ADR On Alexander
Tiglath
This is a summary of Anastassios' (a.k.a. ADR) howlers on Alexander:
For any serious history aficionado any one of these bloopers would be
stingy embarrassing, but considering that Anastassios is himself a
Macedonian who lectures others as an expert on Alexander.
This is a true eye opener akin to a Frenchman thinking that wine is
made from figs, or a German thinking that beer is organic eau de
cologne.
It's lucky Alexander himself did not have many Macedonians of ADR's
caliber, otherwise we would be speaking Farsi today.
On the number of Darius Greek Mercenaries
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ADR says:
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"He [Darius] had more Greeks fighting for him than Alexander's total
army!!!"
"[I am] [j]ust repeating Arrian, but then you would not have a clue,
would you?"
The Sources Say:
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Reasonable estimates for Alexander's total army are: 40-45K in all
three battles.
Even the extravagant ancient sources put the number at 30K at Issus,
still less than Alexander's army.
Peter Green clearly says the the figure of Darius' 30,000 Greek
mercenaries according to the sources is generally regarded as an
exaggeration.
At Issus, John Warry estimates 8-10K for Darius Greek hoplites and and
22K for Alexander's infantry
Foot note in Arrian's translation at the point of the battle of
Issus.
"Plutarch, Curtius, and Diodorus agree on the number of casualties
[100,000 Persian] but it is as untrustworthy as the numbers given for
the Persian army."
-- The Campaigns of Alexander, Arrian, Book Two
p. 121, Penguin Classics.
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ADR says:
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"Darius III lost a substantial contingent of hoplites at Granicus but
even at Gaugamela, he was able to include a serious number of them
(about 10K)"
The sources say:
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"The Greek mercenary forces [at Gaugamela] were now almost gone. A
small contingent still served with Darius under the leadership of
Patron and Glaucus, but it was quite insignificant [...]"
-- Bosworth A.B., 1988, Conquest And Empire," p. 78,
Cambridge Paperbacks.
On the fate of the Greek Mercenaries after the Battle of the Granicus.
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ADR says:
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"In fact, after Granicus, Alexander was quite mild, usually enlisting
the Greek mercenaries into his army."
The Sources Say:
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"Leading the phalanx against these, and ordering the cavalry to fall
upon them from all sides, he soon completely surrounded them and cut
them up, so that none of them escaped except such as might have
concealed themselves among the dead bodies. About 2,000 were taken
prisoners. [...] But as many of them as he took prisoners he bound
in fetters and sent them away to Macedonia to till the soil."
-- Arrian - 1.16
On the Macedonian Phalanx in Battle at Issus and Gaugamela
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ADR says:
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"Both at Issus and in Gaugamela his infantry [Alexander's] was
defeated"
"In Gaugamela, it was mostly the Persian infantry that essentially
defeated Parmenio."
The Sources Say:
------------------------
Only Parmenion's phalanx battalions, i.e., the Macedonian left wing,
were in difficulties at Issus and Gaugamela. ADR doesn't know that
the right wing also had heavy infantry, which gave a very good account
of themselves against Darius' Greek mercenaries.
At Issus:
It is true that the left-wing phalanx battalions were in dire straits
as crossing the river had disrupted their formation, which the Greek
mercenaries took advantage of. But it is completely false that they
were defeated. After Darius fled, the Greek mercenaries found
themselves with Alexander's cavalry and infantry attacking their left
flank, and the Persians troops to their right starting to retreat.
"As they wavered, the Macedonian phalanx recovered its alignment and
the hedge of sarisae, now intact, drove the mercenaries from the
stream."
-- Bosworth A.B., 1988, Conquest And Empire," p. 62,
Cambridge Paperbacks.
At Gaugamela:
When Bessus moved right and a gap appeared in the Persian center where
Darius and the Greek mercenaries were...
"The Companions pressed inwards driving at the exposed flanks of the
Persian troops while the phalanx [right wing battalions] in close
formation rolled back the front with its hedge of sarisae. "
-- Bosworth A.B., 1988, Conquest And Empire," p. 83,
Cambridge Paperbacks.
That is, in both battles the Macedonian right wing phalanx and
hypaspists battalions rolled back the Greek mercenaries or attacked
their flank jointly with cavalry, while the left wing held the line
to pin down as many forces as possible far form Alexander's target
for
a decapitation strike.
On Greek Hoplite Warfare as compared to the lethality of Alexander's
army.
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ADR says:
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"Wholesale slaughters were common in Greek warfare. In fact, hoplite
warfare was brutal and mercy was not in abundant supply."
The Sources Say:
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"[W]here figures are given the losses suffered in hoplite battles
actually seem to represent only a small percentage of those who had
taken part. Thus the losses at Delion amounted to just over 7 percent
of the Boiotians and just over 14 per cent of the Athenians, if
Thucydides' figures are reliable (4.93.3, 94.1, 101.2). Figures for
other battles are less reliable, but in few, if any, do even the
beaten side appear to have suffered more than the Athenias at Delion,
and casualties amongst the winners seem sometimes to have been perhaps
as low as 2 per cent. Such figures pale in comparison with the
appalling losses inflicted on the Romans, for example, at Trasimene
and Cannae, where about 60 per cent of them may have been killed.
"[...] but part of the reason for the comparatively low losses in
hoplite battles was that hoplites were not really suited to pursuit,
and that although cavalry was frequently used instead, no all Greek
states had cavalry, and those that did often had very few. Apart from
the sheer weight of their equipment, hoplites who broke ranks to
pursue, laid themselves open to counter-attack."
-- Hanson, V.D., 1991, "Hoplites: The
Classical Greek Battle Experience,"
p. 101, Routledge.
On Our Sources for Alexander
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ADR says:
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"We have no clue about Callisthenes work as it has not survived (a
judgment of antiquity?) but we know that Polybius was critical of it."
(Callisthenes of Olynthus, was Alexander's official biographer who
accompanied him on campaign and wrote the "Deeds of Alexander," to
record the king's exploits and send favorable reports home.)
The Sources Say:
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"The chief primary sources used by all the above-mentioned authors go
back, ultimately, to the 'official history' composed by Callisthenes
of Olynthus [...] in 327 he was executed [...]. Up to this point he
provided primary (written) information for subsequent Alexander
historians, notably Ptolemy, Cleitarchus and Aristobulus."
Waldermar Heckel's introduction to Quintus Curtius Rufus "The
History of Alexander."
-- http://hum.ucalgary.ca/wheckel/index.htm
Miscelaneous Howlers
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ADR says:
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"Darius had a huge navy and very good generals that Alexander could
not match."
The Sources Say:
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No sources needed that one does not even pass the giggle test.
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ADR says:
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'I would not consider the phalanx [Alexander's] as "heavy infantry".'
I Say:
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Failed giggle test too.
An infantry formation with a front offering FIVE rows of wicked points
of pikes 15-18 ft. long and 12 lb. of weight, buttressed by columns of
armored men 16-deep in squares 16-wide are not heavy infantry?
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ADR Says:
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"For Alexander, his presence in leading the [phalanx] oblique approach
was a necessity at Gaugamela. And for your information, Hannibal was
in the front line at Cannae, actually at the weak center that could
have been overwhelmed by the Romans."
The Sources (and I) say
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Gaugamela, being predominantly a cavalry encounter taking place at the
end of summer on a dirt plain, the dust enveloped the whole action in
an opaque chocking pall, making a synoptic view of the battle
impossible, never mind discerning Alexander at the far right of eight
advancing Companion squadrons from the phalanx half a mile back to the
left. (seven o'clock). Battalion commanders led the phalanx oblique
formation, not Alexander.
ADR has never provided the evidence I requested for his claim that
Hannibal lead the Spanish and Gaul troops at the center of his army at
Cannae. What is he waiting for?
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Unbelievable, but true.
ADR
Tiglath
ADR is a truly remarkable man, he can hit bottom and still go
downhill.
Tiglath
Forgot to crosspost to s.ha. Done
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