On Germanic Nikus' Expedition

The ancient king of Macedonia (356.7 BC, Pella-323.6 BC,13 BC, Babylon) was a great strategist and commander in chief in the history of the world. Also known as Alexander the Great. Son of Philip II (359-336 BC) and disciple of the philosopher Aristotle.

Alexander received strict military training under the guidance of his father when he was young. He loved the art of war, which gave him military knowledge and a strong body. 1 1 years old, Philip II asked him to learn from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle for three years and learned a lot from Aristotle. In 340 BC, 16-year-old Alexander fought his father. In the battle of Cronia, his organizational ability and commander-in-chief can stand out. He commanded the left-wing cavalry of Philip II's army to fight bravely, cooperated with the right-wing cavalry commanded by Philip II, defeated the allies of Athens and other countries, decided the outcome of the war, and laid the foundation for Macedonia to gain hegemony in Greek cities.

In the summer of 336 BC, 20-year-old Alexander succeeded to the throne after his father was assassinated. At this time, the situation is very serious. Some people in the royal family and court sought to abolish the new owner, and Greek city-states declared their independence one after another. Relying on the veteran trusted by Philip II, Alexander first cut off the dissidents in the royal family and the court and settled the civil strife in the court. Subsequently, the northern tribal riots were quickly suppressed. Then he sent troops to the south and bloodbath Thebes, forcing the Greek city-states to reconfirm Macedonia's hegemony, and elected him as the supreme commander of the Greek Coalition forces, ready to March into the East.

Alexander's expedition was the basic content of the war of aggression launched by the Chiton League against the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. These expeditions catered to the intention of Greek and Macedonian slave owners: to crowd out their old enemies from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, and to ease the contradiction between Greek city-states by conquering new colonies. Persian Empire is the first empire in the history of the world that spans three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa. The Persian Empire has a vast territory (from the eastern Mediterranean in the west to the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins in Central Asia in the east), but by the middle of the fourth century BC, the Achemenid dynasty was experiencing social and political crisis and was on the verge of collapse. The most developed western provinces (such as Asia Minor, Phoenicia and Egypt) suffered from Persian rule and were ready to submit to Greece. King Darius Iii of Persia has many troops, but most of them are cavalry and infantry militia with poor fighting capacity in various provinces, and only a few (about 65438+100000) are well-trained Greek mercenaries (the leader is Mennon) who are incompatible with Persian interests. Persian infantry fought like thugs and collapsed at the touch of a button. The powerful Persian navy (up to 400 warships) dominates the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In the middle of 4th century BC, after the unification of Greek countries (see Peloponnesian War), Macedonia became a powerful slave country in the Balkans under the leadership of its outstanding commander Alexander. The Macedonian army before the war was an excellent army in the ancient world in terms of organization, technology and combat effectiveness. This is a standing army, its infantry comes from free peasants, and its cavalry comes from nobles who occupy land. Infantry and cavalry are divided into three types: heavy, medium and light, all of which have excellent weapons and equipment, mature tactics and superb combat literacy. The foundation of Macedonian army battle formation is heavy infantry phalanx. The flank of the heavy infantry phalanx is covered by cavalry, and the front is covered by light infantry. Complete the impact of cavalry, light infantry and medium infantry with the powerful attack of phalanx. At that time, the army was commanded by experienced commanders, such as Antipat, Palmagnan, Ptolemy Lago and others. The weak Greek navy (nearly 160 warships) is based in Aegean ports.

In preparation for the Persian War, Alexander suppressed the opposition among Macedonian hereditary nobles, eliminated the danger of the northern border of the country being attacked by neighboring tribes, quelled the riots in the Peloponnesian towns, and strengthened the Imam (Khitan) alliance, making him recognized as the supreme commander of the armed forces by all countries. Alexander provided enough food, siege equipment and equipment for crossing the river (siege tower, gondola, etc. ) for the troops enlisted in the war. Some troops (about 654.38+04000) led by Antipat stayed in Macedonia to guard the border and maintain public order. The battle plan formulated by Alexander can be summarized as follows: adopting slow and steady tactics, the Macedonian army entered Asia Minor through the Hellers Strait (now Daniil Strait), first conquered the western part of Persia, cut off the contact between the Persian army and the navy, wiped out its army, consolidated its position on the Mediterranean coast, and made it have a rear base for further expedition, which also caused the Persian fleet to collapse due to the loss of its base. Then continue to go deep into Persia and overthrow the Achaemenid dynasty. Persia's plan was to strengthen the defense along the Mediterranean coast, and the landing team landed in Greece in order to set off an uprising against Macedonia there, forcing Alexander to give up his expedition to Persia. In the spring of 334 BC, Alexander led the Macedonian army (30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and warships 160) to successfully cross the Helegu Strait and invade Asia Minor on the pretext that the Persians ravaged the Greek holy land and participated in the premeditated murder of Philip II. He launched an aggressive expedition to the Persian Empire and started the Eastern Crusade which lasted for 10 years.

In May, the armies of the two sides met at the Kush River in grani, western Asia Minor, and the first battle was fought. Alexander divided the army into left and right wings, and most of the troops were placed on the right wing and commanded by themselves. He first drove the light cavalry in the middle of the right wing and a part of the infantry phalanx to attack the left wing of the Persian front obliquely to the right. Let the other person have an illusion. I thought the Greek army would flank its left flank. When the main force of the Persian army quickly moved to the left, Alexander personally led the guards and heavy cavalry (the far right front) and the infantry phalanx (the middle front) to advance to the center of the enemy front. The Persian army was unexpected, and the China army broke up under the onslaught of Alexander's army. The Greeks took advantage of the situation and attacked on all fronts, and the Persian army was defeated. Nearly 40,000 people were wiped out, and a dozen senior generals were killed (see the Battle of Granikus River). Alexander moved forward and occupied the coastal cities and ports of Phrygia and Lydia, so that the Persian fleet could no longer berth near Greece. Most cities in Asia Minor surrendered without a fight. Milito and Harry Canasus, who fought back, were also occupied after the storm. In 333 BC, Alexander occupied more than 40 coastal cities, forcing the Persian fleet to move south. Since then, Alexander's army has returned to the hinterland of Asia Minor and occupied Phrygia and Chiriki. After the rear and communication lines were guaranteed, Alexander continued to conquer the coastal areas.

In 333 BC, 1 1 month, Alexander went south to Phoenicia via Isus (now north of IsKendal). Seeing that his country was losing ground, Darius Iii, king of Persia, assembled hundreds of thousands of troops (600,000 according to Allen, an ancient Greek historian, in The Expedition of Alexandria), detoured to the rear of the Greek army, and entered the city in the afternoon when the Greek army left Isus, trying to make a decisive battle with Alexander by surprise. Trying to cut off the Macedonian army's communication lines (see the battle of Issus).

Alexander was surprised by this move, but he didn't panic. After learning the news, he immediately ordered the troops to turn around, start a battle formation in the rapid transfer, prepare for the battle, and try to surprise the enemy tactically. At this time, Darius Iii has established his position on the Pilars River. Relying on his huge military strength, he prepared to concentrate superior cavalry on the right wing and attack and surround the Greek army from the coastal flat area after the other side lined up. The left wing of Persia is composed of infantry with miscellaneous brands, and several rows of archers are arranged in front of the infantry. Obviously, Dalitu wanted to use the left-wing defense to cover the right-wing attack. When Alexander saw this, he immediately changed the configuration of troops in the March, concentrated all cavalry on his right wing, and led all light and heavy cavalry to charge another left wing before the troops stood firm. The archers on the Persian left had just released the first arrow when the Greek cavalry had rushed to the front. They had no time to change their arrows, so they hurriedly retreated, disrupting the infantry formation behind them. The Greek cavalry took advantage of the situation to kill, and the Persian left wing collapsed instantly. Darius Iii saw the left-wing rout, did not immediately adjust the deployment, and reorganized the front with superior forces. Instead, he drove away first. In this way, although the Persian army was still superior in strength, the commander chickened out and the whole army collapsed rapidly. A large number of weapons and treasures of the Persian army, Darius Iii's mother, queen and two princesses all fell into Alexander's hands.

Although the victory of the Battle of Isus opened the way to Central Asia for Macedonian troops, Alexander decided to conquer Phoenicia, Egypt, Libya and other coastal areas still controlled by Persians and destroy the Persian fleet.

In 332 BC, Alexander continued to go south. Many Phoenician cities surrendered without fighting. It was not until Tyre (now Lebanese Sur) resisted tenaciously for seven months that Alexander used all siege weapons at that time, such as hammers, siege tower and spiral cones, to conquer the last stronghold of the Persian fleet. After the city was broken, Alexander sold all the 30 thousand residents of Tyre as slaves. At about this time, Darius Iii offered to cede territory for peace, expressing his willingness to cede all the territory west of the Euphrates River and pay compensation of 1 10,000 talents to marry his daughter to Alexander, but Alexander wanted the whole of Asia, not the west of the Euphrates River, so he flatly refused. At the end of the year, after a two-month siege, Alexander captured Gaza and then entered Egypt. He conquered Phoenicia, Egypt and other cities in Libya effortlessly. In order to win over the Egyptian priests, he not only gave generously, but also went to Siva Oasis to pay a visit to the temple of Amon. Out of gratitude, the Egyptian priest announced that he was the son of the sun god Amon and the legal heir of the Egyptian Pharaoh. In order to establish the rear base of the Eastern Expedition, he also established the first city named after himself-Alexandria and the port near the mouth of the Nile. At this point, the Sipos Empire and the Mediterranean Sea were under Alexander's control.

After the victories of the first few marches were slightly consolidated, Alexander began to invade Central Asia. In the spring of 33 1 BC, Alexander marched from Egypt into Mesopotamia with 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry. On June+10, 5438, a strategic decisive battle between Greece and Persia took place in Goga Milla near Nineveh. Ancient writers have different records about the number of Persian troops participating in the war (aliens said there were 40,000 cavalry, 6,543.38+0,000 infantry and 2 million chariots). But in any case, it far surpassed Alexander's army. Relying on its numerical superiority, Darius Iii first let the left wing return to the left front to attack and outflank Alexander's right wing. Then swing the right wing and storm the left wing of Alexandria. Although Alexander's army fought bravely, the front was broken. But after Darius broke through the front line, he immediately sent a considerable number of troops to the Alexander camp 7-8 miles behind the battlefield, rescued his mother, queen and princess, and looted property and food. Alexander captured the fighter plane, and while stabilizing the left and right fronts, he personally led the guards and heavy cavalry into the gap of the enemy's left wing, and took the China army where Darius was located from the side. This move was completely unexpected to Darius, who immediately panicked and turned around and fled. Alexander released Darius and led an army to attack the Persian army from left to right. The Persian army was defeated and dispersed again (see the Battle of Goga Milla). After Gauguin's World War I in Milla, the Persian army lost its elite, and Alexander moved eastward, occupying Babylon, Susa, Persepolis and the ancient capital of Medea and destroying the ancient Persian empire. Numerous treasures of gold and silver have been acquired, with gold and silver alone reaching as much as 1 0.5 million talant (1talant 30kg). Darius Iii fled to the northern province of his country and was killed by one of his governors.

In the summer of 330 BC, Alexander used several cavalry columns and light infantry columns riding horses to continue his expedition to the northern and eastern provinces of Persia along the south bank of the Caspian Sea, conquered Mittai, Hill Gagna and Parthia (rest in peace), invaded Daxia (Bactria), and declared himself the "great emperor" of Macedonia and Persia, and was the "legal" heir of the Achemenid dynasty. In order to consolidate the military and political foundation of the new dynasty, Alexander used Persian nobles in the army and administrative departments, recruited orientals to join the army, and promoted red tape in the army and court. Allow freedom of religious belief, practice oriental etiquette, and marry Roxana, the daughter of the maharaja of Bactria. These practices aroused the dissatisfaction of the Greek-Macedonians around Alexander, which led to the conflict between him and the generals. In 329 BC, Macedonian troops invaded Central Asia and reached the upper reaches of the Oxus River (Amu Darya) and the Yasalt River (Syr Darya). In Daxia and Sogdian (the whole Tajik territory of the Soviet Union and a part of Uzbekistan), we met with strong resistance from indigenous people of all ethnic groups headed by Sogdians. After more than two years of hard work, we made great sacrifices to suppress it. In order to suppress the uprising and defend the occupied areas, Alexandria built many fortified cities (Alexandria) with strong security forces. There are about 70 such cities.

In the spring of 327 BC, Alexander left Central Asia with his army (1.35 million) and went south to India. In the Jeddah River (a tributary of the Indus River) in Punjab province in western India, Macedonian troops made great efforts to crush the resistance of Indian emperor poros's army (see the Battle of Jeddah River). Alexander wanted to continue to attack the hinterland of India, but the soldiers refused to move on and asked to return home after years of fighting. In addition, the climate is not suitable, the disease strikes, and the expedition has become a spent force. In 326 BC, Alexander had to leave the garrison and was ordered to return to Lee. He decided to send some troops by sea in order to explore the route across the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. To this end, at the beginning of 325 BC, a fleet of 800 warships and transport ships was established on the Hidaspis River. Some troops sailed to the mouth of India by boat, and the rest retreated by land. The first column was led by Alexander and trained by Gedrosia, while the second column was commanded by Clattir and trained by Ala Hosia. This fleet is under the command of Nai Arge. It was very difficult for the army to March and the navy to sail, and it was not until the spring of 324 BC that they returned to Babylon in the two river basins. Due to hunger, heat and disease, the army cut three quarters of its personnel. Alexander designated Babylon as the capital of Macedonia, Asia Minor and Central Asia, a new emerging power in the ancient world, and was also preparing for a new expedition.

However, at the beginning of June 323 BC, Alexander suddenly suffered from malignant malaria and died in 13 at the age of 33.

Alexander conquered Wan Li in the east, the Balkans in the west and the Indus River in the east, and established a huge Macedonian empire. Its military talent and imperial area can only be compared with Genghis Khan and his Mongolian empire. Alexander adopted the oriental monarchy, making his subjects worship him like a god and ruthlessly suppressing opponents. Although Alexander took some measures to strengthen reunification before his death, his empire was quickly established in a short military conquest, and there was no solid economic foundation. After his death, the empire soon collapsed. After a long period of melee, his ministries successively established many independent countries with the characteristics of Greek civilization within the empire.