About the expedition of Germanicus

Alexander's Eastern Expedition

The ancient Macedonian king (356.7 BC, Pella - 323.6.13 BC, Babylon) was a great military strategist and commander in world history. Also known as Alexander the Great. The son of Philip II (359 BC - 336 BC) and a disciple of the philosopher Aristotle.

When Alexander was a child, he received strict military training under the guidance of his father and loved the art of war, which gave him military knowledge and a strong physique. When he was 11 years old, Philip II asked him to study with the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He studied for three years and learned many aspects of knowledge from Aristotle. In 340 BC, 16-year-old Alexander went to war with his father. In the Battle of Cronia, his organizational skills and leadership skills first came to the fore. He commanded the left-wing cavalry of Philip II's army to fight bravely, and cooperated with the right-wing cavalry commanded by Philip II to defeat the coalition forces of Athens and other countries, deciding the outcome of the battle and laying the foundation for Macedonia's dominance among the Greek city-states.

In the summer of 336 BC, after his father was assassinated, 20-year-old Alexander succeeded to the throne. At this time, the situation was very serious. Some people in the royal family and the court were trying to depose the new owner, and various Greek city-states declared independence one after another. Alexander relied on Philip II's trusted veterans to first eliminate dissidents in the royal family and court and quell the internal strife in the palace. Subsequently, the northern tribal riots were quickly suppressed. Then he sent his troops south and bloodbathed Thebes, forcing the Greek city-states to reaffirm Macedonia's dominance, elected him as the supreme commander of the Greek coalition, and prepared to march to the east.

Alexander's expedition was the basic content of the Himalayan (Cedonian) Alliance's aggressive war against the Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. These expeditions were carried out to suit the intentions of Greek and Macedonian slave owners: to push their powerful rivals out of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor and to ease conflicts among the Greek city-states by conquering new colonies. The Persian Empire was the first empire in world history that spanned three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. The Persian Empire had a vast territory (from the east coast of the Mediterranean in the west to the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins in Central Asia in the east), but by BC In the middle of the fourth century, the Achaemenid dynasty was experiencing a social and political crisis and was on the verge of collapse. The most developed western provinces (such as Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and Egypt) suffered from Persian rule and were ready to submit to Greece. Although the army of King Darius III of Persia was large in number, most of it consisted of cavalry and infantry militias with poor combat effectiveness in the provinces. There were only a small number (about 10,000) of well-trained Greek mercenaries (the leader of which was incompatible with Persian interests). Memnon). The Persian infantry fought like a rabble and collapsed at the first touch. The powerful Persian navy (up to 400 warships) dominated the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In the middle of the fourth century BC, after the union of the Greek countries (see the Peloponnesian War), Macedonia, under the leadership of its outstanding commander Alexander, became a powerful slave country in the Balkan Peninsula. The Macedonian army before the war could be called an outstanding army in the ancient world in terms of organization, technology and combat effectiveness. This was a standing army with infantry drawn from free peasants and cavalry drawn from land-owning nobles. Infantry and cavalry are divided into three types: heavy, medium and light. They all have sophisticated weapons and equipment, mature tactics and superb combat literacy. The basis of the Macedonian army's battle formation was the heavy infantry phalanx. The flanks of the heavy infantry phalanx were covered by cavalry, while the front was covered by light infantry. Complete the assault of cavalry, light infantry and medium infantry with a powerful onslaught of the phalanx. The army at that time was commanded by experienced commanders Antipater, Parmenion, Ptolemy Lago and others. The weak Greek navy (nearly 160 warships) was based in various ports in the Aegean Sea.

In preparation for the Persian war, Alexander suppressed opposition among the Macedonian hereditary nobles, eliminated the danger of attacks by neighboring tribes on the country's northern border, and quelled the rebellion in the Peloponnese towns. The riots strengthened the Himalayan (Kedonia) alliance and made all countries recognize him as the supreme commander of the armed forces. Alexander provided enough food, siege equipment, and equipment for forcibly crossing rivers (siege towers, flat-bottomed boats, etc.) for the troops he recruited to participate in the war. A part of the army (about 14,000 people), led by Antipater, stayed in Macedonia to guard the borders and maintain law and order. The battle plan formulated by Alexander can be summarized as follows: adopting steady and steady tactics, the main force of the Macedonian army will enter Asia Minor through the Hellespont Strait (today's Dardanelles Strait), first conquer the western region of Persia, cut off the connection between the Persian army and the navy, and eliminate Its army was consolidated along the Mediterranean coast, giving it a rear base for further expeditions, and allowing the Persian fleet to disintegrate due to the loss of its base. Then continue to march deep into Persia and overthrow the Achaemenid dynasty. The Persian plan was to strengthen the defenses along the Mediterranean coast and land the landing team in Greece in order to set off an uprising against Macedonia there and force Alexander to abandon his expedition to Persia. In the spring of 334 BC, Alexander led the Macedonian army (30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 160 warships) to use the landing site on the south bank of the Hellespont Strait on the pretext that the Persians had ravaged the Holy Land of Greece and participated in the murder of Philip II. successfully crossed the strait and invaded Asia Minor. Launched an aggressive expedition against the Persian Empire and began the 10-year Eastern Expedition.

In May, the armies of both sides met at the Granicus River in western Asia Minor and the first battle began. Alexander divided the army into left and right wings, with most of the troops placed on the right wing under his personal command.

He first drove the light cavalry and part of the infantry phalanx in the center of the right wing to attack the left wing of the Persian front obliquely to the right. Cause the other party to misunderstand. Thinking that the Greek army would outflank his left wing, when the main force of the Persian army quickly moved to the left wing, Alexander personally led the Guards heavy cavalry (the extreme right wing of the battle line) and the infantry phalanx (the middle of the battle line) directly into the center of the enemy's battle line. The Persian army was surprised, and the center of the army collapsed under the fierce attack of Alexander's army. The Greeks took advantage of the momentum to attack across the board, and the Persian army was defeated. Nearly 40,000 people were wiped out, and more than a dozen senior generals were killed (see the Battle of the Granicus River). Alexander took advantage of the victory and captured the coastal cities and the ports of Phrygia and Lydia, so that the Persian fleet could no longer anchor near Greece. Most cities in Asia Minor surrendered without a fight. , Miletus and Halicarnassus, who rose up to resist, were also captured after a storm. In 333 BC, Alexander occupied more than 40 coastal cities and forced the Persian fleet to move south. After that, Alexander's army returned to the hinterland of Asia Minor and occupied Phrygia and Cilicia. With his rear and lines of communication secured, Alexander continued his conquest of the coastal areas.

In November 333 BC, Alexander went south to Phenicia via Issus (now north of Iskenderun, Turkey). Seeing the continuous loss of territory, King Darius III of Persia gathered hundreds of thousands of troops (the ancient Greek historian Arrian said 600,000 in "The Expedition of Alexander") and detoured back to the rear of the Greek army. After the Greek army left Issus, entered the city that afternoon, trying to surprise Alexander in a decisive battle. In an attempt to cut off the Macedonian army's lines of communication (see Battle of Issus).

This move was unexpected by Alexander, but he did not panic. After ascertaining the news, he immediately ordered his troops to turn back, and quickly formed a battle formation to prepare for the battle, and strive to tactically surprise the enemy. . At this time, Dariustu III had already set up a battle array at the Pilarus River. Relying on his huge military strength, he prepared to concentrate his superior cavalry on the right wing after the opponent formed a formation, and attack and surround the Greek army from the flat areas along the coast. The Persian left wing was composed of miscellaneous infantry, and there were several rows of archers in front of the infantry. It was obvious that Daliutu wanted to use the defense of the left wing to cover the attack of the right wing. Seeing this, Alexander immediately changed the configuration of his troops during the march, concentrated all the cavalry on his right wing, and without waiting for the troops to stand firm, he led all the light and heavy cavalry to charge towards the opponent's left wing. The archers on the Persian left wing had just fired their first arrow, but the Greek cavalry had already rushed in front of them. They had no time to replace their arrows and retreated hurriedly, disrupting the infantry formation behind them. The Greek cavalry took advantage of the momentum to charge and kill, and the Persian left wing instantly collapsed. Seeing that the left wing collapsed, Darius III did not immediately adjust his deployment and use superior forces to reorganize the front. Instead, he drove away first. In this way, although the Persian army still had the upper hand in terms of strength, its commander fled and the entire army quickly collapsed. A large amount of weapons and equipment and gold and silver treasures of the Persian army, Darius III's mother, queen and two princesses fell into Alexander's hands.

Although the victory at the Battle of Issus opened the way to Central Asia for the Macedonian army, Alexander decided to conquer the remaining coastal areas such as Phoenicia, Egypt and Libya that were still controlled by the Persians. Destroy the Persian fleet.

In 332 BC, Alexander continued southward. Many Phoenician cities surrendered without a fight. Only the city of Tyre (today's Sur, Lebanon) put up a tenacious resistance for seven months. Alexander used all the siege weapons of the time, such as battering rams, siege towers, and spiral cones, to conquer the last stronghold of the Persian fleet. . After the city was captured, Alexander sold Tire's 30,000 inhabitants into slavery. Before and after, Darius III proposed to cede territory for peace, expressing his willingness to cede all the territory west of the Euphrates River, pay an indemnity of 10,000 talents, and marry his daughter to Alexander, but Alexander wanted all of Asia, not the west of the Euphrates River. , so I flatly refused. At the end of the year, Alexander captured Gaza after a two-month siege and then entered Egypt. He easily conquered other Phoenician cities, Egypt and Libya. In order to win over the Egyptian priests, he not only donated generously, but also went to the Siwa Oasis to pay a visit to the Temple of Amun in an extremely grand manner. In gratitude, the Egyptian priests declared him the son of the sun god Amun and the legal heir of the Egyptian Pharaoh. In order to establish a rear base for the Eastern Expedition, he also established the first city and port named after himself, Alexandria, near the mouth of the Nile. At this point, the control of the sea in the western part of the Persian Empire and the Mediterranean was under Alexander's control.

After the success of his first few campaigns was somewhat consolidated, Alexander began to invade Central Asia. In the spring of 331 BC, Alexander led 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry from Egypt to Mesopotamia. In October, a strategic decisive battle between Greece and Persia took place at Gaugamela near Nineveh. Regarding the number of Persian troops participating in the war, ancient writers have different records (Arrian said it was 40,000 cavalry, 1 million infantry, and 2 million chariots). But in any case, it was far more than Alexander's army. Relying on his numerical advantage, Darius III first sent his left wing back to the left front to attack and outflank Alexander's right wing. Then, he swung his right wing to attack Alexander's left wing. Although Alexander's army fought bravely, the battle line was still breached. However, after Darius broke through the battle line, he immediately detached a considerable force and rushed to Alexander's camp 7-8 miles behind the battlefield to rescue his mother, queen and princess, and plunder property and food.

Alexander seized the fighting opportunity, while stabilizing the left and right fronts, he personally led the Guards heavy cavalry into the gap on the enemy's left flank, and attacked Darius's center from the side. This move was completely unexpected by Darius, who immediately panicked, turned around and fled. Alexander released Darius and led his army to attack the Persian army on the left and right. The Persian army was defeated again (see the Battle of Gaugamela). In the Battle of Gaugamela, all the elite Persian troops were lost. Alexander took advantage of the victory and marched eastward, occupying Babylon, Susa, Persepolis, and the ancient Mede capital Ecbatana, and destroyed the ancient Persian Empire. Countless gold and silver treasures were obtained, amounting to 150,000 talents (1 talent is about 30kg) in gold and silver alone. Darius III fled to the northern provinces of his country, where he was killed by one of his governors.

In the summer of 330 BC, Alexander used several cavalry columns and horse-mounted light infantry columns to continue his expedition to the northern and eastern provinces of Persia along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, conquering Media, Hyrgania, and Parti. Asia (Parthia), invaded Bactria (Bactria), and declared himself the "great emperor" of Macedonia and Persia, the "legitimate" successor of the Achaemenid dynasty. In order to consolidate the military and political foundation of the new dynasty, Alexander appointed Persian nobles in the army and administrative departments, recruited Easterners to join the army, and implemented red tape in the army and court. Allowed freedom of religion, practiced Eastern rites, and married Roxana, the daughter of the prince of Bactria. These practices aroused dissatisfaction among the Greek-Macedonians around Alexander, causing conflicts between him and his generals. In 329 BC, the Macedonian army invaded Central Asia and fought as far as the upper reaches of the Oxus River (Amu Darya) and the Yaxart River (Sir River). In the Bactria and Sogdia regions (all of Soviet Tajikistan and part of Uzbekistan), we encountered strong resistance from the indigenous peoples of various ethnic groups led by the Sogdian Spitamen. After more than two years of hard work and great sacrifices, we finally Suppress it. In order to suppress the uprising and defend the occupied areas, Alexander built many fortified cities (Alexandria) with strong guard troops. There are about 70 such cities in total.

In the spring of 327 BC, Alexander led his army (135,000 people) to leave Central Asia and go south to conquer India. In the area of ??the Chiddaspur River (tributary of the Indus River) in Punjab, western India, the Macedonian army spent a lot of effort to crush the resistance of the Indian Emperor Poros's army (see Battle of Chiddaspur River). Alexander originally wanted to continue to attack the hinterland of India, but the soldiers, who had been fighting for many years and were tired from the journey, refused to continue and demanded to return home. Coupled with the unfavorable climate and the attack of disease, the expedition was at the end of its tether. Alexander had no choice but to leave the garrison behind in 326 BC and then ordered his army to return. He decided to send part of his army to go by sea in order to explore the shipping route across the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. To this end, in early 325 BC, he established a fleet of 800 warships and transport ships on the Hydaspes River. Part of the army sailed to the mouth of the Indus River, while the rest retreated by land. The first column of the army, commanded by Alexander, passed through Gedrosia, and the second column of the army, commanded by Kratyer, passed through Alachosia. The fleet was commanded by Nealkh. This army march and naval crossing were very difficult, and it was not until the spring of 324 BC that they returned to Babylon in the Mesopotamia. The army was reduced by three-quarters due to hunger, heat, and disease. Alexander designated Babylon as the capital of this new great power in the ancient world, which included Macedonia, Asia Minor, and Central Asia, and prepared for a new expedition.

However, in early June 323 BC, Alexander suddenly suffered from falciparum malaria and died on the 13th at the age of only 33.

Alexander’s eastern expedition lasted ten years and traveled thousands of miles. He established a vast Macedonian Empire from the Balkan Peninsula in the west to the Indus River in the east. Its military capabilities and empire area were only surpassed by those of later Genghis Khan and others. The Mongol Empire created can be compared to it. Alexander adopted an Eastern monarchy, causing his subjects to worship him as a god and ruthlessly suppressing his opponents. Although Alexander took some measures to strengthen unification during his lifetime, his empire was quickly established in a short-term military conquest and did not have a solid economic foundation. After his death, the empire soon collapsed. After a long period of melee, his generals established many independent countries with Greek civilization characteristics within the empire.