Page 24 - All About History - Issue 09-14

Democracy

01 BATTLE LINES DRAWN
Greece

TROOPS 10,000 The last battle of the first Persian invasion of
Greece began with the two armies closing to a
CAVALRY UNKNOWN distance of 1,500 metres (4,900 feet), the Greek

LOSSES 203 forces arranged in a defensive formation pinning
the Persian army against the coast. If the Persians
managed to get around, then Athens and all of
Greece was theirs for the taking.

02 Stacking the fl anks 03 “At them!”
The Greek army consisted primarily of Despite outnumbering the Greek soldiers
hoplites who, while well-trained and two to one, Persian force seemed hesitant,
refusing to initiate battle, probably as they
LEADER equipped, were vulnerable to cavalry, whose had little experience in fighting Greek
agility and speed led to them being easily
MILTIADES outflanked in the open, so Miltiades stacked hoplites up close. Miltiades took advantage
of this and with one simple order: “At
his forces’ flanks. Persian cavalry was some
A renowned Olympic chariot racer. His of the best in the world, with their horses them”, he unleashed a massive
aggressive tactics at Marathon won the world-renowned for their speed. It must Greek charge. According
battle, but his temperament and high have been a surprise for the Greeks to see to Herodotus, the Greek
opinion of himself would lead to his that the invading Persian force at Marathon troops charged at the
downfall, with political rivals in Athens had almost no cavalry, instead mostly made Persians while shouting
charging him with treason. He died up from archers and Persian Immortals, the their famous war cry:
in prison. supposedly indestructible elite fighters. “Eleleu! Eleleu!”
Strength: Tactical leader with great
war experience.
Weakness: High self-esteem could A rain of arrows
lead to rashness on the field. 04 unleashed
KEY UNIT Upon the instigation of the charge Datis
ATHENIAN HOPLITE immediately ordered his archers to fire upon
Citizen soldiers renowned the advancing horde, who appeared to be
for their professionalism, on a suicide mission. Upon his order, a huge
Greek hoplites fought barrage of missiles were unleashed that
with spear and shield. rained down upon the advancing Greeks.
Their primary battle
tactic was facing the However, due to the speed at which the
enemy in formations Greeks were advancing, the inability of the
such as the phalanx. Persians to retreat backwards to gain a
Strength: Well-trained better firing position and the sturdy armour
and equipped; excelled in
close-quarter combat. and shields carried by their enemy, the
Weakness: Few in casualties were few.
numbers compared to
enemy forces. 05 Brutal fi rst impact
The impact of the Greek charge was
devastating. The Athenian hoplites had 09
honed their battle prowess against other
Greeks who fought in phalanxes, with
large shields and bronze armour. However,
the Persians – especially their archers –
merely wore cloth and quilted jerkins and
when Miltiades and his men connected,
there was nothing but the sound of metal
crashing into flesh and bone. The Persians
troops were completely unprepared for
SECONDARY UNIT such an assault and the initial shock left
their battle line in tatters.
SLAVE
Convicts were often offered military 06 A bronze wave 07 PERSIAN WINGS ROUTED
service as a way to escape prison, The bronze wave of Athenian
with many taking up the offer and breastplates pushed forwards. Datis, With Datis’ best fighters now holding up the remains of
joining the hoplites. However, they seeing that his centre was now
usually died before achieving this. badly punctured, redistributed his the Persian centre, their wings were poorly protected.
Strength: Driven by freedom, best fighters, the feared Persian
granted by successful military service. Immortals, to shore it up. For a little Miltiades, who had stocked his wings in defence of the
Weakness: Ill-disciplined; equipped while, this tactic succeeded, checking
with basic weaponry. Miltiades in his continuous advance Athenians being out-flanked, took advantage.
toward the moored Persian fleet.

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