How did alexander the great manage to conquer so much territory in such a short period of time??
One reason is that his men had absolute faith in their leader and that he was a military strategist par exellence. Alexander was sufficiently smart and ego-controlled to avoid getting bogged down in unwinnable fights. He would skirt a stronghold he judged could not be taken – or not taken without seriously weakening the forces at his disposal. On the occasion Alexander went after a Persian army of around 250,000, it is thought he commanded a force of maybe only 15,000 – 30,000 men. Hopeless odds one would have thought. The incredible truth is that although his army was not committed to fight, it seems to have been more than willing to do battle secure in the belief of victory! Which event of course transpired. The Persian army was routed and the Persian royal family captured by Alexander. So it appears that the major reasons for Alexander’s rapid series of eastward conquests was the morale of his troops and his own outstanding abilities as a military strategist and tactician. Military
