What were the strengths and weakness of the Persian war led by Xeres?

Answer 1

Xerxes plan to bring mainland Greece into his empire and appoint local rulers to keep it quiet. The first step was to bribe locals leaders to join him voluntarily. The remander he would conquer with their help.

The military plan was to lead an army and fleet to conquer the remaining city-states. The navy threatened the cities who therefore kept their armies at homein defence, and so enabled his army to pick them off one at a time.

The problem was that the Greek cities worked out a strategy to first defeat the Persian fleet, which would then allow them to concentrate their armies to defeat the Persian army. After a sea battle at Artemesion near Thermopylai Pass (which they held to force the Persians to try to outflank it by sea and so fight the Greek fleet) the Greek fleet tried again at Salamis and won, so the remnants of the Persian fleet had to withdraw to Asia Minor.

The other problem was supply - Greece was a poor county and the Persian army had to be supplied by sea transports from Asia Minor, and needed the protection of the Persian fleet from the Greek fleet. When the Persian fleet withdrew, they could no longer supply their anmy, half of it had to go back to Asia Minor and the remainder back to central Greece for the winter.

In the spring of the next year, the Greek cities, no longer threatened by the Persian navy, were able to concentrate their armies at Plataia and defeat the remaining half of the Persian army and its Greek allies. Simultaneously the Greek fleet eliminated the remaining Persian fleet at Mykale.

Both sides had good strategies and plans. The Greeks fought better both on sea and land, and their strategy prevailed.