Playing Alexander, your biggest problem is lack of command points to get all your troops moving (IM)
Move your phalanx slowly but surely towards the enemy, but keep them in a line where at all possible (IM).
The left flank - the one commanded by Alexander could be stronger so you may need additional troops to bolster it if it starts failing (IM).

The battle can be finished by a cavalry clash only. Send your elephants against the enemy cavalry and finish the job with your cavalry units once the elephants are eliminated. Use 'spare' elephants to eliminate an enemy phalanx when the occasion occurs. (NW)
The computer AI appears to have difficulties battling an army equipped with sufficient elephants. (NW)

Samarkand has a lot to do with luck. The only thing you can do to improve your changes is to use the HI to defend only (unless you're in an absolutely superior position) (NW)

Beware the banks of the river when crossing with Alexander. Only those hexsides at the lowest of the 3 levels can be used .(IM)
Concentrate all forces in a very defensive position along the seashore: Thessalians, phalanxes and Companions. After the Persian cavalry attack has weakened here, cross the river and score the victory. The peltast
units in the center are sufficient to defend against the Greek HI - when they cross the river. (NW)

Try to survive first few cavalry assaults without losing any units, then be cautious with Alexander's troops late in the battle.(RH)

Playing Alexander

Playing Against Alexander

View Rout Point Levels for Scenarios

Details Of The Scenarios

Playing Alexander, your biggest problem is the river. The Persians are sitting on the opposite side of it and force you to fight while siting in the river. Don't be put off, your troops are up to this. (IM)
Attack with your archers to soften his forces up before moving in with the cavalry and the phalanx troops. (IM)
Pick off the headlands where you can attack from more than one side. Once you have a beachhead, use it. (IM)
Use the phalanxes to cross the river first, using Alexander and Craterus simultaneously to move them forward and restore cohesion. Once the phalanx has created a gap in the enemy line, rush the cavalry through and hunt down the enemy. (NW)

Hints & Tips

Hints & Tips

General Strategy - Hints and Tips

Note that you have to move 50TQ points and not 50 Rout points as stated in the manual

Taking the retreat option to move 50TQ of troops off the other side of the river is an easy option at Normal difficulty level, especially if elite initiative is played. Just leave a couple of skirmishers and/or cavalry to hold off any incoming Danubians and run with the rest of the army. (IM)
Take your time and line up the phalanx in the best defensive position possible. Don't attack. Just wait. Don't try to do anything about
these units inside Pelium (NW)

Playing the Danubians, attack quickly with a few troops and move the leader down. You don't have time to move all your forces. (IM)
Go for a few specific troops and kill them rather than trying to hit everything.(IM)

Attack from the flanks and behind whenever possible. Combine attacks from multiple sides to greatly increase damage.(IM)
Use the cavelry to out-maneouver the phalanxes and attack from behind and flanks.(IM)

Move Leonnatus to the center and attack from two directions only, having one spare leader to restore cohesion. (NW)

When playing Alexander, don't attack but let the Indians come down the hill. They won't initially but do nothing for a turn or two and they'll start to attack. This severly knocks their troops after a couple of descending levels making them easy pickings for your fresh troops at the bottom. (IM)

High Score Strategy: Advanced very cautiously a few paces on wings then pushed hard an evenly across center with phalanxes. Once center was annihilated I attacked both wings from behind - while advancing on flanks. (RH)

Very high score achieved by killing/trapping several leaders on the last turn. (RH)

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Hints & Tips

Playing the Persians - as Alexander has a turn limit, you can play the waiting game.
Use your good troops to hit Alexander's beachheads and drive him back into the river. His troops are more vulnerable when just arrived as they've lost concussion crossing the river and going up the river bank.

High Score Strategy: Used Alexander's Companions to break one wing and roll it up. At the same time advanced in center and along other wing. Lacked initiative on other wing but the action there kept the enemy occupied while my Phalanxes broke the center.

Used archers to kill two leaders on the last turn (took momentum several times and a bit of luck) and Alexander's cavalry to mop up units as far as possible to the other wing. (RH)

Use only HC and HI and PH against the Scythians. Don't attack but simple place these units opposite a Scythian unit wait for them
to attack. (PH and HI like to defend, not attack.) Use HC to attack the Scythians from behind once you've got a unit nailed. (NW)

High Score Strategy: (RH)

Repositioning of troops in the early turns was the key to a high score in this battle but this made it tough to position effectively by turn 10. I went the full turn length of 10 but did not exceed the rout limit until thefinal turn.
The heavy units needed to be brought forward first, with some skirmishes on the left flank. The key was to get the phalanxes and Heavy Infantry(HI) out and in a nice line very early. This let the phalanxes march forward down the center left with HI at the tree's edge and in the trees as needed to dislodge the enemy. Companions held the right flank.
The remaining turns were used to advance and pick off a few forward units (primarily in the woods on my left) and to box the Scythians in. This kept the rout points manageable until the last turn.
At that point, I closed the trap using momentum based multiple attacks. The phalanx positioning let them pin/kill two leaders and a single cavalry unit with carefully positioned archers bagging another.
Luck was a big factor, the AI did not attack as aggressively and get momentum when it really needed it. The strategy works, but only if you get enough momentum to get a solid initial setting (which takes a few tries... otherwise, you are toast).

Contributors to the Hints & Tips section are :

IM - Ian Montgomery

NW - Nick Welman

R - Roger

RH - Red Harvest

SC - Steve Carney

FD - Frederico

These hints and tips are general and will not apply to every scenario. Use them as a guide only - experience is the best knowledge.

Try to use Infantry to lure opponents in, then try to flank them with cavelry or elephants if available.
When you have elephants try to use them against the enemy's cavelry then use your cavelry to circle around and hit from flanks and rear.
When playing against the Romans try to send skirmishers or light infantry out around them thus usually getting a Legion or at least a good portion of one to go after them thereby opening gaps in their line allowing your troops to hit them on the flanks or rear.
At every chance go after routed units with cavelry or infantry if necessary.
Attack slowly so that every other move you can recover cohesion with group recover cohesion commands, this is a big help in keeping your army from just disintegrating after just a few moves, even when faced with time limits.
Most importantly try to stay flexible enough to react to your opponents moves and any of your own that don't go as planed. In other words cover your back, your flanks and your options!
Try to keep your off-centre and wing commanders back to rally routed units and use the rest for attacks.
(SC)

This is not a difficult scenario playing Alexander. Just keep a cool head and keep moving forward with the phalanxes and use the cavalry to outflank his infantry. (IM)
Don't follow him into the trees unless absolutely necessary as this just causes you to lose cohesion. (IM)
line up the phalanx in a defensive position and wait for the attack. Use the HC to hunt down routing enemy units later on. Only advance
with the phalanx when the enemy attack has weakened. (NW)
Just be careful with the phalanxes,
so they don't get outflanked, and avoid the woods. (R)

Map Of The Scenarios

More Strategy Hints & Tips in the Battles of Alexander

Using the tactics of Alexander himself. I made up a wall with the phalanxes on the center. I kept my left wing waiting for the enemy to get very close to the phalanxes. Between each phalanx I put a light infantry unit to fill the gaps. I moved my greek heavy infantry as support for the right wing of Alexander together with Hypaspists and archers.
Then I crushed the Bactrians. All the cavalry in the center of Darius' army made suicidal attacks against the phalanxes. (FD)
Don't break the phalanx line by following the routed enemy, this is a cavalry's duty! (FD)

Move Alexander's cavalry from the right wing to the left wing. Use the phalanx and hypaspist as defence only and score your victory routing the Persian right with your combined cavalry force. (NW)

Don't risk Alexander's valuable Companion cavalry against the massive Persian cataphracts on your right wing. Move all the phalanxes slightly forward, creating a gap behind the lines for Alexander's cavalry to move through to the entire left - to support Parmenion. (It is quite reminiscent of Alexander's real tactic during the Hydaspes battle!) (NW)

Keep an unbroken line of phalanxes. Strengthen your right wing defenses with as much quality infantry troops as you can. Bessus and his cataphracts will soon arrive - and your infantry line should be ready to absorb their shock attack. Your invaluable hypaspists are in for a rough time. Use all initiative you have got to restore cohesion on your right flank whenever possible. Keep your defending units as healthy as possible. Do not be tempted to attack the Persian horse. Defend, defend, defend. (NW)

Keep Parmenion's cavalry where it is, create some relative safety for the left wing light cavalry units and wait until Alexander and his horses arrive. Then wait until the Persians attack. This can take a few turns as they advance slowly. But Gaugamela has no turn limit. (This is a nice exercise in patience.) Then only after the Persians have made first contact - and their attacks have faded - bring in those superb Macedonian heavy cavalry and reduce the entire Persian wing in a matter of a few turns. Attack decisively but do not take high risks: you are in a winning position already and time is on your side. (NW)

Note this scenario has a 10 turn limit not mentioned in the manual.
Push your cavalry tightly to the left bank of the river and force your way through there, avoiding the EL at all costs. Let the EL attack the infantry units, but never the cavalry. Once your cavalry has encircled the Indians at the right flank, you can attack their infantry units from behind and it will be all over.(NW)

Though the Indian elephants cause major havoc once they collide with your cavalry, the phalanxes and hypaspists easily outclass them. So line up these HI and PH so they can receive the incoming elephants and wait with your cavalry attack until the danger has gone.
Do not pay to much attention to your left flank one or two PH units can easily absorb the attack of the Indian chariots and the weak Indian cavalry. Keep your defending PH and HI units in top condition and do not let them loose too many rout points. (NW)