Alexander's most difficult battle.

[coronzon]

Listen.
First, I want to apologize to you. I just felt that you may have been trying to accuse me of being lazy to begin with. Your point was very valid and I was too hasty in my response. After reading your post again (after I'd made the mistake of posting so ignorantly)I suppose I should learn to take criticism as well as I take compliments. This post is sincere,
Brandon

[dean]

Hello,Yes I suppose that all his battles were difficult. Hidaspes springs to mind- the first time a Greek army had confronted army elephants and the monsoon rains etc. must have been a terrible battle.Also in the Ganges when his men decided to turn back and would go no further. I think that he would have felt that he had lost that battle to get his men to take a step further.Best regards,
Dean.

[S]

Greetings Andrew,Excellent post and approach. I agree that each battle (both internal and external) brings unique issues and problems that must be examined and overcome, with a potential for disaster in even the "easiest" fight should error come into play (or luck run out).PS- attempting the pictures today, let me know via email if they make it!Regards,
Sikander

[alexanders desciple]

Beuacephalus All die respect, I have read your posts and felt your comments valid, However I have to take issue with the points you made to Brandon. He made just a point for discusion and you had to more or less ask him to explain himself.As a result he came back and at least had the desency to apologise,where as I would not.There seemd to be developing a snctamonious attitude from certain quarters of the Pothos Forum where a member thinks its clever to refer to text to stand by statements they make.It seems very Arrian Curtius orientated,however for real thinking a person takes these as the beggining and finds Alexander for themselves, to think independently is a good thing.I stand by Brandon and didnt need to be shot down in this way,we all have opinions and ideas and no one deserves to be derided because they have not read as much text as some of the high minded members of Pothos.
regards Follower of the King

[Nicator]

Hello,This truly is a thought provoking a question. Do a pothos search for "The Longest Hour", and you will find a similar line of questioning with similar responses to your question. At the time of the posting, I believed Guagamela to be indicative of Alexander's toughest battle, and his longest hour...but, Hydaspes would have to take precedence for these reasons:First and foremost, Alexander and his rain weary troops had to march (12 miles if memory serves) all night long up the river, cross it, do battle upon crossing with Chariots, then march back down river to confront the 200 waiting war elephants and an army fresh and well rested. Fatigue was already a factor before getting to Porus, let alone breaking his defensive line. As a secondary point, Porus didn't run, and a king that stands his ground fosters bravery and perserverance in his troops. They will fight to the last man to protect him...Alexander flushed Darius out of the pocket early on in Guagamela, and his armies disintegrated shortly thereafter. Make no mistake, Guagamela was incredible in its scope and execution...but it was fighting against Alexander's strength...and that was pitched battle. Hydaspes was pitched battle, but of a different nature altogether. Porus' elephants changed warfare forever...just a few thoughts.later Nicator

[beausefaless]

A congratulations is in order your ambush was extraordinary I felt like Alexander when he rode into a boxed canyon and barely made it out with his life, watch out folks there's a new sheriff in town, nicely done!

[beausefaless]

I disagree with your analysis and welcome the line forms from all sides, enjoy!

[coronzon]

I do not claim to be an authority on this topic(Alexander). I don't claim to be a leading authority about Alexander. I can say that his life is interesting and that I should respect peoples opinions on questions I ask about the subject.
New sheriff indeed.

[ruthaki]

Yes, I would have to agree: Hydaspes. Because of the climate, the terrrain, the attitude of the men, the formidable force of elephants that Porus had which the Macedonians were not that familiar with.
I answered hastily the first time, the first post. And I've read with interest the ones following. I have to make a note though, that there seems to be a couple of people here on this very fine forum who like to call you 'lazy' when you ask a question about things that perhaps you haven't had an opportunity to research fully or that you have not been able to find in research notes. I've been on this forum now for a couple of years. I rarely have asked questions (in regards to details needed for my novel) but the last times I did, although for the most part, I had very helpful and positive answers I was also, as was the originator of this post, called 'lazy'. Lighten up folks. If we ask questions it's because we have been unable to find the answer and seek to find it from the knowlegable people who contribute to this forum. Isn't that what this forum is all about? To find out things we don't know about Alexander and his times? If we can't ask questions without being put down for it, then what's the use of being here?

[Nicator]

Hello Ruthaki,Agreed, and would add, that I typically ask questions to gather different points of view on a particular subject. It is a unique opportunity we have on the forum that previous generations of authors have not been privy to. I'm picuring Peter Green writing his Alexander book in isolation (4 months in 1970? spent alone in Greece...buried in the histories, from his own preface). Though, there have been times that I have been forced to ask the members questions when time just didn't permit a proper analysis otherwise. Lately, certain members have been very antagonistic towards other members and particularly newcomers. This makes the forum look a bit like yahoo on occasion...and that's not what we're all about. I remember when I first started posting here, and was either altogether ignored, or (in some rare cases) slammed for my ignorance. Not very pleasant either way. From that perspective, there may be sort of a "primary school" seive which newcomers are forced to endure before being accepted. later Nicator