If Alexander goes to China, ...
What would happen if the invincible genius Alexander the Great led his Macedonian army to China?
When Alexander went to India, China was in the Warring States Period. First of all, from the analysis of his marching route, there are only two routes he can take. One is to conquer India, from the South Asian subcontinent to the Southeast Asian Peninsula, through the jungles of Vietnam and Myanmar, to the south of China, that is, Chu; The other is to cross the Pamirs, cross the desert (it should not be a desert at that time), take the Hexi Corridor, and reach China, that is, the State of Qin. Judging from the situation in those days, if Alexander took China as his destination, the most favorable thing was to go to Qin, because he had conquered Persia at that time. At that time, the western regions were far from the desert they are now, and they should still be a very rich land. And from a military point of view, this route is far more suitable for Alexander's corps to March than through the rain forests of South Asia and Southeast Asia. After all, they fought in West Asia and Central Asia for many years, and the climate was similar. The small countries along the way were basically his. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a map of the world. ...
Ok, so I assume that Alexander overcame difficulties and arrived in China. He must face the powerful Qin Jun, how to fight?
We set Alexander's army at the peak of his strength, that is, in the spring of 334 BC, Alexander led about 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry across the Strait and invaded eastward. Assuming that he arrived in Qin, his troops would not suffer any losses. At that time, the state of Qin was already a "land of thousands of visitors", and it could be met with 10W troops. We will reduce it again, and Qin Jun will send 8W troops. At that time, the State of Qin had started Shang Yang's political reform 359 years ago. Nearly 20 years later, the national strength is strong and the army is strong, so it is not a problem to compete with the Macedonian army in morale. Macedonian soldiers have undergone rigorous training and Greek training, and most of them are professional soldiers. Their fighting capacity should be quite strong, but their infantry mainly fight in phalanx, and their personal fighting capacity should not be overestimated. Although Qin Jun should be the majority of conscripts, after hundreds of years of brutal battles, coupled with a perfect training mechanism, the system of army promotion and long-term combat experience, it should not lag behind the other side, and the infantry is good at hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, in terms of military literacy and war will, the two sides should be equally divided.
As for cavalry, as we all know, Alexander's heavy cavalry unit is absolutely a trump card, and its cavalry's strong fighting capacity is definitely an important factor in winning all previous battlefields. Where is Qin? The famous "Khufu riding and shooting" took place in the first 307 years. At that time, car fighting was still the mainstream, but it did not mean that Qin had no cavalry. Qin founded the country by raising horses, and was ravaged by nomadic cavalry such as dogs and Xiongnu. It is hard to believe that Qin, who died at the hands of cavalry for generations, did not establish cavalry. And at that time, the combat effectiveness of chariots was quite strong. Without stirrups, hand-to-hand combat with chariots was basically not cheap, while Qin Jun fought against nomadic cavalry all the year round, believing that it was still marketer against cavalry. Therefore, it can be inferred that Macedonian cavalry has advantages, but the advantages are not overwhelming and there are great variables.
As for infantry, the Greek phalanx inherited and perfected by Macedonian phalanx is extremely protective, and its frontal assault capability is almost invincible. There is no doubt that Qin Jun will have no chance to win a frontal attack on Macedonian phalanx. However, at that time, the Macedonian phalanx had its great weakness. The two wings are completely covered by cavalry, which requires high terrain, weak maneuverability and small resistance in close combat. Once the enemy enters from two wings or behind, the Macedonian phalanx will become a treasure house for Qin Jun soldiers to enter the ranks. In the war after Alexandria, the battle between Macedonian phalanx and Roman legion won in the head-on conflict, but the formation was disrupted in the pursuit and destroyed by Roman army in close combat. There is no doubt that Qin Jun's army is good at hand-to-hand combat.
Long-range archers and crossbowmen are completely under the control of Qin Jun, which has little effect on Macedonian heavy infantry, but the blow to light soldiers and cavalry may be disastrous.
In terms of equipment, the Macedonian army had the best iron weapons and protective armor at that time, so Macedonia's advantage in this respect is obvious. However, Macedonian light cavalry and leather light infantry have no advantage over Qin Jun in weapons and protection. Qin Jun's gap in weapons may not be as big as we thought. Although Qin Jun's weapons are mostly bronze weapons, its Brinell hardness can reach about 80, and it is fully qualified as a weapon. The hardness of early iron weapons was slightly better than that of iron weapons, but the toughness and plasticity were far less than that of bronze. (Road Press: This is a statement borrowed from a professional netizen of Wenbo, which is to be tested. More importantly, melee attack and killing skills are also very important, and there is no reason to think that Macedonians are completely superior to Qin Jun in this respect.
Tactically, compared with the East, the tactics of the West are basically monotonous, while the tactics of the East are precise and the West is basically the best, so Qin Jun should have considerable advantages in tactics.
In the battle, even in the plains where Macedonian soldiers are best at fighting, Qin Jun was not worried at all. He can take the chariot as the forerunner (as we all know, Qin Jun's chariot has two hand-to-hand combat soldiers besides the commander, followed by the follow-up infantry, which is not as good as Persian chariot), and then break into the Macedonian phalanx to hand-to-hand combat with the infantry. Or use chariots, bows and arrows and crossbowmen to attract Alexander cavalry, then attack the phalanx infantry from the side, or even pretend to retreat, to lure the Macedonian phalanx to pursue, induce its formation to disperse, and then fight back (this move Qin Jun is very good at).
So whether Alexander can go to China or not, even if he does, I'm afraid it's hard to get away with it.