what made Alexander such an outstanding general?

Question

Give examples from his military campaigns PLEASE

Answer 1

[1] Alexander was schooled in war from childhood. By the age of 18, he was already the battlefield commander of the Macedonian cavalry. He knew his trade as a soldier, and he thrived on it.

[2] His personality was perfect for the wars of conquest that he waged. Alexander was noted for his endurance, his ambition, his boldness and his extraordinary physical courage. In all of his major battles, once he had deployed his army and given his instructions to his subordinates, he waited at the head of his Companion heavy cavalry for the right moment to charge. Then he, in person, led the charge that always drove into the enemy’s flank and caused them to panic.

[3] Alexander had a “general’s eye” for ground. It took him only a few minutes of observation to size up a battlefield and the enemy’s deployment, and to decide exactly how to maneuver his own troops into position. Then he attacked without hesitation, as at Granicus in 334 BC. The speed of the Macedonian attack surprised his enemy, because in Alexander’s era most armies maneuvered for hours, even days, before going into battle.

[4] He was shrewd too. At Issus in 331 BC, he concluded that the poorly armored javelin men of the Persian center would be incapable of withstanding his cavalry charge.

[5] Alexander used surprise to disorient his enemies. In his battle against the Indian king Porus in 326 BC, Alexander had to cross the Hydaspes River to reach the enemy. He built a fleet of rafts over a period of weeks, keeping it hidden behind a forest and an island in a bend of the river. When the rafts were ready, Alexander crossed the Hydaspes at night with a force of 11,000 men and achieved complete surprise.

[6] He also used deception to advantage. At 327 BC at the rock of Sogdiana (in today's Uzbekistan), Alexander tricked the enemy into surrendering a virtually impregnable fortress 19,800 feet high and almost 19 miles in circumference at its summit. By sending several hundred climbers up the steep face of the rock, he terrified the defenders into believing that he was upon them, and so they surrendered.

Answer 2

He thought outside the box as well as being a rare combination of outstanding strategist AND tactician.

Answer 3

Successful risk taking.

Answer 4

He was a small in height!

Answer 5

I thought he was a myth.