Customer Reviews

Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Imagine this:

You're Alexander the Great, setting out on campaign with your mighty army. Glory and profit await you if you succeed, and as you know from history, the real Alexander did succeed. His army was renowned for its efficiency, speed and lethality; his expedition through Asia was the longest military campaign ever undertaken; he fascinates military historians to this day.

But when you put yourself in his place, ask yourself what was required of Alexander to realize his achievment. Was his fame won through superior force of men and arms alone? Could he take his army anywhere he desired, at any time? Had he merely to set his stern, clear gaze upon a point on the horizon and say: "There we shall go"--or was there more to it?

Start with a mundane consideration: how do you feed your men? It's not as clear-cut as it might seem. Suppose you have an army of 10,000 men. Suppose, further, that each man's consumption rate is 3 pounds of grain per day's march. Now realize that this must mean just what the numbers tell you: each man of your 10,000 needs 3 pounds of grain daily, 3 times 10,000 is 30,000--so you need an incredible 30,000 pounds of food, each and every day. If you don't get this food, your men will weaken and die. There's no way around it.

A quarter million pounds of food over the course of a week's march isn't easy to come by, especially in Alexander's day, is it? After all, you can't have the food airlifted to you. You have no motorized vehicles to speed you along, either, bear in mind. Your own feet must take you, slowly and over rough terrain in hot weather, to your destination. If and when you reach and conquer a town, its food stores become yours; but such settlements are few and far between, and practice subsistence level agriculture, in any case. Do your men carry all their food provisions with them? Food isn't all that your men must carry, and a man's back can only bear so much. Do you use pack animals? They have their own food requirements, which are greater than a man's, and in less time than you'd think they will eat what they haul.

The fact is that waging war is never merely about raising an army and fighting an enemy; it's also about getting to the enemy without dying of dehydration and malnourishment along the way. How Alexander surmounted such problems of logistics--the supplying and transporting of his army--is the subject of Engels's fine book. With rigorous scholarship, utilizing sources both ancient and modern, including the most recent geographical and archaeological data, Engels shows that logistical concerns conditioned Alexander's every choice of strategy and tactics, timing and direction, necessitating the most careful, long-range planning. As Engels states, "a military route is not a mere line drawn on a map but a narrow corridor with sufficient agricultural and water resources in the immediate vicinity with which large numbers of men and animals can be supported." This is a fact of military planning of which Alexander had to be constantly aware. Engels does an excellent job in explaining it, and makes the subject of logistics much more interesting than I would have thought possible. This book is a much-needed corrective to earlier studies of Alexander the Great that oversimplify this aspect of his generalship of the Macedonian army.

i would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in military strategy or ancient history. i read it in a day because i simply could not put it down. engels provides a case for alexander's movements based on what is logistically possible through the movement of troops and supplies. well researched (he pulls from sources as diverse as ancient greek text and us. army records), the book opened my eyes to what warfare in those days must truely entail.

this is not an introductory book on alexander's campaigns, however. the author assumes you have good knowledge of what the pervailing theories are of the routes that he took, and doesn't waste time explaining details that might not be known to someone who hasn't already read and studied this time period.

Engel's little book is one the best investigations into the effects of logistical factors on warfare that I've ever read. Reducing the energy needs of any body of men and animals to a formula,applying logical constraints to deductions about the movement and function of these groups, and by rigorous historical investigation into the geography, history and climate of the relevant places involved, Engels picked out the motivations and concerns of Alexander (and his enemies) as he marched across the shuddering corpse of the Persian Empire.

Don't be put off by the implied technical details above. This is a very readable book, a story, even. It's one of my favourite reads. Engel's conjectures are thought provoking, but always backed up by hard evidence. Anyone studying warfare in any time prior to the modern period (where trains and the internal combustion engine changed everything) needs to read this book to understand how things worked.

This book is very important. Supply and logisitics are VERY important to any military history and here it is! The book starts out with a general chapter on the Macedonian army and its logistic system (such as how much food the army needed, the time needed to rest and feed the animals, how fast it moved and the methods that could be used to deliver and transport such supplies needed by the men and animals). The other chapters deal with each region, for example Chapter 2 deals with how the system worked in Greece and Turkey, based on archaeological work done in Asia, careful study of the landscape, climate and the military operations carried out by Alexander. The Appendixs deal with such subjects such as rations and routes taken by the army. Along with 16 maps in the end, the tiny book, only about 194 pages long, is STUFFED full of data. It is a must for any fan of Alexander the Great or anybody into military history.

A great book to read along with J.F.C. Fuller's 'The Generalship of Alexander the Great'.

Despite the somewhat obscure title, this is a great read. Engels traces the journey of Alexander and his army across Asia and, using mostly quantitative analysis, explains how they managed to keep themselves fed through it all. In some cases, as in the Gedrosian desert, they didn't -- with devastating results. I've read many books on Alexander but this offers a fresh perspective, explaining not only what happened but why it happened. If only more history were written this way.

This is an excellent, indeed unique, book on the logistical (and inter-related geographical and climatological issues) faced by Alexander in procuring and distributing the massive amounts of food, water and animal fodder needed to maintain the tens of thousands of combatants, support staff, camp followers and animals of the Macedonian army 'on any given day' --- armies (men and animals) quickly deteriorate and die without adequate food, water and fodder.

There are countless details given in this book concerning weights, measures, capacities, flows, speed, bottlenecks, distances, that you'll never think of any military campaign the same way again. The author calculates food, water and fodder requirements, and provisioning problems under varying circumstances and locations; the numbers are sometimes mind-boggling and the implications always fascinating. Understanding logistical demands and how Alexander overcame them is important to understanding the various campaigns.

This logistical study helps to clarify many important issues such as disputed routes (e.g. Turkey, Siwa and the Gedrosian) or why marches began when they did, went where they did, took the time they did, why forces were split and why the army lingered where it did and for how long. The author explains, for example, why Alexander delayed in Cilicia and his willingness to leave the passes behind him unblocked as he moved toward the Syrian gates --- the reason? Darius was simply unable to any longer maintain a huge stationary force in the plains above the coast since the area's carrying capacity for food, water and fodder would have been reduced to effectively zero and so Darius had no choice but to come down to engage Alexander in a setting much to Darius' disadvantage; and Alexander knew it. This episode is sometimes cited as a tactical mistake by Alexander but this book, by examining the issue from the point of view of logistics, shows why it wasn't.

What this book makes clear is that Alexander's success was not due only to his tactical genius, personal fighting skill and audacious bravery, and the discipline and skill of his army, but also to his genius at logistical planning, organization and forward intelligence. The book also gives credit to his superb 'General Staff' of commanding officers who must surely have participated in the planning but who also organized the actual requisitioning and transport of supplies and managed areas under control.

I just wish the author had written similar books on other campaigns.

Donald W. Engels book is chock full of logistical details that any serious student of Alexander The Great would need, to undertake an in-depth study of the logistical needs of this great general. Personally, I believe Alexander The Great was the greatest commander on the battlefield and his success is due in no small part to his exceptional understanding of the logistics necessary for his army to conquer the ancient world. He learned his craft under the able tutelage of his father, Philip of Macedon. Philip saw in his son the genius he had for organization and entrusted his logistical planning to his son while he was in his late teens. I guess a classical education provided by Aristotle didn't hurt him!

Engels book solves Alexander's logistical challenges by using the relationship of time, distance, geography, climate and the nutritional needs of his army. He uses ancient historical sources as well as recent archaeological work to fill in the many blanks that had been plaguing students of Alexander's conquests for years. One of the great facts that Engels points out is that Alexander used very few pack animals since they needed too much food and water. He used men instead to move his army, which made it lighter and faster. The statistical tables, maps and appendices alone make this a most worthwhile book. Had Field Marshall Rommell had access to Engels work he might have not allowed his lack of logistics defeat his strategy, thank G-d the book wasn't available to him!

This is the consummate work for understanding the logistics of ancient warfare. No serious student of Alexander The Great can be without this book. Being that I am a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

Logistics, probably one of least glorious part of military history get its just rewards in this short but superbly written book which in clear and determined way, showed why Alexander the Great earned that coin, "the Great". The book showed us nicely how well organized the logistic system of the Macedonian Army was and the hand of Alexander was everywhere.

But the lesson the book shows also reflects the reality of today as well. Even this modern age, how well a military forces performed in combat reflects directly on how well that military forces is supported logistically.

A mandatory reading material for any military historian and just about any professional soldiers out there.

This is a very illuminating book on the supply and logistical challenges that Alexander the Great had to overcome in his numerous brilliant and successful campaigns. Donald Engels's book is unique in that it focuses on an area that many authors either takes for granted or pay scant attention to, yet it is an integral and critical part of any successful military campaign.

The book contains some important lessons for all commanders today on the critical importance of logistics to sustain an army and ensure that it is well supplied and that troops remain motivated. The book shows how Alexander's intimate knowledge and understanding of terrain, geography, weather, seasons, sources of provisions and accessibility of routes enabled him to expertly solve the various logistical challenges thus ensuring his decisive victories. The immensity of the calculations that he had to make, the numerous permutations that had to be taken into account with respect to factors such as speed of troop movement, water and food requirements for people and animals as well as the weapons and ammunition shows really how capable Alexander and his staff were.

The book thus authoritatively highlights the fact that Alexander's genius for effective logistical system played an essential part in complementing his brilliant tactical skills and leadership acumen. After reading this book, you can make sense of why Alexander made certain decisions as supply and logistics severely restricts where an army can go, its speed, rest periods, how long it can stay at any given place, the number of soldiers that can be accommodated as well as methods of transport and supply, among other things.

Having read this book, one can really appreciate with awe just how great Alexander was to wage brilliantly successful campaigns in distant and remote lands, such as Persia and India, when the ancient means of transport and supply were poor and inefficient. It took methodical, detailed and thoughtful planning and Alexander's sharp intellect to put it all well together.

Alexander's logistics management during his unprecedented (and unmatched) military campaign is something that's easily overlooked considering the reams of books about virtually everything else about Alexander. But this seemingly mundane subject matter turns out to be one of the most fascinating aspects of Alexander's truly multi-faceted genius. This book provides a great insight in layman's terms of what it was like to manage a campaigning army of approximately 50,000 plus followers (engineers, doctors, cooks, entertainers, scientists, craftsmen, servants, etc.) of around another 15,000 people and at least 10,000 horses and mules. It's easy to just throw down the numbers and do the calculations, but it's another thing to imagine the logistics involved in procuring the food, water, and other resources to keep the army moving at a swift pace of 35~40 miles per day.

Engels does a great job of helping the reader visualize the enormity of the logistics problems involved and how they were tackled by Alexander as he and his army marched through Asia. Alexander was a very hands-on kind of a leader who was involved in the minute details of logistics operations when necessary but did so without getting into micro-managing those underneath him. Alexander knew every aspect of his army inside and out and lived like a common solider, which is what truly endeared his soldiers to him with fervent loyalty. This book provides great insight into an aspect of Alexander that some will ponder about but never bother to delve into. How did Alexander lead such a huge army and a supporting contingent over 22,000 miles of extremely difficult terrain and environments? This book goes a long way in answering that question.