334 BC, early spring.
The great King Alexander gathered his troops, left Pella in Macedonia, and set out on his crusade.
Compared with the Greek city-states at that time, the team was still very large, with a total of 43,000 infantry, including light infantry, archers, mercenaries, etc., 6,000 cavalry, and a large number of engineers and technicians with the army. Scientists and skilled craftsmen.
The first battle was a great victory over the Persian army at granico river. The losses are negligible. The Persian army suffered heavy losses, including the son-in-law of the Persian emperor Darius, his wife and uncle, a son, and numerous commanders.
At the same time, in 334 BC, when the world was in chaos in the late Warring States period of China, the various princely states were trying to change the law and strengthen the army, the westernmost was the Qin state, when King Huiwen of Qin was in power, although the Shang martingale had been split, but the essence of the Shang martingale transformation law was still implemented in Qin, and it became more and more sophisticated, and the old Qin grew fangs and claws, and began to accumulate strength for the annexation of the Six Kingdoms more than a hundred years later.
The following year, in 333 BC, Alexander's army came to Isos and confronted the army of darius, the Persian king, across the Pinalos River.
In the afternoon, Alexander's army first ate a meal, first personally observing the situation of the battlefield, and a few hours later leading the right wing troops, concentrating most of the cavalry, and marching slowly at a calm pace.
The left-wing forces, led by Parmenion, stretched all the way to the coast, and they were slowly advancing along with Alexander.
In the center of the Persian army on the other side of the river was the huge and luxurious chariot of the Persian king Darius, surrounded by 2,000 royal guards, flanked by 30,000 Greek mercenaries, and the last two wings were Persian light infantry. Archers were lined up in front of the Persian army, and infantry recruited from elsewhere were behind the xenophobic army in reserve.
It was nearly evening, and Alexander was running back and forth on the front, suppressing the impatience of his army with various gestures, and as they drew closer and closer to the Persian army, until they were within range of the Persian archers, the archers began to release their arrows, and the arrows that covered the sky even collided in the air.
The trumpet of the attack was then sounded, and Alexander rushed across the river to launch a charge, and the entire right wing of the cavalry immediately scattered the Persian archers, and Darius's left wing troops were crushed.
Alexander took the lead in the charge
Alexander's right-wing troops smashed the Persian army like a right-wing punch, but his own Chinese army was in big trouble.
The center and left flank crossed the river to find themselves facing steep embankments covered with thorns, as well as pointed wooden fences built by the Persian army.
The Macedonian infantry engaged in a bloody melee with the Greek mercenaries on the right flank of the Persian king, and until finally they all held up, and Alexander's right wing cavalry turned back and slaughtered from the rear of the Persian army.
Darius, the Great King of Persia, saw that the tide was gone, and fled the battlefield in an inconspicuous light chariot.
The big question before Alexander at this point was whether to continue to pursue Darius or to help the middle and left flanks of his own army in distress.
Without hesitation, Alexander led his army to attack the flanks of the Greek mercenaries, freeing his central and left-wing forces.
When his troops went after Darius after they had escaped, it was already dark and they could no longer pursue Darius.
In the same year, in 333 BC, Zhang Yi, a member of the State of Wei, entered Qin and began to divide the Six Kingdoms with the strategy of "lianheng pro-Qin", continuing to prepare for the destruction of the Six Kingdoms.
Two years later, in 331 BC, alexander was destined to become the "King of Asia." It was in this year that Alexander again defeated the Persian king without giving him a chance.
The battle took place in Gaugarmela, where the Persian king Darius still had more troops than Alexander, and his platoon was a mile wider in line than Alexander's, and the cavalry alone was 5 times that of Alexander.
Before the war, Alexander pondered in the tent for a long time until he came up with a genius plan.
In the platoon, Darius continued the original way, the infantry lined up in front of them, sitting on the Chinese chariot themselves, and the front and left and right flanks of the infantry were cavalry.
Alexander's army consisted of the infantry phalanx as the main front, with the cavalry on the left and right flanks retreating, maintaining a 45-degree angle with the main front, while a powerful mercenary army ambushed behind the cavalry.
His tactics were simple, once the war began, he gradually retreated his left wing as he marched, attracting the right wing cavalry of the Persian army, and when the number of persian army's right wing input gradually increased, the Chinese army would have a weak link, and then his own chinese army could directly penetrate the Persian middle army, just like in the previous Battle of Aesses.
The course of the battle was as Alexander had expected, and when Alexander's left flank was entangled with ten times that of his own Persian heavy cavalry, a gap appeared in the Chinese army, and Alexander's cavalry passed through the weak Persian army's chinese army and pounced directly on Darius's luxurious chariot, and after only two or three minutes, the situation was reversed, darius once again abandoned his army and fled the battlefield.
The entire front of the Persian army quickly collapsed, and Darius fled back to the capital in a carriage.
After the war, Alexander became the true king of Asia.
These two battles have become the most famous battles in the history of Western warfare.
To tell the truth, if these two battles can not become much myth in China, the key is that the Persian army is too weak, Alexander seized only the most appropriate time, if the Persian army has half the courage of the Western Chu overlord, the defeat will be Alexander.
In contrast, At this time, China was in the late Warring States period, and the famous generals were like bright stars shining on the central plains.
If Alexander had not invaded India, but had entered China in a northwesterly direction, he would have been confronted with a vast expanse of desert.
Even if he could go through the ordeal across the desert, the first thing he encountered after entering the direction of the Central Plains must be the Tiger and Wolf Division of the Qin Army.
I think the Qin army will be very happy to see these high-nosed and blue-eyed Greek troops, because the military merit standard of the Qin State is to cut off the head of an enemy and raise the title by one level. When he could see so many strange heads, it was like seeing a ladder of first-class ascension to wealth and honor.
And the Qin Army's playing style will be more disciplined. From the movie "Hero", it can be seen that no matter whether the siege or the confrontation between the two armies, the first is to release arrows, and the archers of the Qin Army can each carry 100 arrows, which is shown in the cultural relics unearthed by the Qin Terracotta Warriors. If it's 1,000 archers, that's exactly 100,000 arrows.
Then came the onslaught of cavalry, the cavalry division of the Qin state from the then Xirong, and gradually improved tactics and playing style, driving away Xirong and thus obtaining a large area of land and livestock.
All that remained were a large group of Qin tiger and wolf masters, carrying swords and staring at the necks of these Greeks with malicious intent.
Secondly, Alexander's army was too small, at most 50,000 people, while the Qin army was often 200,000 or 300,000, and when Zhao was destroyed in the later stage, it was possible to send out 600,000 troops.
At the same time, there were also a large number of famous generals in the Qin state, just in 331 BC when Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius, The White Qi known as "Human Slaughter" was born, followed by Wang Qi, Wang Ben's father and son, and the Meng family as generals, these people were not conquered by Alexander alone and an army.
Therefore, fortunately, Alexander did not know that there was a China at that time, and if he knew, he would definitely continue to conquer the east until he met with the Qin army and was defeated.