Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire | Philip II and the Macedonian Way of War (Lecture 5)

Lecture 5: Philip, within a year of coming to the throne, began to evolve a new Macedonian way of war; and one of Philip’s great contributions was to create the army with which Alexander conquered the Persian Empire. King Philip II devised a distinct Macedonian way of war premised on a battle of encirclement and annihilation. In so doing, he forged an effective kingdom and forever influenced Western warfare. In his first battle against the Illyrians in 358 B.C., Philip commanded in the center the heavy infantry (composed of Greek mercenary hoplites) that pinned the foe, while fl anking attacks by the superb Macedonian cavalry converged and destroyed the foe. Philip created this strategy of “hammer and anvil,” and he was not, as often argued, inspired by the tactics of Epaminondas and the Boeotian phalanx. The Boeotians, just like other Greek armies, depended on the shock of a infantry attack to break a foe’s line rather than to encircle and destroy the foe.

Philip expanded his army by recruiting and drilling Macedonian peasants into territorial regiments under royal offi cers. Each infantry regiment of phalangites was trained to stand 16 deep, and to wield a sarissa, a pike of 18 to 21 feet in length. The cavalry, armed as lancers, fought in squadron. Subject peoples and allies were incorporated was specialized units such as Thessalian cavalry, Agrianian peltasts, and Thracian light cavalry. In creating a new army, Philip transformed Macedonian society. Proud nobles of Lower Macedon and kings of Orestis and Lyncestris were attracted to the court of Pella, and turned into royal generals. Aristocrats were rewarded with estates in return for service in the cavalry. Philip founded colonies, built roads, and encouraged trade whereby turning tough Macedonians peasants into veteran soldiers devoted to the Argead house. It was only at the Battle of Chaeronea, in 338 B.C., when the Greek world learned of the power of this Macedonian army.

Suggested Reading:
Anderson, Military Theory and Practice in the Age of Xenophon.
Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon.
Buckler and Beck, Central Greece and the Politics of Power in the Fourth Century B.C.
Ellis, Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism.
Engels, Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army.
Hammond and Griffi th, A History of Macedonia.
Hanson, The Western Way of War: Infantry Combat in Classical Greece.
———, Hoplites.
Marsden, Greek and Roman Artillery.

Lecture 7: https://www.bitchute.com/video/jWwGZmTWzkRe/