by Bob Barnetson

In May 2008, Osprey Publishing released Alexander the Great at War. Written by Ruth Sheppard, this 256-page, hard-backed book is an edited collection, drawing material from 19 earlier Osprey titles to present a full picture of Alexander, his origins, campaigns and death.

Initial Impressions
This is a weighty and rather pretty book, deviating from the starker approach Osprey has taken to hardback compilations of previously released material on WW2. The book is full colour throughout, with many pictures, maps, and illustrations drawn from earlier Ospreys. In comparison to the rather Spartan-looking extant sources (e.g., Loeb library) and the academic books I’ve read on Alexander in the past, this is a marked improvement.

Contents
The book is divided into 15 chapters, which can be grouped together into three sections:

• The first four chapters provide an outline of Greek and Persian relations in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE as well as the rise of Macedon to a position of power.
• The next three chapters chronicle Alexander’s rise to power and his invasion of Persia as well as some commentary on his army. Subsequently, five chapters detail the battles of Granicus and Issues, Alexander’s campaign against Phoenicia and Egypt, the battle of Gaugamela and the final fall of Persia.
• The book closes with three chapters that detail Alexander’s march to India and back and his death in Babylon.

The author does a nice job of interweaving tactical and strategic discussion into her narrative. This creates a much richer explanation of Alexander’s invasion of Persia than a straight narrative would.

The Rise of Macedon
In order to understand Alexander’s campaign against Persia, it is necessary to go back to the 5th century BCE during which time Persia and the various city-states of Greece were at war. Among the notable events familiar to wargamers are the Spartan stand at Thermopylae, and the naval action off Salamis. Peace allowed Persia to meddle in Greek affairs again following the Peloponnesian War. Sheppard does an admirable job of providing the necessary context to understand subsequent developments without dwelling on the details.

The second chapter in this section explains warfare for Greeks during the 5th and 4th century. Sheppard provides a quick but thorough introduction to hoplite warfare, training and mobilization, weaponry and tactics. She rather artfully introduces the economic pressures that shaped the battlefields, tactics and goals of warfare during this period. The introduction of auxiliary troops in the fourth century is also discussed (e.g., peltasts, cavalry). An oddity in this section is an illustration of the Battle of Coroncia. This illustration is odd both because it is from an atypical hoplite battle and everyone involved appears to be left-handed.

The third chapter in this section provides background on Persia. This chapter is particularly useful because while many readers will have some familiarity with ancient Greece from their school days, Persian politics and military doctrine are, well, rather foreign to most. The division of the empire into satrapies, the development of an elite class of military and political leaders, and their predilection for revolt plays a significant role in understanding Alexander’s invasion as well as the difficulties that would envelope his empire both during his reign and after his death.

Sheppard provides a detailed description of the “Persian” military, actually comprising a wildly varying collection of levied troops and mercenaries. Cavalry and the ultimately ineffective chariots receive significant treatment, although the majority of Persian troops would be foot soldiers, either native levies or Greek mercenaries. This section includes several uniform plates that would be useful in painting what ought to be a colourful army!

The final chapter in this section details the rise of Macedon under Alexander’s father, Phillip II. Macedon’s location between Persia and Greece and its internal divisions made it both difficult to rule and of minimal interest to either side of the Greco-Persian conflict. Phillip’s use of both military and diplomatic power resulted in a significant consolidation of Macedon and an increase in its ability to project its will into Greece. Sheppard outlines his military reforms, including alterations to traditional phalanx tactics through the adoption of a longer spear and light body armour and improved discipline. He also developed a significant cavalry force.

These changes allowed Phillip to expand Macedon’s power and quell revolt among barbarians in the north and Thracians in the east. He used a combination of campaigning and dynastic marriage to secure his western borders. From this marriage was born Alexander. Philip subsequently turned south, securing domination over Greece by the time Alexander was a teenager. Phillip then began planning an attack against Persia (including sending troops to liberate cities in Asia Minor) before his death in 336.

In its entirety, this section presents a reasonably thorough and informative explanation of the political and military situation of Greece and Persia at the point Alexander assumed the throne of Macedon. While some of this material may seem a bit tedious to gamers looking to throw some dice, it provides important context for the campaigning that followed and useful information about the development of tactics and composition of the armies.

Alexander’s Ascension and Invasion
The second section of this book begins with an examination of Alexander’s army as well as the mercenaries he employed. This includes discussion of various types of infantry and cavalry and the debates that exist about their exact weaponry and use. Like many Osprey’s this section contains numerous colour plates that can be useful in painting an army.

Sheppard then turns to Alexander’s invasion of Persia, including the Persian approach to contesting it. Alexander’s first major battle in Persia is Granicus and Sheppard explains both the Macedonian and Persian maneuvering prior to the battle. A lovely three-dimensional map of Granicus is presented on a single page, moving away from Osprey’s tendency to bury the interesting middle portion of a map in the binding of the book. A second map shows the development of the battle. Alexander’s siege of Halicarnassus is also addressed.

Sheppard also deals in detail with Alexander’s battle against Darius at Issus. A series of two-dimensional maps of increasing granularity is useful in understanding the development of the battle and Darius’ poor strategic choices. Subsequently, Alexander’s siege of Tyre and the naval strategy and siege-craft it entailed is explained. The naval battle at Tyre might be fun to game out using some of Hotz’s Roman Seas paper ships.

After securing the Mediterranean coast by conquering Egypt, Alexander turned eastward, bringing him into contact with Darius’ second army at Gaugamela. Two maps and a clear narrative explain how Alexander’s troops negated the impact of Darius’ chariots and elephants. Finally, Sheppard explains the capture of Persepolis and the changes he made to his army and commanders at this time.

India, Babylon and the Successors
The final section of the book examines Alexander’s march into the north-eastern part of the Persian Empire and the death of Darius. As Alexander entered India, Sheppard explains the types of troops he faced in battle, some fundamentally different from the Persian armies he had previously vanquished. There is also a multi-map explanation of Alexander’s flank march and river crossing at Hydaspes where he defeated Porus.

Alexander’s return to Babylon and death resulted in the fracturing of his empire and division among his generals. The book provides a short explanation of the struggles among the Successors (Ptolemy, Antigonus, Perdiccas, Seleucus). The Successors struggles are excellent fodder for gaming, allowing gamers to reconfigure their Macedonian and Persian armies. The book concludes with a short discussion of the extant sources.

Commentary
The campaigns of Alexander provide both a colourful and interesting series of battles and a good setting for fictional battles. The figures amassed for these games can then be used for gaming the Successors. The book provides a very useful introduction for gamers new to the genre or those looking to develop scenarios based on Alexander’s key battles.

Sheppard does an excellent job of explaining the armies involved, their deployment in each battle as well as the significance of each battle to the overall campaign. She also does a good job of explaining the strategic approach of Alexander and Darius. This aspect is often overlooked in other popular books on Alexander, and is useful in explaining the development of individual battles and Alexander’s overall success.

The production value of this book is high—higher I’d say than Osprey’s regular Campaign and Warrior series offerings. Bringing together the key information from each of the 19 other Ospreys on the topic is useful. In this way, this book is much more expansive than Osprey’s other recent compilations Hell in the Pacific: The Battle for Iwo Jima and Infantry Tactics of the Second World War. The maps are especially appreciated.

Conclusion
Alexander the Great at War is a solid effort and of significant use to gamers. The book is aimed at a general audience and there is little explicit consideration of the extant sources, excepting a short discussion at the end. Some gamers may well be interested enough in the history of Alexander to pick up Penguin or Loeb editions of Arrian, Curtius, Plutarch and Diodorus or Justin’s summary of Trogus. This approach requires, however, sorting through conflicting accounts and torturous prose. Consequently, most gamers will be better off (at least to start) with a secondary history.

Sheppard’s work nicely blends narrative history and military detail (strategy, tactics, equipment) that makes it suitable for gamer. There are actually few titles that are as immediately useful to a wargamer. Some notable one’s include Barker’s (1979) Alexander the Great’s Campaigns, Head’s (1982) Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars as well as the Warhammer Ancients Battles Alexander the Great Supplement (2003). The Warhammer supplement is readily available but the other two are not.

Pros:

• Crisp campaign narrative.
• Good explanation of armies, units, uniforms and weaponry.
• Battles well explained with clear maps.

Cons:

• None.