeks against him and he used Greek anger
towards Persia to gain Greek favor.
3.
Persia put forth an army of 10,000 cavalry
and 5,000 infantry.
4.
Memnon, a Greek mercenary working for
Persia, argued that the Persians should burn crops, villages, and farms in the
countrysides through which Alexander would have to pass, depriving him of
provisions. Doing this, the Persians
would move east, avoiding battle.
5.
The Persian satraps did not agree for two
main reasons:
(1)
They did not trust Memnon because he was
Greek.
(2)
They were unwilling to destroy their own
lands.
6.
Instead of listening to Memnon, the satraps
came up with the following plan:
(1)
The Persian army would strategically force
Alexander to a chosen position before he could move further inland; if he did
not move, his flank would be unprotected and he could lose logistics with
Hellespont.
(2)
The Persians would find a strong defensive
position that would not only compel Alexander to attack, but somewhat minimize
his more than 6:1 infantry numbers and maximize their 2:1 cavalry numbers.
Where would the Persians choose?
7. The
Persian army moved from Zelea, where it had been deciding what to do, to the
Granicus River. The river had a number
of tactical advantages:
(1)
60-90 feet wide
(2)
varying depths
(3)
strong current
(4)
steep, irregular banks
8.
All of these factors would make it difficult
for the phalanxes (tight fighting
formations) to hold their form à the Persians would set-up on the eastern
side of the river.
9.
The Persians placed their cavalry as their
front line, creating as wide a front as possible à approx. 7,000
feet (1.4 miles) à once there, the Persians confidently
awaited Alexander.
Why was the Persian cavalry placed in the front, taking away
its ability to charge?
10. “The
Persian leaders had in fact a very gallant plan; they meant if possible to
strangle the war at birth by killing Alexander.” -- Sir William Tarn, noted Alexander
biographer.
