The military tactics of Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC) of Macedon have been widely regarded as the core of his continuous success in battle throughout his campaigns. The Macedonian army that Alexander inherited had been created by his father, Philip II of Macedon. Additionally, Alexander employed and further refined the tactics his father had developed. At the battles of Granicius (334 BC) and Issus (333 BC), Alexander relied on the so-called 'hammer and anvil' tactic. At the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), he had to employ an innovative combat formation. Alexander arranged his units in a hollow square or box formation, to prevent the Persians, who were very strong in cavalry, from outflanking him and attacking his flanks and rear. However, the battle was still decided by the frontal attack of the phalanx (anvil) and the decisive charge of the Companion cavalry (hammer). Gaugamela was also an example of the refused flank tactic, regularly employed by the Macedonian heavy infantry when attacking.
Troop composition and weapons
Infantry The origin of Macedonian infantry conforming to the hoplite panoply and tactics of the Greek city states can be traced back to the reign of Archelaus.
...when Archelaus was king ... he organized his forces for war with a greater number of horses, weapons and resources than the other eight kings who had preceded him combined. Before him, the only heavy infantry available to the Kingdom of Macedonia was supplied by the allied Greek cities.
Foot companions (phalangites) However, the true creator of a distinctively Macedonian infantry was Philip II, considered the inventor of the Macedonian phalanx: a particularly effective heavy infantry formation. The individual phalangite was equipped with slightly lighter defensive equipment than the traditional Greek hoplite. The shield was smaller, less dished and was rimless, Heavy cuirasses were replaced by a lighter armour, called the kotthybos. The doru (δόρυ) spear of the hoplite was replaced by the much longer sarissa, a type of pike (5.5 m or 18 ft), that required both hands to wield it, hence the larger, rimmed, hoplite shield (Argive shield) could not be employed.
The length of the sarissa allowed an increase the number of files of infantrymen that could be actively engaged in combat, as the spearpoints of a number of ranks (at least five) projected beyond the men of the front rank in the formation. The sarissa consisted of a shaft tapered towards the spearpoint to aid balance and allow it to be held closer to its base. It was heavy (5.6 kg or 12 lb) hence being a double-handed weapon. It also had a fluted metal counterweight at the butt end, called the sauroter, which also improved its balance. The sarissa was particularly effective in breaking cavalry charges or in halting enemy phalanxes. But the Macedonian phalanx was also fearsome in offensive use. The principle was to create a steady momentum, employing a controlled, close-order advance, so that the impact of the massed pikes would be as devastating as possible. To this end, the Macedonian phalangites fought in a deep formation of 16 files, so tightly packed that they maintained maximum cohesion. The relative lightness of their defensive equipment allowed the heavy sarissa to be used without excessive fatigue. The effectiveness of the Macedonian phalanx was reliant on the highest levels of training in weapon use, cohesion, manoeuvring as a body and the smooth transition between the 'open order', used in manoeuvring, and the 'closed order' used in combat. To provide a measure of protection from missiles, the sarissas were raised to the vertical during an advance—they formed a hedge-like barrier — they were lowered by the front ranks to the horizontal fighting position at the last moment. Outside the tight formation of the phalanx, the sarissa was unwieldy during marches and, therefore, it was divided into two parts that were united by an iron sleeve before combat. It should be stressed that the archaeological discoveries show that the phalangites also used the traditional Greek hoplite spear, which was much shorter than the sarissa. The sources also indicate that the phalangites were on occasion armed with javelins. The sarissa would have been useless in siege warfare and other combat situations requiring a less cumbersome weapon.
Hypaspists The Hypaspists (hypaspistai) were the elite arm of the Macedonian infantry. The word 'hypaspists' translates into English as 'shield-bearers'. During a pitched battle, such as Gaugamela, they acted as guard for the right flank of the phalanx and as a flexible link between the phalanx and the Companion cavalry. They were used for a variety of irregular missions by Alexander, often in conjunction with the Agrianians (elite skirmishers), the Companions and select units of phalangites. They were prominent in accounts of Alexander's siege assaults in close proximity to Alexander himself. The hypaspists were Macedonians and their senior chiliarchy (χιλιαρχία) formed the agema foot bodyguard of Alexander III. The organisation of the hypaspist regiment seems to have been into units of 500 (pentakosiarchies) before 331 and later, by 327, it was divided into three battalions (chiliarchies) of 1,000 men, which were then further sub-divided in a manner similar to the Foot Companions. Each battalion would be commanded by a chiliarch, with the regiment as a whole under the command of an archihypaspist. In terms of weaponry, they were probably equipped in the style of a traditional Greek hoplite with a thrusting spear or doru (shorter and less unwieldy than the sarissa) and the typical large round hoplite (Argive) shield.
Cavalry
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