Manipulation In The Greco-Persian War

The Greeks during the Greco-Persian War manipulated terrain as a force multiplier in many battles; at the Battle of Marathon, Miltiades used the Vrana Valley to prevent a Persian march on Athens, at the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas used the narrow, Thermopylae pass to invalidate the Persian numbers, and at the Battle of Artemisium, Themistocles used the Artemisium Strait to aid in his battle against the Persian fleets.
The best manipulation and use of terrain by the Greeks in the Greco-Persian War was at the Battle of Marathon. In the Battle of Marathon Miltiades and his men chopped down trees to block the Persians from going around the Athenian Army. Except for sailing around the coast, this made sure that the Persian army had no other way around to get to Athens; furthermore, this helped make the small battle area an effective choke point. The Greeks decided to fight in the Vrana Valley which was flanked by swamps. This decision was a brilliant idea because the Persians couldn’t take their cavalry through the muddy swamps; consequently, this forced them to have a standoff with the Athenians. This battle was a decisive victory for the Greeks, unlike the
The Persians outnumbered the Greeks, so Leonidas positioned his troops in the Thermopylae pass. Because the pass was quite narrow, the Persians, who were used to rampant fighting on open fields, could not use all of their troops at once; therefore, it was easy for the Greek hoplites to wipe them out. This battle is not the best example of terrain manipulation because the Greeks lost on the third day. It was wise to hold the Persians at a natural chokepoint, but the Greeks ultimately were trapped when Ephialtes showed Xerxes a goat pass, leading to the Greeks’ backs. The Thermopylae pass was effective for a while, but caused the defeat of Leonidas’ troops; the Greeks used the Artemisium strait in a similar way to fight the