The Battle of Granicus is a historical battle fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon against the Persian Empire in 334 BC. It is featured in Rome: Total War: Alexander as a historical battle. You take on the role of Alexander the Great as he attempts to follow out his late father's plan to invade the Persian Empire.
Description[]
Battle objectives
- Destroy or rout all enemies.
Having secured his position in Greece, Alexander turned his attention to the mighty Persian empire. Though the ships under his control were few in comparison to the Persian navy, the trip across the Hellespont which separated the two kingdoms was brief and passed without incident.
Once in Asia Minor, Alexander took the opportunity to make sacrifice at the city of Troy as part of his preparations to face a large Persian force which had arrived to challenge his invasion. This force was under the nominal command of a Greek mercenary general, Memnon of Rhodes, but the jealousies of a number of Persian regional satrap governors also present seemed to have diluted this authority. Nevertheless, this army deployed on the far bank of the River Granicus and awaited Alexander's arrival.
Units[]
Both armies are of a similar size, however the Macedonian army is comprised more of heavy spear infantry, while the Persians are comprised nearly half of cavalry. The Persian infantry are not as good as the Macedonian infantry, but they completely outnumber them in cavalry. Macedon also has far more missile infantry compared to the Persians.
Alexander the Great (Macedon)
Alexander's army is comprised by roughly the same amount of heavy infantry and missile infantry with minimal cavalry support. The army breakdown is as follows:
- Alexander x1
- Cretan Archers x1
- Prodromoi x1
- Thessalian Cavalry x1
- Phalangists x6
- Hypaspists x3
- Agrianian Javelinmen x2
Nearly half of the Persian army is cavalry of some kind, while the only infantry they have are formed of Greek mercenaries. They have few missile infantry units, but some of their cavalry is mobile missile cavalry units. However, most of this cavalry has a +3 (gold) buff to their damage, making them especially dangerous. The army breakdown is as follows:
- Mercenary General's Bodyguard x1
- Heavy Bactrian Cavalry x2
- Hyrcanian Cavalry x2
- Barcanian Horsemen x1
- Scythian Mounted Archers x2
- Greek Mercenary Infantry x6
- Persian Peltast x2
Gallery[]
