Alexander The Great

In 331 B.C 1 Alexander defeated the Persian king at the battle of Gaugamela. Discuss the preparations made by Darius and Alexander before the battle, the tactics used by each commander and the reasons for Alexander’s success. What were the immediate outcomes for Alexander?
The Battle of Gaugemela was ultimately one of the turning events in Alexander the Great’s short but tumultuous life. His decisive victory did not just come down to pure luck, however; both Alexander and his Persian opponent Darius had painstakingly made preparations in order to ensure that his numerical superiority could be used to its full advantage. The tactics of Alexander must also be taken into consideration when pondering on his victory. Perhaps the most important immediate outcome for Alexander was that he finally got to fulfil both his and his father’s desire to occupy the Persian Empire, as he moved into Babylon.
Although the precise location of Gaugemela is not certain, Darius began the preparations firstly with the choosing of the location for the battle; he picked a flat plain, where he could ultimately use his forces to the best of their abilities, at the base of a hill. He then continued to level out the plain so it was now flat, in preparation for his scythed chariots, whose advantage would be that they could cut the opposing forces in half with their blades or at least make holes in the opposing forces. Perhaps Darius’ biggest mistake in preparing for the battle was keeping his men awake and alert the night before the battle. He had heard of Alexander’s tendency to attack upon surprise, and was wary for letting his guard down or his forces rest. Arrian tells us that this was the main reason for Darius’ loss, and with this point we can do no more than concur wholeheartedly.
Alexander was perhaps a little more intelligent when preparing for the battle. He interrogated prisoners of