Military
Control of Qin Dynasty During and After Warring States
The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang
Battle Strategies of Qin Shi Huang(the Qin dynasty's ruler) were apprehensive about the thought of death so, he tried hard to find an elixir or some sort of magic that would make him immortal so he could rule forever. Qin Shi Huang was so obsessed with power he created a tomb for his soldiers(a mausoleum). The tomb was designed as a miniature of the capital city, Xianyang, of the Qin Dynasty. The underground tomb symbolized the Xianyang Palace in which the First Emperor lived. The terracotta army, symbolizing the real army of the Qin, is located around 1.5 km east of the tomb mound. It is estimated that up to 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses will be found in the pits of the tomb, but so far only about 1,100 have been found by digging. Every single figure is different, which probably indicates that they were modelled on real personalities in Qin Shi Huang’s army.
Battle Tactics
During the Warring States Era (475-221BC), chariots followed by infantry were still important, but a new way of battling had been invented from nomads: cavalry. Horseriding was first developed in east Asia by nomads in the north-eastern regions of modern China in Eastern Zhou times, but cavalry only seems to have been invented and brought up by the Chinese in the mid 4th century.
A field army was composed of four parts: chariots, infantry, cavalry and archers, as displayed in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Cavalry played important roles in campaigns that were under the rule of the First Emperor, but judging by the numbers of cavalry horses and men in the warriors’ pits, cavalry still seems to have had a good functioning in battle, by supplementing the main fighting force of infantry and chariots. Interestingly, the Qin cavalry horses don't have any stirrups to help the rider mount and give him stability in the saddle.
According to one ancient military document, these early cavalry would have acted as scouts or raiders who could find out an enemy’s formation, destroy his ferries or boundary gates, cut off and burn his supply train and lines of communication, and make sudden strikes at unexpected places, either during a pitched battle or when the opposing armies were on the march. This is why Calvary was so important and helped the Qin a lot.
Tallies
In order to ensure that the generals didn't abuse their limited authority, the Qin and its rivals developed a system of tallies that conferred the right to raise forces. These were cast in metal, usually bronze, and often in the shape of a tiger, symbolizing war. They came in two identical parts that were inlaid with inscriptions specifying the number of soldiers the general could raise. On receiving his posting, a general would be given one half of the tally and the ruler would keep the other half. Only when the central authorities sent out the second half and the general could match the two halves together could he legitimately raise the forces listed in the inscription.
Unification
In the fifth and forth century BC Qin, one of seven states in the Warring States Period, began a long process of changing its legal, political, military and social ways. This process would successfully change by uniting all the other rival states into a single region under the First Emperor.
Shang Yang’s (385-338 BC) innovation played an important role to lay the foundations for Qin’s unification. He started to build up Qin’s military strength. He organized the troops into small 'responsibility groups' of perhaps of five or ten, with each member being responsible for reporting crimes committed by his colleagues. One male was taken from each household to form a squad of five, the basic unit in the army, and those soldiers were also held responsible for each other’s safety. If they lost one man, it was their duty to capture the head of an enemy in exchange.
Supply of equipments
The Qin army is not only well motivated, but well armed. Millions of men, criminals and prisoners of war were enslaved in huge amounts and forced to make weapons. The Qin, lacking significant iron, copper or tin deposits, were also very careful with their metal and set up an official post to ensure that no metal go to waste. The Qin culture also prevented the use of metals to make instruments for rituals or musical instruments. All would go for weapons or agricultural tools. The Qin get their ritual pieces by defeating other states.
Supply of food resources
The Qin army rarely had to worry about food when it comes to attacking other states. The Qin's agriculture was extremely successful. Some regions made fertile productive through wise and long term investments in water works, and even Zheng Guo was made to apply his genius in making the Canal of Zheng Guo which helped to create vast tracts of arable land to feed the armies of Qin. A well fed army fights better than a half-starving army.The Qin army is known for their crossbowmen. From the terracotta army we see that there's warriors in ranged units with both archers and crossbowmen.
Hierarchical structure
The Qin army is well organized with a clear distinct hierarchy. A unit leader is responsible for his men, and his men are responsible to him. In any given moment, a Qin unit is entirely independent as he sought to kill the enemy and at the same time cohesive as breaking any military law means death. The Qin was so powerful during battles because they advanced without fear and were ready to risk their lives without hesitation.
Experienced generals
The Qin army is led by experienced generals. Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian, these are all generals who have fought campaigns after campaigns. Despite some reverses suffered by some of these generals, the soldiers trust their generals to carry them through. The other states had no famous generals or even if they had, their rulers foolishly got rid of them.
Battle Strategies of Qin Shi Huang(the Qin dynasty's ruler) were apprehensive about the thought of death so, he tried hard to find an elixir or some sort of magic that would make him immortal so he could rule forever. Qin Shi Huang was so obsessed with power he created a tomb for his soldiers(a mausoleum). The tomb was designed as a miniature of the capital city, Xianyang, of the Qin Dynasty. The underground tomb symbolized the Xianyang Palace in which the First Emperor lived. The terracotta army, symbolizing the real army of the Qin, is located around 1.5 km east of the tomb mound. It is estimated that up to 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses will be found in the pits of the tomb, but so far only about 1,100 have been found by digging. Every single figure is different, which probably indicates that they were modelled on real personalities in Qin Shi Huang’s army.
Battle Tactics
During the Warring States Era (475-221BC), chariots followed by infantry were still important, but a new way of battling had been invented from nomads: cavalry. Horseriding was first developed in east Asia by nomads in the north-eastern regions of modern China in Eastern Zhou times, but cavalry only seems to have been invented and brought up by the Chinese in the mid 4th century.
A field army was composed of four parts: chariots, infantry, cavalry and archers, as displayed in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Cavalry played important roles in campaigns that were under the rule of the First Emperor, but judging by the numbers of cavalry horses and men in the warriors’ pits, cavalry still seems to have had a good functioning in battle, by supplementing the main fighting force of infantry and chariots. Interestingly, the Qin cavalry horses don't have any stirrups to help the rider mount and give him stability in the saddle.
According to one ancient military document, these early cavalry would have acted as scouts or raiders who could find out an enemy’s formation, destroy his ferries or boundary gates, cut off and burn his supply train and lines of communication, and make sudden strikes at unexpected places, either during a pitched battle or when the opposing armies were on the march. This is why Calvary was so important and helped the Qin a lot.
Tallies
In order to ensure that the generals didn't abuse their limited authority, the Qin and its rivals developed a system of tallies that conferred the right to raise forces. These were cast in metal, usually bronze, and often in the shape of a tiger, symbolizing war. They came in two identical parts that were inlaid with inscriptions specifying the number of soldiers the general could raise. On receiving his posting, a general would be given one half of the tally and the ruler would keep the other half. Only when the central authorities sent out the second half and the general could match the two halves together could he legitimately raise the forces listed in the inscription.
Unification
In the fifth and forth century BC Qin, one of seven states in the Warring States Period, began a long process of changing its legal, political, military and social ways. This process would successfully change by uniting all the other rival states into a single region under the First Emperor.
Shang Yang’s (385-338 BC) innovation played an important role to lay the foundations for Qin’s unification. He started to build up Qin’s military strength. He organized the troops into small 'responsibility groups' of perhaps of five or ten, with each member being responsible for reporting crimes committed by his colleagues. One male was taken from each household to form a squad of five, the basic unit in the army, and those soldiers were also held responsible for each other’s safety. If they lost one man, it was their duty to capture the head of an enemy in exchange.
Supply of equipments
The Qin army is not only well motivated, but well armed. Millions of men, criminals and prisoners of war were enslaved in huge amounts and forced to make weapons. The Qin, lacking significant iron, copper or tin deposits, were also very careful with their metal and set up an official post to ensure that no metal go to waste. The Qin culture also prevented the use of metals to make instruments for rituals or musical instruments. All would go for weapons or agricultural tools. The Qin get their ritual pieces by defeating other states.
Supply of food resources
The Qin army rarely had to worry about food when it comes to attacking other states. The Qin's agriculture was extremely successful. Some regions made fertile productive through wise and long term investments in water works, and even Zheng Guo was made to apply his genius in making the Canal of Zheng Guo which helped to create vast tracts of arable land to feed the armies of Qin. A well fed army fights better than a half-starving army.The Qin army is known for their crossbowmen. From the terracotta army we see that there's warriors in ranged units with both archers and crossbowmen.
Hierarchical structure
The Qin army is well organized with a clear distinct hierarchy. A unit leader is responsible for his men, and his men are responsible to him. In any given moment, a Qin unit is entirely independent as he sought to kill the enemy and at the same time cohesive as breaking any military law means death. The Qin was so powerful during battles because they advanced without fear and were ready to risk their lives without hesitation.
Experienced generals
The Qin army is led by experienced generals. Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian, these are all generals who have fought campaigns after campaigns. Despite some reverses suffered by some of these generals, the soldiers trust their generals to carry them through. The other states had no famous generals or even if they had, their rulers foolishly got rid of them.