Battle of the Granicus

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Battle of the Granicus
Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great
The Battle of the Granicus
Date May 334 BC Location At modern Biga Çayı Result Macedonian victory
Combatants
Macedon Greek allies	Persia Greek mercenaries
Commanders
Alexander the Great Parmenion Clitus the Black	Spithridates Mithridates Memnon of Rhodes
Strength
20,000 peltasts[1] 22,000 hoplites[2] 5,000 cavalry[2]	9,500 peltasts[2] 5,000 Greek hoplites[3] 10,000 cavalry[3]
Casualties
350 killed	10,000 killed 2,000 captured

Wars of Alexander the Great
Chaeronea – Granicus – Issus – Tyre – Gaugamela – Hydaspes River

The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire. Fought in Northwestern Asia Minor, near the site of Troy, it was here where Alexander defeated the forces of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, including a large force of Greek mercenaries.

Contents 1 Combatants 2 Location 3 Prelude 4 Battle 5 Aftermath 6 Notes 7 Sources 8 See also

[edit] Combatants

• Macedonians and their Greek Allies, led by Alexander. 20,000 peltasts,^[1] 22,000 hoplites,^[2] and 5,000 cavalry.^[2]

• Persians under a "committee" of satraps with some 9,500 peltasts,^[2] 5,000 Greek hoplites, and 10,000 cavalry.^[3]

[edit] Location

The battle took place on the road from Abydos to Dascylium (near modern day Ergili, Turkey), at the crossing of the Granicus River (modern day Biga Cay).

[edit] Prelude

Alexander set out into Asia in 334 BC after he finished consolidating his Greek and Macedonian positions after the assassination of his father Philip II of Macedon.

He crossed the Hellespont from Sestos to Abydos, and advanced up the road to Dascylium, which is the capital of the Satrapy of Phrygia. The various satraps of the Persian empire united and offered battle on the banks of the Granicus River. A Greek mercenary, Memnon of Rhodes suggested a scorched-earth policy of burning the grain and supplies and retreating in front of Alexander, but his suggestion was rejected.

[edit] Battle

According to the historian Arrian, the Persians placed their cavalry in front of their infantry, and drew up on the right (east) bank of the river. Alexander's army met them on the third day of May from Abydos. Accounts vary as to whether Alexander immediately attacked, or crossed the river upstream and attacked at dawn the next day (as suggested by Alexander's second-in-command, Parmenion).

In any case, the Persians had some cavalry that was in contact with the first Greek units to arrive, but Alexander led the elite Companions on an outflanking charge while the Macedonian foot companions covered the rest of the battle column as it formed up against the Persians. The Macedonian line was arrayed with the heavy Phalanxes in the middle, and cavalry on either side.

The battle started with a cavalry and light infantry feint from the Macedonian left, from Parmenion's side of the battle line. The Persians heavily reinforced that side, and the feint was driven back, but at that point, Alexander led the horse companions in their classic wedge-shaped charge, and smashed into the center of the Persian line. The Persians countercharged with a squadron of nobles on horse, and accounts show that in the melee, several high-ranking Persian nobles were killed by Alexander himself or his bodyguards, although Alexander was stunned by an axe-blow from a Persian nobleman named Spithridates. Before the noble could deal a death-blow, however, he was himself killed by Clitus the Black. Alexander quickly recovered.

The Macedonian cavalry then turned left and started rolling up the Persian cavalry, which was engaged with the left side of the Macedonian line after a general advance. A hole opened in the recently vacated place in the battle line, and the Macedonian infantry charged through to engage the poor quality Persian infantry in the rear. At this, both flanks of the Persian cavalry retreated, seeing the collapse of the center. The infantry also routed, with many being cut down as they fled.

Total casualties for the Macedonians were between 300 and 400. The Persians had 2,000 infantry captured, which were of the Greek mercenaries who decided to fight on after the Persian retreat; roughly 1,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry were killed, mostly in the rout.

The historian Peter Green suggests that the varying accounts of the battle and the seemingly suicidal battle order of the Persians (the cavalry defending a river where they could not charge and quality Greek mercenaries in the rear where they were no use in the battle) was due to a cover-up by Alexander of an initial defeat. According to Green, Alexander disregarded Parmenion’s advice and immediately attacked the Persian position. The steep riverbank was (properly) guarded by infantry that rained javelins down upon Alexander and his forces, who were badly mauled and forced to retire. Alexander then grudgingly accepted Parmenion’s advice, crossed the river during the night in an uncontested location, and fought the battle at dawn the next day. The second battle at the Granicus was generally as described in the sources (without the river crossing). This would make sense out of the Persians' nonsensical order of battle. The Persian cavalry would hurry to the location of Alexander’s night crossing and reach the scene of the battle first, with the slower infantry struggling in the rear to catch up with the battle. Even if Alexander eventually won the battle, he would have had ample motivation to cover up his first initial defeat on Asian soil, and he would be loath to admit that he was wrong and Parmenion was right.

[edit] Aftermath

The Battle of the Granicus was the closest that Alexander came to dying in battle. It announced to the Persians that the Macedonian army was a force to be reckoned with. The immediate effects of the battle were that the Greek cities in Asia Minor were "liberated" by Alexander, and a beachhead was established so that further campaigns against the Persian empire could be accomplished. Darius III would leave the responsibility of battling against Alexander to his satraps, primarily those on the western front. Not until the Battle of Issus would Darius decide to confront the Macedonian conqueror in person.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Sources

• Delbrück, Hans (1920). History of the Art of War. University of Nebraska Press. Reprint edition, 1990. Translated by Walter, J. Renfroe. 4 Volumes.
• Engels, Donald W. (1978). Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London.
• Fuller, John F. C. (1960). The Generalship of Alexander the Great. New Jersey: De Capo Press.
• Green, Peter (1974). Alexander of Macedon: A Historical Biography.
• Moerbeek, Martijn (1997). The battle of Granicus, 333 BC. Universiteit Twente.
• Rogers, Guy (2004). Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness. New York: Random House.
• Warry, J. (1998), Warfare in the Classical World. ISBN 1-84065-004-4.
• Welman, Nick. Battles (Major) and Army. Fontys University.

[edit] See also

• Battle of Issus