Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
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Ancient Era
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7 comments
| Darius III versus Alexander the Great: A Persian army under Darius fails to intimidate a Macedonian army under Alexander. Will Darius’ massive cavalry force overcome Alexander’s flanks before he can overcome Darius’ center? Also known as the Battle of Arbela. Click on the image below to view.
This is considered Alexander’s masterpiece and with great reason. It is even more impressive that by winning this masterpiece, Alexander crushed a long-standing empire.
Alexander was forced to achieve two separate, very diverse goals in this battle: hold the Persian wings in check and crush the Persian center. He held the two Persian cavalry envelopments in check with rudimentary combined arms defence including cavalry, light infantry and the phalanx of course. Alexander was then able to crush the Persian center by concentrating a strong portion of his phalanx and the elite Companions at Darius’ center of gravity: himself.
 This is a battle I always intended to animate since I began this project (it was originally termed a PowerPoint Battle Database). Looking back, I am glad I did not try and animate this battle in the early developmental stages because it is too epic of a battle in all aspects to be animated shoddily. To say the least, I was very satisfied with the end product for this battle.
While editing this animation I came across a major “plot hole” if you will in the animation sequence. The two enveloping wings of Persian cavalry appeared to severely outnumber the Macedonian wings which is fairly deceiving. In this case, I simply decreased the size of all cavalry units and increased the size of all infantry units. The reason for this original inaccuracy is the simple fact that two units, one cavalry and one infantry, are not equal in terms of quantity of soldiers. Instead each unit reflects the space it occupies; cavalry are obviously more spaced out than infantry but even this varies from era to era. I continually urge viewers to remember that this is the Art of Battle. The image is the most powerful entity in modern society – this is why this method of presentation is so effective – so accept the image that is given. - Jonathan Webb Tell a Friend:
            Tags: alexander, Ancient Era, arbela, attack from a defensive position, attack in oblique order, cavalry, chariot, darius, envelopment of both flanks, gaugamela, great, infantry, macedonia, macedonian, penetration of the center, persia, persian
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7 Comments to “Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC”
I love you
By Desiax on May 19, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Alexander is the ultimate generalissimo. Very good tactics employed in opposition to a larger force. I wonder if Caesar, Napolean or Hannibal would have been successful.
By brenda von bargen on May 20, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Look at Hannibals Victory at Cannae(216 BC) during the Second Punic Wars and you will understand that it was and remains one of the Masterpieces of Military Tactics ever wrought by a General and it is one of the most important Battles in history.
The Double Envelopement Tactic used by Hannibal is considered a masterpiece and the cannae model is still taught at military schools across the world.
By Devvrat on Oct 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm
very nice! thanks for all of your diagrams. they’re very entertaining and educational. i once tried an animation of gaugamela. you can find it at 1:38:35 here: http://video.google.com/videoplaydocid=7343618077473282887#
thanks again!
By david on Dec 5, 2009 at 9:50 pm
This is simply awesome. Thank you for what must have been a true labor, even if a labor of love. The craft can be taught, but you have captured the art of the thing.
ps: reply to a previous post. the problem with cannae as a battle and as a work of shear genius, which it most certainly was, is that in the end it signified absolutely nothing. Eighty thousand Romans were dead and all Hannibal could do was walk around Italy. Even a great victory is not enough to make up for a flawed strategy.
By john harrison on Dec 8, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Please animate the Battle of Isos…You just can’t have Gaugamela without the first battle between Darius and Alexander. Isos is an example of great tractic used against a superior oponnent and…it’s a pretty famous battle, so there’s a lot of reasons to animate it. Sorry for spelling mistakes…English is not my native language…
By mike on Dec 12, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Thank you everyone for the compliments! It’s these epic battles which make this website so fulfilling.
Mike: Issus is certainly an interesting battlIe but there are so many battles I wish to animate that it is on the long list right now as opposed to the short list which are battles planned for next season or two. I wouldn’t have noticed English wasn’t your native language.
By Jonathan Webb on Feb 15, 2010 at 6:13 pm