[quote=Byrd Man]
To Russia I say
[/quote]

There were numerous campaigns during the Opium Wars that were fought on land (incredibly successfully, I might add), and Britain defeated the Indian rebellion of 1857 despite most of the rebellious provinces being completely landlocked and heavily densely populated. Even with this ridiculous China-Japan alliance (a feat that could never feasibly be accomplished even in the modern day, miraculously completed in 1863!), I wouldn't discount European superiority quite yet.