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Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army Paperback – December 29, 1980
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- Print length208 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherUniversity of California Press
- Publication dateDecember 29, 1980
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-100520042727
- ISBN-13978-0520042728
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Product details
- Publisher : University of California Press; First Edition (December 29, 1980)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 208 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0520042727
- ISBN-13 : 978-0520042728
- Item Weight : 8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #794,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #755 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
- #1,470 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #14,802 in Engineering (Books)
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The book begins by outlining the basics concerning how to move an army in the ancient world and the difficulties of keeping a large army supplied as it moves along a campaign. After establishing the basic information and tools of analysis, the author then delves into Alexander’s campaigns following his progress chronologically.
The heart of the book revolves around the big question of how Alexander moved his army so swiftly yet with so little loss despite the wide variety of geographical locations he passed through on his epic campaign. The short answer: planning and intelligence. For example, it is well known that Alexander marched though Asia Minor along the coast to deprive the Persian fleet of bases. This study expands upon that notion pointing out that Alexander began his march before the Persian fleet could be supplied due to harvest times. Thus, Alexander put the Persians at a disadvantage right off the bat capturing key ports before the Persians could even lift a finger.
Another part of the book that was really interesting was the comparison between the descriptions of the lands Alexander marched through in the ancient sources with more modern ones. Interestingly, the modern sources corroborated what the ancient writers noted in terms of difficulties and challenges in the various regions.
The author was also very thorough in his examination of the ancient sources and his footnotes supporting his analysis are practically voluminous. Supporting all this he also made pertinent references to some modern campaigns to illustrate his points showing the vital importance of logistics regardless of the era. All this was enhanced with good maps.
One section I found very interesting was the assessment of Alexander's march through the Gedrosian Desert. This has long been a point of debate and the author suggests an interesting answer to this age old question.
I have studied Alexander for many years now and when I finished this book it only increased my admiration and respect for this legendary leader. This work also further confirmed that Philip and Alexander have to be the most successful father and son military leaders of all time.
I highly recommend this book to not only those who have an interest in Alexander but also anyone with a general interest in logistics and those interested in the issues of supply during ancient times will find much to contemplate as well.
Most treatments of his campaigns focus on the key battles and his use of the phalanx and cavlary to achieve victory. However Engels makes the point that the conquest of Persia was a potentially very difficult campaign. Generals such as Crassus, Antony and Julian were to fail despite having large well disicplined armies.
Engles shows that to maintain an army in the field in ancient times was difficult. Armies consumed food and water at a prodigous rate and all land transport was ineffecient. The remote location of Persia combined with its arid agriculture over time were its greatest protection.
Alexander had to think carefully about every stage of his campaign so that he could obtain food and keep is army in the field.
The key to this was initially water transport. Ships were the one effecient means of transport in the ancient world. Persia however at the time of Alexander had a large navy.
Alexander calculated every move to perfection.Firstly he made his own men carry their equipment rather than using servants or camp followers as was the norm with Greek armies. This made his army quick moving and lessened the mouths to feed. He then started his campaign before the Persians could use thier harvest to provision a fleet. Alexander was able to move his army through Anatolia siezing all the Persian ports and to put their navy out of buisness. He was then able to use his navy to supply his forces.
This book is masterful in explaining the campaign and it reveals the depth of Alexanders genius and the care of his planning. Invaluable for anyone interested in the area.
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.
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He deals with the neglected subject of ancient world military logistics and concludes that 1) Alexander's campaign routes and timing were logistically determined 2) when a logistic plan failed, it could destroy an army as surely as a military defeat, an example being the loss of 3/4 of his army in the Gedrosian desert when the Monsoon winds halted supply by sea.
The essence of Alexander's strategy was the fast movement of troops with the smallest baggage train possible, achieved by his soldiers carrying much of their own equipment and being accompanied by horses and mules with supplies.
The book provides interesting detailed calculations, showing that there was little margin for error. The army that crossed the Hellespont comprised of 65.000 personnel plus cavalry and pack animals that had a combined grain requirement (not counting water or fodder) of 269.000 lbs per day that had to be carried, delivered by river or sea or drawn from an extensive area of rich agricultural land after a harvest, facts which greatly determined when and where Alexander could proceed and how he had to divide his forces.











