If the Roman Legions had faced Han China Imperial army, 1st-2nd century CE, who would have won?

Let's say they met in a battlefield somewhere in Central Asia. I really have no clue about this one, so please present solid arguments.

If the Roman Legions had faced Han China Imperial army, 1st-2nd century CE, who would have won?
The organization skills would go to the Romans. Everyone thinks if the Romans made it that far, they couldn't do anything, but the truth is that they have faced a lot of different races and the Han army really wouldn’t have been much different except for language barriers.





The best way to answer this is to compare weapons and strategy of each group, but over all to see how they fight all together. I am not in the mood to type that much, but I am sure most of us know how things happened on both sides.





Mechanical weapons would go to the Romans.





Better Armor would go to the Romans





Horse Calvary would go to the Hans..





Defensive structure would go to the Romans. (To build each night during camp).





Multiple purpose army formation would the Romans.





Clear battle field communication would go to the Romans.





Battle hardy and sheer ability to not fear would go to the Romans.





Complete order in the battle field would go to the Romans.





The only thing would matter is If the Han very greatly out numbered the Romans which would be true, because only 350,000 to 400,000 legionary’s served in the arm forces at the time.





I also believe Alexander’s powerful regiment deep Phalanx could have pushed right over any Han army on horse back or not.





I have come with my conclusion basing my theory on early crusaders who faced Turkish and Arab forces in the Holy land.





The Turkish forces and the Arab forces fought in Asian warfare style, but because of heavy armor, and more advanced weapons thanks partly to Roman ingenuity, they were defeated by the crusaders time and again.





Thanks 0_0





I love these questions.
Reply:Whichever one had the best logistical support.
Reply:My advice is to find a local minatures/wargame club and game it out.





There are minatures rules (and armies) available for virtually all armies and all times. I recall a book a friend of mine had in the 80s that was designed for battles just like this. It even had the breakdown of the Mayan armies for goodness sake.





Speculation is one thing, but if you run the battle a few times as a simuation, then you will have a better feel for the variables involved, and can figure out an answer for yourself.
Reply:A difficult question, since I know almost nothing about Chinese military history. But I will say the legion would have been a tough opponent. At this point in time, the Legions were at their height in terms of training, equipment, etc. There would be a number of factors to consider, such as:





1. Is it just one legion, or many?


2. Is the legion at full strength, with a full compliment of troops?


3. Does the legion have competent commander(s)?


4. Does the legion have a detachment of archers and horsemen?


5. Has the legion managed to maintain it's supply line into central asia?


6. Is the legion made up mostly of veterans, or conscripts?
Reply:The Chinese, because a battle in Central Asia would mean that the Romans had the hostile Parthians and their mounted bowmen at their backs. The Parthians were historically enemies of the Romans (see the Battle of Carrhae) but were on comparatively good terms with the Chinese because of the Silk Road trade. Also, the Han armies had cavalry units, which the Romans for the most part lacked except in the form of the so-called auxiliary forces, so if the terrain allowed for mounted maneuvers, the Romans might've suffered another disadvantage there.
Reply:Although it depends a lot on the circumstances, I think the Romans would've won the first few battles, but lost the war.





China's very big, and there's lots and lots of Chinese!





I think that early defeats would lead to the Chinese rapidly improving their organisation and tactics (losers of battles always do this, given the time - winners seldom do).