The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Engels uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. Careful analysis of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him. The chief merit of this splendid book is the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army--New York Review of Books.

"The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Neither scholarship nor semi-fictional biography will ever be the same again. . . .Engels at last uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. . . . Careful analyses of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a masterly fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him...The chief merit of this splendid book is perhaps the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army. . . . this is a book that will set the reader thinking. There are not many books on Alexander the Great that do."—New York Review of Books

"The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Neither scholarship nor semi-fictional biography will ever be the same again. . . .Engels at last uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. ... Careful analyses of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a masterly fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him ... The chief merit of this splendid book is perhaps the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army. ... this is a book that will set the reader thinking. There are not many books on Alexander the Great that do."--New York Review of Books.

The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Engels uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. Careful analysis of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him. The chief merit of this splendid book is the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army--New York Review of Books.

Alexander the Great is one of the most famous men in history, and many believe he was the greatest military genius of all time (Julius Caesar wept at the feet of his statue in envy of his achievements). Most of his thirteen year reign as king of Macedon was spent in hard campaigning which conquered half the known world, during which he was never defeated in open battle and never besieged a city he did not take. Yet, while biographies of Alexander abound, there are relatively few full-length books dedicated to the Macedonian army which made his dazzling conquests possible and which proved itself the most formidable machine of the age. Stephen English investigates every aspect of the Macedonian forces, analysing the recruitment, equipment, organisation, tactics, command and control of the fighting arms (including the famous pike phalanxes, elite Hypaspists and incomparable Companion cavalry). Some of Alexanders most famous battles and sieges are described in detail to show the army in action.

The Macedonian Empire lasted only 36 years, beginning with Philip II's assumption of the throne in 359 B.C. and ending with the death of his son Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. In that span, the two leaders changed the map in the known world. Philip established new tactics that forever ended the highly stylized mode that had characterized Classic Greek warfare, and Alexander's superb leadership made the army an unstoppable force. This work first examines the 11 great armies and three great navies of the era, along with their operations and logistics. The primary focus is then on each campaign and significant battle fought by Philip or Alexander, detailing how the battles were fought, the tactics of the opposing armies, and how the Macedonians were able to triumph.

Mars must be fed. His tools of war demand huge quantities of fodder, fuel, ammunition, and food. All these must be produced, transported, and distributed to contending forces in the field. No one can doubt the importance of feeding Mars in modern warfare, and it takes no great effort to recognize that it has always been a major aspect of large scal