DBA Resource Page

Ancient Army Lists

Warring States and Ch'in Chinese (#16c)

By Doug Barker

DBA Army list 16c spans two distinct eras in Chinese history. The Warring States period (ca. 479-256BC) saw warfare gradually evolve from the ritualistic nature of the Spring and Autumn period into a form dominated by professional generals and mass armies. This period ended with the foundation of the Chin Dynasty (221-206BC) on the basis of the military achievements of the First Emperor Chin Shih Huang Ti, who completed the unification of China started by his predecessors between 238BC and 221BC. Further conquests continued until 209BC.

In addition to his military achievements, the First Emperor's reign also saw a number of remarkable achievements, ranging from the completion of the Great Wall of China to the standardization of written Chinese idiograms into the form used today. The death of the First Emperor signalled the end of his dynasty, with his successors unable to maintain control of the Empire in the face of rebellions led by the nobility displaced by the First Emperor's conquests. This led to a period of chaos which ended in 202BC with the establishment of the Han Dynasty.

Opponents

The Early Northern Barbarians (#7) fought the Warring States armies early in the period. The other enemies listed in the DBA 1.1 rulebook are errors. The Sub-Roman British (#82) should be replaced by the Chinese Border Nomads (#62). I also think that the Chou and Spring and Autumn Chinese (#62) is a typo and should not be an enemy, since with the fratricidal fighting of the period, the Warring States should have themselves (16c) as an enemy rather than the preceeding dynasty.

Army Composition

3x HCh These represent the high ranking shock troops of the period. It is interesting to note that military power of a state was measured by the number of chariots it was able to field.
2x 4Sp or
2x 4Wb		 Spear units, using weapons of 9 to 18 feet in length, formed the backbone of most Chinese armies of the period. Warband can represent barbarians either hired by or impressed into a Chinese army, or may also be considered to represent the elite shock troops of the army.
3x 4Sp or
2x 2LH + 1x 3Cv		 Near the end of the Warring States period, cavalry was becoming more and more commonplace. The horses used were relatively small, so there was a predominance of light horse rather than units used in close combat.
2x 4Cb The crossbow was developed in China in the early 4th century BC, replacing the even more ancient composite reflex bows of the Shang period.
2x 2Ps These are light skirmishing troops, many of whom would have been lightly armed and unarmoured prisoners or criminals.

Camps

Base camps can include a section of the Great Wall of China (such as a watch tower), a palace like the Imperial Palace in modern Beijing, or a General's tent with sentries and banners.

Getting and Painting Your Army

From the list of miniatures sources, it seems that very few companies carry ancient Chinese figures, and most of these represent the Han, Tang or Sung Dynasties. This seems remarkable, since the famous life-size terracotta warriors found near Xian in modern China were made as part of the burial ritual for the First Emperor.

For purists, Gallia Miniatures, Gladiator Miniatures, Hall of Ancient Warriors and Museum Miniatures all carry lines of Chou and Chin figures. I haven't seen any of these so I won't comment on their quality. Reviews of other lines of figures from these companies can be found through the Miniatures Sources section of the DBA Resource Page.

The armies of the period gradually acquired greater and greater degrees of uniformity, with national colours coming into use for the many banners used for command and control purposes. These were also decorated with various animals (tigers, birds, dragons, turtles and so forth) to indicate the positions of the Commander-in-Chief and his subordinate generals. Such banners and the number of states that existed at one point or another in this period provides a fair degree of creativity for what you want your army to look like. For example, I had words like chariot, cavalry and spear translated into Chinese idiograms, and painted these onto banners carried by the first two and onto the shields of my spearmen. The idiogram for prisoner was painted on the backs of my unfortunate psiloi.

[For more tips, see Jonathan Lim's Painting Guide for Warring States/Ch'in Chinese.]

Tactics

The tactics of this period were dominated by the concepts of cheng (direct/normal/orthodox) and chi (indirect/extraordinary/unorthodox). In essence, a holding force would be used to occupy the enemy's attention while another force struck a surprise blow at an unexpected point and time to destroy the enemy. The particular identities of the cheng and chi forces were not fixed, so if the enemy countered the chi, it would become cheng. In practice, this means that your mobile forces should be used to outflank and roll up the enemy line, while your spearmen, crossbows and warbands hold off the enemy.

Against the Early Northern Barbarians and Chinese Border Nomads, you have quick kill (Heavy Chariot), heavy foot (Spear) and Bow units that the enemy will have problems countering. The biggest threats from these enemies are Warband quick kills against your Spear or being outflanked by hordes of Light Horse.

Your primary enemy, though, will be other Warring States armies. Ideally, you will pit your Chariots against his Spear, Psiloi and Warbands, while your Bows make short work of his Chariots and your Spear chew up his Crossbow. Unfortunately, he will be trying to do the same thing. The battle will likely go to whomever is able to achieve a local superiority which can be exploited quickly - in other words, the victor will have been the first to use his chi force successfully.

Sources (Internet and Other)

Several translations of Sun Tzus' Art of War are available in English. This book was written by a Warring States general who's ideas on strategy were widely copied throughout the period and in Chinese military techniques since. One of the better translations is by General Samuel Griffith, who also includes chapters on the Warring States period armies and society.

The Osprey book #218, Ancient Chinese Armies 1500-200BC, provides a brief history of the Chinese dynasties from the Shang to the Han Dynasty.

Some websites dealing with Chinese history of the period include:

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Last Updated: July 4, 1999

My thanks to Doug Barker for this contribution. Comments, questions or suggested additions to this page can be sent to Chris Brantley, brant@erols.com.