Composición del ejército de Alejandro y de los refuerzos que recibió

Tamaño del ejército de Alejandro al invadir Asia el año 334: 9.000 pezhetairoi, 3.000 hipaspistas, 2.000 Hetairoi.
El año 333 Alejandro recibió como refuerzos en dos tandas: 3.300 macedonios, 5.800
El año 331 Alejandro recibió 6.500 refuerzos. Según Arriano Alejandro recibió en verano 6.000 macedonios de infantería, 500 jinetes macedonios y  9.000 otros.
En total entre los años 334 a. C. y 324. a. C. Alejandro recibió 30.000 macedonios de refuerzo. (Diez años de refuerzo son 20 turnos en el juego).

En el 326 Mennón llegó con 5.000 o 6.000 jinetes tracios y 7.000 de infantería.
Los primeros asiáticos al servicio de Alejandro fueron lanzadores de jabalina a caballo reclutados en Media. Más tarde reclutó jinetes bactrianos, sogdianos y escitas en Hircania, Bactria y Sogdiana.

Ver Desperta Ferro
Refuerzos en India: 30.000 infantes y 6.000 jinetes que según una versión eran griegos aliados y tropas mercenarias.
Llegada refuerzos a India mandados por Harpalus desde Asia Menor: 5.000 jientes tracios y 7.000 de infantería.
30.000 epigonoi
Alejandro contrató entre 60.000 y 100.000 mercenarios.

Curtius in his description of the forces that Alexander left Macedonia with says that there were Thracians, Peloponnese and Macedonians making up the force crossing into Asia Minor.¹ Diodorus also lists the different nationalities that made up Alexadner’s army, “Odyrsians, Triballians, and Illyrians…Thessalians…six hundred from the rest of Greece…and nine hundred Thracian and Paeonian…”² Clearly Alexander’s army was not just Macedonians, but a slice of Hellenic culture.

1 QCR V39

2 Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, XVII 17.3.

25.OOO EN EL HELESPONTO? CON O SIN PARMENIÓN?

 

Diodorus provides a similar number of men in Alexander’s army as well: “making up a total of thirty-two thousand foot soldiers. Of cavalry…making a total of forty five hundred cavalry. These were the men who crossed with Alexander to Asia.”¹ In Diodorus’ account however is useful information that although not 100% trustworthy is worth of note. Diodorus relates that Aristobulus gave figures of 30,000-foot soldiers and 4000 cavalry, and Ptolemy gave 30,000-foot soldiers and five thousand cavalry. Both of these figures are right in line with the numbers the complete sources give us, but one further one bears note:

1 DS xvii 17.3. Note that Diodorus places numbers and nationalities with the cavalry and they add up to a total of 5,100 not 4,500 as he states. Most likely the final total Diodorus gives is wrong and the numbers corresponding with the troops is correct. 

 

Arrian related that Alexander had “not much more than 30,000 infantry, including light troops and archers, and over 5,000 cavalry.”¹ It is important to note that Arrian does reference some of the other primary sources, making it clear that he was aware of some of the other authors higher figures and chooses to make Alexander’s army smaller. The figure from Arrian is also probably more realistic as it is unlikely that Alexander could have left Macedon with many more foot soldiers and still left behind the substantial force of 12,000-foot soldiers with Antipeter.

1 Arrian, I 11.

 

Nevertheless, the main force in Alexander’s army was always his prized Macedonian troops, of which they’re numbered about 15,000.¹

1 Bosworth, 266

 

Arrian, as stated earlier, is the most reliable source from this ancient period and as such bears more creditability than any other source alone. Arrian tells us that at the battle of Gaugamela “The total strength of Alexander’s army was 7,000 cavalry and 40,000 foot.”¹ Although I have partially rejected Arrian’s total in the past, the total arrived at was similar. With this in mind accepting this figure makes sense because both old totals are very similar. How then did Alexander’s army grow by almost 15,000 men and cavalry in the span between his departure from Macedon and the battle of Gaugamela?

1 Arrian, III 13

 

We are told by Diodorus Siculus that Alexander received “five hundred Macedonian Cavalry and six thousand infantry, six hundred Thracian cavalry and three thousand five hundred Trallians and from the Peloponnese four thousand infantry and little less than a thousand cavalry.”¹ Adding these figures to the total arrived at before, the size of Alexander’s army as he marched out pursuing Darius from Babylon can be numbered at about 50,000 men comprising foot soldiers and cavalry; About 6000 cavalry and 44,000 foot soldiers. This number is of course very similar to the figure given by Arrian as Alexander marched into the battle of Gaugamela. Diodorus details the battle and is very clear to say that Alexander received his reinforcements following the great battle, so if the sources are talking about the same soldiers, there is a vast discrepancy.

1 DS, XVII 65

2 Arrian, III 1
 TROPAS DE ALEJANDRO AL LLEGAR A ASIA

“seven thousand allies…five thousand mercenaries…Odrysians, Triballians and Illyrians accompanied him…there were eighteen hundred Macedonians…eighteen hundred Thessalians…nine hundred Thracian and Paeonian…”¹ Diodorus tells us that when Alexander received reinforcements from Antipeter following Gaugemela, the reinforcements were from all over Greece and Macedonia.

1 DS, XVII 17.3

RECLUTAMIENTO DE EGIPCIOS, ASIÁTICOS, JINETES PERSAS Y TROPAS INDIAS

bATALLA DE ISSOS
 The size of the Hellenic army may not have exceeded 40,000 men, including their other allies, led by Alexander. Alexander's army may have consisted of about 22,000 phalangites and hoplites, 13,000 peltasts, and 5,850 cavalry

 El ejército de Alejandro consistía en 12 000 falangitas, 3000 hipaspistas, 7000 hoplitas. La caballería de Alejandro tenía 2100 hetairoi, 2100 tesalios, 600 prodromoi, 760 griegos y 300 peonios. Alejandro también contaba con hostigadores compuestos por 6000 tracios, 5000 griegos, 1000 ilirios y 1000 cretenses. 

 BATALLA DEL GRANICUS
32,000 infantry (12,000 Macedonians, 5,000 mercenaries, 7,000 Greeks, 7,000 Odrysians, Triballians and Illyrians, and 1,000 archers)
5,100 cavalry (1,800 Macedonians, 1,800 Thessalians, 600 other Greeks, and 900 Thracians and Paeonians)

bATALLA DE GAUGAMELA
 Alexander commanded Greek forces from his kingdom of Macedon and the Hellenic League, along with Greek mercenaries and levies from the Paeonian and Thracian tributary peoples. According to Arrian, the most reliable historian of Alexander (who is believed to be relying on the work of the eyewitness Ptolemy), his forces numbered 7,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. Most historians agree that the Macedonian army consisted of 31,000 heavy infantry, including mercenaries and hoplite from other allied Greek states in reserve, with an additional 9,000 light infantry consisting mainly of peltasts with some archers. The size of the Greek mounted arm was about 7,000.^[1]
Macedonios: El ejército sumaba 7.000 jinetes y 40.000 infantes. La caballería pesada de élite de Alejandro eran los Hetairoi (Compañeros) y estaba formada por la nobleza macedonia, que acompañaba a Alejandro en esta batalla y fueron el factor decisivo en la batalla. El resto de la caballería se dividía en jinetes tesalios (pesados), caballería tracia (ligera) y algunos jinetes griegos. La infantería de Alejandro se dividía en pesada, la falange y los hipaspistas (cuerpo especializado que cubría los huecos de la poco flexible falange) y la infantería ligera, tracios, agrianos (estos últimos lanzadores de jabalinas que destrozaron a los carros en esta batalla) y hoplitas griegos que intervinieron para cubrir la retaguardia de la falange.