Marathon 21 September 490 b'c'

1
Marathon21 September 490 b.c.

• Part 2 The Battle

2
The Battle

• The nature of the Athenian military system was
  that each of the ten tribes of the city-state had
  a commander leading its forces, with a pole-march
  in overall command.

3

• As the Persians approached, the serving
  pole-march was Callimachus among the tribal
  commanders was Miltiades.

4

• When the Persian fleet sailed across the Aegean
  and attacked the city-state of Eritria, the
  Athenians correctly surmised the Persian strategy.

5

• Datis, commander of the Persian fleet, hoped to
  draw the Athenian military out of the city to
  march to the aid of Eritria this would give the
  Persians the opportunity to either destroy the
  Greek army in the open or bypass it and sail
  directly for Athens, attacking the city while the
  army was away.

6

• The Athenians sent for Spartan assistance on 9
  September 490, but were disappointed to learn it
  would be delayed because of religious reasons a
  festival had to be observed and the army could
  not march until the full moon, on the night of
  2021 September. Thus, Athens was on its own for
  a while.

7

• The size of the Persian force is unknown, but
  probably was approximately 25,000 infantry and
  1,000 cavalry.

8

• Datis placed some of these forces under
  Artaphernes and sailed with the remainder to the
  Bay of Marathon, about 25 miles from Athens.

9

• Datis landed his troops, probably about 12,000
  to 15,000 strong, on the Plain of Marathon.

10

• The Athenians arrived with about 10,000 men and
  occupied the high ground on the west side of the
  plain.

11

• They were soon reinforced by 1,000 troops from
  Plataea, a city-state long allied to Athens.

12

• For 8 days, the two armies faced each other the
  Greeks unwilling to abandon the safety of their
  position and the Persians unwilling to attack it.
• Within the command council, the Athenians argued
  the merits of action or inaction.

13

• On the ninth day, word arrived that Eritria had
  fallen, meaning that Persian reinforcements would
  not be long in coming.

14

• Half the commanders were in favor of waiting for
  the Spartans to arrive, they being the best
  troops Greece had to offer.
• Miltiades, however, argued against waiting.

15

• Knowing that a faction within Athens favored
  peace at any price (which meant giving the
  Persians everything and accepting Hippias back as
  tyrant), he argued that the sooner action was
  taken and victory achieved, the less likely they
  would be stabbed in the back politically.
• The deciding vote fell to Callimachus, who
  agreed with Miltiades.

16

• On 21 September (probably), Miltiades formed up
  the Athenian army.
• The Plain of Marathon was flanked by marshes and
  bisected by a stream, the Charadra.

17

• The Persian cavalry, for which the Greeks had no
  corresponding forces of their own, were not
  present, having been taken to the northern marsh
  to water.

18

• With the cavalry being more than a mile away and
  on the other side of the fast-flowing Charadra,
  the Greeks hoped to force a decisive action
  quickly on the southern half of the plain.

19

• The Greek forces were stretched over a front
  almost a mile wide, as was the Persian infantry.
• Miltiades thinned the center ranks to extend the
  front and strengthen the flanks.

20

• The standard Greek military formation, the
  phalanx, was made up of spearmen in a unit
  usually eight ranks deep.

21

• On this day, the center was but four ranks deep,
  with the flanks being eight (some sources say
  twelve) ranks deep.

22

• As the two forces were relatively equal in
  number, the Greeks depended on the speed of their
  attack to neutralize the most effective part of
  the Persian army, its archers.

23

• As the Greek line descended from its high ground
  and approached the Persian line parallel and
  backed up against the ocean, they approached
  steadily at first.

24
Miltiades deploys his army in a long, thin line
across the valley to prevent the Persian cavalry
from rounding his flanks. Datis extends his line
accordingly to prevent encirclement. Miltiades
places more weight on his wings at the expense of
his centre while Datis distributes his troops
evenly but places his elite troops, the
Immortals, at his centre.
The Athenians sprint towards the Persians, the
wings edging ahead of the centre, in order to
negate the Persian advantage of having missile
throwers. The Persian missile throwers
underestimate the fitness of the hoplites and the
speed of their advance most of their missiles
land harmlessly behind the Athenians.
Not surprisingly, the greater weight of
Miltiades wings push back those of the lightly
armoured Persians while Datis Immortals push
back the thinly manned Athenian centre. Due to
the surprise achieved, the Persian cavalry was on
a foraging assignment and has yet to partake in
the battle.
Athenians Plataeans (Miltiades) 11,000 hoplites
Athenians (Miltiades)
Persian Army Rearguard (Datis) 19,000 light
infantry, archers and javelin throwers 1,000
cavalry
Persian Rearguard (Datis)
25
Some Persians drown after unknowingly running
into marshland. The remaining Persian units are
pounded by the Athenian hoplites on the beaches,
where they suffer the majority of their
casualties. Although the Persians escape by sea,
the Athenians capture seven of their ships.
Not surprisingly, the greater weight of
Miltiades wings push back those of the lightly
armoured Persians while Datis Immortals push
back the thinly manned Athenian centre. Due to
the surprise achieved, the Persian cavalry was on
a foraging assignment and has yet to partake in
the battle.
Sensing the danger to his centre, Miltiades
orders it to hang back. Datis however does not
sense the danger to his wings. Just as the
Athenian centre appears to break the Persian
wings are soundly defeated and retreat in
disarray. The Athenian wings surround the Persian
centre and begin to assault its flanks.
The Persians are still numerically superior so
the Athenians leave a passage of retreat, knowing
a desperate enemy fights its hardest. The Persian
centre, besieged on three sides, panics and
retreats in disarray along with the wings.
Persian cavalry counterattacks before being swept
away, but this allows Datis to organize a
rearguard.
Athenians Plataeans (Miltiades) 11,000 hoplites
Athenians (Miltiades)
Persian Army Rearguard (Datis) 19,000 light
infantry, archers and javelin throwers 1,000
cavalry
Persian Rearguard (Datis)
26

• The Persian troops that survived the slaughter
  fled for their ships, but they left behind,
  according to the Greek historian Herodotus (The
  Histories, p. 430), 6,400 men killed as well as
  seven ships destroyed.
• The Greeks lost 192 killed.