Alexander

             The army of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was the most powerful in the world as the Greeks knew it. Developments in warfare from the fifth to the fourth century BC that he inherited, adopted and introduced made his army successful. His father, Philip II had developed a powerful and well disciplined army as king of Macedon. When Philip died in 336 Alexander took charge of the army. Alexander's continued training of the powerful army and his tactical brilliance as a leader made his army the most powerful of the Greek World. His use of a flexible phalanx, of cavalry, and of lighter armour and a longer spear for his infantry caused Alexander and his army to reign supreme.
             Alexander's leadership instilled high morale in his troops and maintained a disciplined and well trained military. Philip and Alexander saw the military as their primary concern as king. They were constantly training their soldiers and improving the weaker areas of their army. For instance, when Philip was building his armed forces he already had a strong cavalry, so he worked on training his infantry and improving their equipment. After the efforts of Philip, Alexander inherited a disciplined and well trained army. He maintained a high morale by fighting alongside his soldiers. He rode in the front of the "Companion Cavalry", a unit that that was constantly in the fiercest fighting on the battlefield. Alexander did not command from behind his phalanx but led them from the front where he was always at a high risk of death. His men were inspired by this and therefore wanted to fight for him. Morale was critical for Alexander because most of the time he was outnumbered by his opponent. He would not have been successful in his battles if it had not been for his tactical brilliance. Examples of this are shown through out this paper.
             The high level of training that the Macedonians experienced allowed Alexander to implement his ambitious plans in ba...

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Alexander. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 20:00, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/28238.html