InsaneJournal

Current mood:	contemplative
Entry tags:	meta: alexander the great

Could Alexander have taken over China?
Back when I was watching Alexander (and thus starting to be interested in Alexander the Great's exploits), I remember discussing with tanithryudo that it was a good thing Alexander got stopped short at India, since otherwise he would have arrived in China just in time for the Warring States, and taken over China due to the internal squabbling at the time.

However, a closer look at the timeline suggests otherwise.

First, although China may be squabbling and divided at the time, each state had experience with warfare (and thus prepared for invasion) and had begun using crossbows. This is important because the crossbow was developed as a method to counter the nomadic tribes of the north, and thus specifically as an anti-cavalry weaponry. Because Alexander's warfare depended on elite cavalry to hammer down the opposing army, his methods wouldn't have taken the Chinese military completely by surprise.

Second, Alexander hadn't yet fully pushed through India and had to face Nanda Empire and Gangaridai Empire, with 4000 elephants between India and China. So by the time he got to China, his troops would probably be tired and exhausted. (Or acquired elephants.) So morale wise, China would have a slight upper hand (having only had to deal with neighboring states, instead of fighting all the way from Greece to India).

Third, if Alexander continued to advance as fast as he had in his earlier conquests, his army would have reached China before the Warring States (and Spring and Autumn era) and thus there will still exist a unified China to fight against Alexander's forces.

So maybe China's forces would have been able to hold up against Alexander's army. Who knows these things, right?


Edit:
Oh right, forgot to mention, China also had Art of War on their side. (Untranslated!)