Battle of Issus, November 333 BC

The Battle of Issus took place in southern Anatolia, 10 km south of the city of Issus, present-day Iskenderum (which in Turkish means Alexandria), and on both banks of the river Pinarus (present-day Payas), in November 333 BC. An operational approach signals that Darius was forced to move offensively to the terrain chosen by Alexander – therefore, more favorable to him – because he was following a defensive strategy. But, mainly, what forced Darius to act tactically offensive is signaled by a logistical approach, in which Darius' large army could not subsist solely from the field during the winter. Then, the hypothesis will be considered whether it would have been possible for the Persians, being strategically offensive, to have been, mainly because of the unfavorable terrain, tactically defensive.