Product Description

For almost two centuries the Macedonian phalanx, created by Philip II and refined by his son, Alexander the Great, dominated the battlefields of the ancient world from the sweltering riverbanks of India to the wooded hills of Italy. As the preferred weapon of some of antiquity's greatest commanders, this powerful military system took centre stage in many of the largest and most decisive conflicts of ancient times. Joseph Pietrykowski explores the struggles that shook the ancient world and shaped history. From the structure and composition of the opposing armies, to the strategy of their campaigns, to the leadership decisions and tactics that decided the engagements, Great Battles of the Hellenistic World examines seventeen landmark conflicts from Chaironeia to Pydna over the course of 170 years of bloody warfare.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60084 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

An excellent "Wargamers Guide"
This is an excellent introduction to the battles of the Hellenistic world for wargamers and younger readers. There are numerous maps provided for each battle, showing the various phases in great detail. But, there is no overall map of the Hellenistic world, to show you the vast area these battles were spread over, and their relationship to each other.

The author divided the battles into the following sections: Philip and Alexander - 5 battles; Successors - 4 battles; Pyrrhos of Epeiros - 3 battles; Later Battles - 2; The Roman Conquest - 3 battles and a Conclusion.

Each battle is usually divided into the following sections: the Campaign, the Battlefield, Armies and Leaders, the Battle, Aftermath.
The battle descriptions are quite colourful and exciting; the author must have studied the original sources quite dilligently to have been able to conjue up such detail. Here are some examples:

Issos - "Moving warily across the narrow coastal plain towards the distant Pinaros River, Alexander breathed a sigh of relief as the mountains on his right finally began to recede and the plain gradually widened"
"Elated at the shift from the monotony of marching and manoeuvre to the thrill of closing with the enemy, Alexander's men advanced no more than a few hundred paces when a terrible whistling hiss filled the air. Though the veterans among them instinctively shrunk into the shadow of the man to their front, some of the puzzled recruits raised their eyes to the sky searching for the source of the strange sound. Seconds later thousands of arrows rained down into their ranks with brutal force. Hunching against the deadly barrage as one braces against a cold rain, the men of the phalanx redressed their formation and continued the advance, sidestepping the dead and injured. Across the river the Persian archers reloaded and again let fly, pouring great, black clouds of missiles into the Macedonian lines. With the screams of their wounded comrades now filling the air, Alexander's men pressed ahead, determined to make the enemy pay for their cowardly way of fighting." You can imagine what happens next!

Gaugamela: "As he watched the enemy prepare for battle with growing alarm, Alexander decided agains all reason and instinct to press forward. His men must have thought that the young king had finally gone mad as the order passed through the ranks to prepare to advance towards the great Persian mass. Only Alexander knew better."
"On the Macedonian left, meanwhile, Parmenion eyed the the shimmering Persian line anxiously, watching for any sign that thousands of of poweful heavy cavalry positioned opposite him meant to attack his dangerously-weak formation... A blast of horns and a frenzied roar from across the field, however, snapped Parmenion from his reverie. When he again turned forward the spectacle that confronted him was terrifying beyond reason." However, we all know what happens next.

One quibble I do have, however, is the author's constant description in the later battles, of elephant charges as "thunderous" and "ground-shaking". As anyone who has ridden on an elephant, or even watched documentaries on television, knows, elephants have notorioulsy quiet footfalls, due to their spongy feet, and are actually able to sneak up on people. They don't thunder or cause the ground to tremble, unlike horses. Now, a cavalry charge would certainly make the ground shake.

The other mildy anoying point is the author's use of "strict transliteration of Greek names" (his description), and then uses the English forms of Philip, Alexander, Greece and Sparta, for example.
Anyway, minor quibbles aside, this is a great book for wargamers. If, however, you want something less colourful and more "historical", then I would recommend "The Wars of Alexander's Successors", by Bob Bennet and Mike Roberts, from the same publisher.The Wars of Alexander's Successors 323 - 281 BC: Commanders and Campaigns v. 1 However, if you can afford both, then by all means buy this one as well.

Fantastic Wargamers Fodder!
I would not be surprised if the author is not a frustrated wargamer of the period. The use of separate maps for the various phases of each battle allows the reader to follow quite closely the course of the action. Not a dry read by any means, the author often writes in a novelistic style taking sometimes conflicting primary source material and weaving it with a plausable and paced narrative that maintains interest. Not 100% historical because of this but no less worthy, this is a highly recommended read particularly for wargamers who want a bit more flesh to the bone.