Page 121 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

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that made up the best part of the Persian navy. An immediate consequence would be the
accession of Cyprus to the Macedonians.
The combined Macedonian, Phoenician and Cypriot fleet would easily take control of
the sea, securing the success of the expedition they were planning in Egypt. The capture of
Tyre was thus critical for achieving the objective they were planning that was the demise
of the Persian state. Tyre was built on an island stretching along the coast. At the nearest
point, the distance from the coast was 700 meters. Tyre had two harbors and the city was
surrounded by strong and high walls in all sides, especially in the eastern side, across the
coast. Capturing the city was a particularly hard task, as it was a strongly fortified island
that in contrast to Alexander, it possessed fleet. In addition, the Tyrians also possessed the
necessary resources, a large number of mercenaries, abundant siege engines and skilful
technicians to withstand a long siege. The operations for conquering Tyre began in Janu-
ary of 332 BC. The sea’s interposition was the most important of the elements making up
the city’s defensive strength. To overcome that obstacle, Alexander decided to build a pier
joining the island to the coast and converting it to a peninsula so as to deploy his army up
to the city’s walls. Also, the siege of such a strongly fortified place was demanding the
building of perfected siege engines, most prominent of which were the exceptionally high
towers. Yet, the city’s capture would finally come from the sea.
The Tyrians mobilized all those capable of fighting and trained them for fighting on the
city’s walls and at the sea. When the pier reached at a shooting distance from the island,
the Tyrians started to shoot with catapults and bows from the city walls against those
working on the construction. At the same time, boats armed with catapults and manned by
archers and sling shooters were sailing close to both sides of the pier, shooting from close
distance, causing heavy casualties and deterring the work on the construction. The great
achievement of building the siege towers and their installation on the pier altered the situ-
ation. Equipped with powerful shooting machines and properly manned, the towers ena-
bled the Macedonians to fire against those defending the city from the walls and against
their ships. That ensured the unhindered progress of the work. Then the Tyrians carried
out an ingenious strategem. In a surprise attack, they converted a horse carrying ship into
a fire ship. They brought it alongside the towers by the joint action of other warships and
they set it on fire so as to spread the fire to the towers.
Archers from the warships shot against those who came close, trying to put the fire
off. Also Tyrians on small boats landed on the pier and burned all those siege engines
that were not already on fire. Alexander ordered the construction of new engines and the
widening of the pier. He himself went to Sidon to recruit all those ships that it possessed.
His fleet was made up by more than two hundred ships from the Greek cities, Cyprus and
Lycia. It had to be reorganized and be prepared for a naval battle. Alexander’s successes
and the overall strategy he had employed on land worked on the sea as well, as he had
estimated. The possession of the coast and of all naval bases from the Hellespont Straits to
Phoenicia had resulted in the dissolution of the Persian fleet, the accession of the Cypriot
and the Phoenician ships and the shift of the naval dominance to the Macedonians. The
Tyrians were capable seamen and they possessed a strong fleet.
They had decided to confront Alexander in a naval battle. However, they changed strat-