Anniversaries of Battles

I just took a hop over to England to read a bit of Pothos tonight and learned that October 1 is supposed to be an anniversary date for the Battle of Gaugemela.

The battle of Gaugemela is the third battle between King Darius and Alexander where Alexander slept in late so that Parmenio had to wake him up.

This is the battle where King Darius used chariots with scythes in the wheels to cut down the horses and soldiers who would come in contact with them. It is a gruesome sight as written by some ancient authors.

A previous battle was the Battle of Granicus, the first battle where Alexander had engaged King Darius in battle. This one I had recalled in memory as well as Issus. I do not recall anything about Gaugemela but Alexander's helmet which I saw closeup and personal. It was specially made for him and I did see that image in a memory session. I know that it was covered with reliefs pertaining to previous times, and that it shone like a mirror since it was so highly polished. That would blind anyone attempting to look at Alexander. It was used defensively.

Being the general that uses caution in all his methods, Alexander had already scouted this area well. He knew about the chariots with the scythes and had prepared his army to deal with it.

A previous battle with King Darius had been at Granicus. It was at that battle that Alexander had had his helmet sheared, and where Kleitos saved his life by cutting off the arm of the soldier who was bearing down to kill Alexander. At this point in a story by Homer, one of the Greek gods assisted Alexander and Kleitos by placing Kleitos (his bodyguard) at his rear. Alexander did attribute his success story to the gods and goddeses to whom he made sacrifices. It is probably due to the shearing of the helmet at Granicus that a specially made helmet is prepared for this battle at Gaugemela. It was topped with pretty white plumes that waved in the air.


But the importance of Granicus to me is the horse's hooves. Alexander and his troops had to cross a portion of a river, and I recall vividly that the horses's hooves are crucial in winning battles. A horse dare not step on stones in the riverbed that would cripple him.

I do not know how many blacksmiths that Alexander carried in his army, but it is a fair bet that there were many who were responsible for the wellbeing and care of the horses.

At any rate, the time of the actual battle of Gaugemela is in dispute. Calendars are not very reliable in terms of the number of times there have been calendar changes.

Since preparedness for battle is the important thing, it is interesting to conjecture at how many drills were experienced before the actual battle itself. Teamwork of this kind can only be successful with co-ordination that had to be practiced.

Imagine the excitement of the night before the battle. While Alexander prepares himself, with sacrifices and devotions, has his armament laid out, ready for him to put on the next day, the military had to have had enormous sense of anticipation and wonder at what the next day would be like. Amazing to think that Alexander is so relaxed and confident that he overslept and made Parmenio nervous for him.

Just another day's work...