BatRep: Battle Among the Tombs

Background

The Battle of Dōmyōji, fought on June 5, 1615, was one of the decisive engagements of the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka. The battle began as a delayed, fog-shrouded clash near Komatsuyama and ended with the Osaka army withdrawing toward Osaka Castle after losing key commanders.  Dōmyōji is remembered because it shows the last major efforts of the Toyotomi defenders to use terrain, timing, and local counterattacks to blunt Tokugawa superiority. The battle also foreshadowed the end of the Osaka campaign.  The defenders could still fight hard and inflict losses, but once key commanders fell, they could no longer hold the approaches indefinitely.

Osaka’s goal is to hold for a limited number of turns, inflict losses, and then disengage in good order.  Tokugawa’s goal is to break through the river line and destroy enough of the Osaka force to prevent an orderly withdrawal.  The battle begins with the Tokugawa Army already across the Ishigawa River.  Driven off Komatsuyama heights and back across the river, the Osaka Army awaits near the Imperial tombs. 

Initial deployments

The Tokugawa Army (led by Richard) has four commands.  The four Sonae are denoted by blue and green VBU dice to distinguish between each command.  The Osaka Army (led by me) has three commands.  Osaka Sonae are shown with red and black VBU dice.  

Battle

The battle opens with the Tokugawa Army advancing on the right toward Ingyo's tomb.  Osaka Army counters by moving up Susukida's Sonae to cover the left of Sanada's exposed Teppo.  The large blue die shows the activation of Katsushige's Sonae.  Tokugawa continues a general advance toward the enemy as the two battle lines begin to form up.

The armies close...

as the battle lines form up.

With the enemy now within striking distance, Katsushige leads an attack with his Samurai against Susukida.  The target of this attack is the enemy Samurai but they are supported by Ashigaru spearmen.  Katsushige's attack is repulsed and the Samurai spearmen retreat out of the Tokugawa battle line.  

Not wasting an opportunity, Susukida counterattacks in pursuit of the retreating Tokugawa Samurai.  Pursuit brings the Samurai into contact with Katsushige's now exposed teppo.  Firing as the enemy closes upon them, the teppo wreak heavy damage upon the enemy as they come in.  Seeing the destruction thrown out by this body of determined troops, the Osaka Samurai retire before they actually can close with the enemy.  Osaka archers in the woods cut down many Tokugawa archers as they approach the tomb.

Katsushige repulsed!

Susukida pursues...

but is stopped cold by enemy firepower...

and head back to where they began!

View down the battle lines.

Susukida refuses to give up so easily after his Samurai are repulsed.  He sends forward the Ashigaru spear to dispatch with those pesky teppo.  The Ashigaru handle the job that the Samurai could not.  The enemy teppo are scattered and put to flight.  Flushed with success, the Ashigaru pursue as expected.  What is unexpected is that these spearmen crash into Tadamasa's Samurai cavalry as the horsemen move up from the ford.  Tadamasa's horsemen manhandle the Ashigaru driving them back in a succession of retreats and pursuits.  As the Ashigaru finally stop, having rejoined the Osaka battle line, Tadamasa's Samurai stops the pursuit.      

Teppo destroyed!

The hunter...

becomes the hunted!

Is all quiet on the Tokugawa Left?  No!

Masamune brings up his sonae on the left near Emperor Ojin's tomb.  In a combined arms attack, Masamune's teppo soften up the enemy teppo before leading his Samurai cavalry in a charge.  The enemy is battered and forced back but the Samurai do not pursue.  In an effort to stabilize the deteriorating situation, Kitikawa leads his Samurai foot into Masamune's Samurai foot.  The result is not what Kitikawa hoped.  His Samurai are beaten and retreat in disarray.  Kitikawa's attack is not without merit, though.  Having inflicted some pain on the enemy Samurai, Kitigawa's Ashigaru spearmen are sent forward.  The Tokugawa Samurai have seen enough and are driven back beyond the Tokugawa battle line.  The Osaka Ashigaru follow up in hot pursuit.   

Tokugawa cavalry drive away enemy teppo...

but the Osaka counterattacks, fails, and tries again.

Finally, Masamune's Samurai are driven off!

Having caught its breath, Masamune's body of cavalry plows back into the enemy teppo.  This time, the outcome is never in doubt.  What remains of the enemy are cut down mercilessly.

Masamune charges...

and the enemy breaks!

At this point in the battle, the honors look about even.  Appearances are fleeting and it all is about to unravel for the Osaka Army.  Returning to the Tokugawa Right, Katsushige leads his Samurai horsemen back into the Osaka line.  Even with support, Susukida's Samurai foot are pushed back.  His supporting Ashigaru follow suit.  Katsushige pursues, catching the retiring enemy.  Katsushige sees success again!  The enemy's orderly retrogrades turn into retreats.  The Osaka Left has collapsed!

Katsushige charges...

and charges again.
The enemy retreat in disarray.

Now, Tadaaki, leading his sonae of three Ashigaru spear in the center, attacks the Osaka line!

His rightmost spear unit goes in against the end of the Osaka line.  Without support, Sanada's Ashigaru are forced back.  The attackers pursue driving the enemy back again!  Seeing this success, Tadaaki pushes the next Ashigaru spear into the enemy.  Those spearmen see similar success.  A second unit of Osaka spearmen are pushed back and then put to flight in pursuit.  The entire Osaka Center is collapsing!  Tadaaki does not stop now.  His third Ashigaru unit crashes into the enemy.  Again, the enemy is driven back and then destroyed in pursuit.  The Osaka Center is wiped out!

Tadaaki attacks...

and attacks...

and attacks to break the Osaka Center!

In hot pursuit of the enemy, this body of Tokugawa spearmen collide into Sanada's cavalry.  The Ashigaru are beaten badly and are put to flight.  In perhaps a last-ditch effort to stabilize the center, Sanada pursues with his cavalry even though his horsemen have suffered losses.  Pursuit carries him into rough ground facing enemy teppo.  The teppo deliver a devastating volley into the horsemen and many fall to the ground.  With fewer horsemen to carry on the charge and hindered by the rough terrain, Sanada's charge is stopped.  His body of Samurai horsemen are scattered.  Sanada is lucky to escape with his life.

Sanada drives off the enemy spearmen...

and sets off in hot pursuit.

Sanada's Samurai are cut down in dramatic fashion. 

With the Osaka right and Center basically gone, Susukida makes a desperate attack against Tadamasa's cavalry.  The result is as expected.  Susukida's spearmen are repulsed.  To encourage the Osaka Army to quit the field, Tokugawa Ashigaru emerges from the woods to attack and destroy one more Osaka unit.  That is all of the convincing that Sanada needs to retire from the field.

Last ditch effort...

gains nothing!

With the Osaka Army Breakpoint clock reduced to zero, Sanada and the remnants of the Osaka Army withdraw back to Osaka castle.  An historical outcome.

Osaka Army breaks!

Victory to the Tokugawa Army and Richard!  Well played!  With a breakpoint differential of '6', the Tokugawa Army narrowly misses attaining a Major Victory.  If either of the Imperial tombs had been in Tokugawa hands, a Major Victory would have been awarded.

Time runs out for the Osaka Army.

Osaka Army collapses.

What an exciting contest!  Early on, I thought my Osaka might see success.  As proven soon thereafter, those thoughts were both premature and fleeting.  Game duration was a little over two hours playing time.

Richard is a tough and canny opponent.  His attack in the center quite literally tore the Osaka Center to shreds.  Congratulations, Richard, on delivering a convincing victory for the Tokugawa Army.  To read Richard's battle account, please visit, Dōmyōji, The Battle Among the Tombs.

Thank you, Richard, for a great game!

Mail Call!

Monday's Battle Among the Tombs with Richard is in the books.  A fun game, it was, but a story to tell another time.

First, though, a rare mail call.  This year, spending has been way down beside the arrival of a few books, an occasional Slingshot magazine, a few hex-and-counter wargames, and even fewer figures.  To shake things up, a trio of packages arrived on my doorstep this week.  Wargaming packages on the doorstep are always a welcome sight.  These were no exception.

What arrived?  Let's open the packages to see!

Tufts

Since 2014 (I know, I checked!), I have been regularly ordering grass tufts from Tajima1 Miniatures out of the UK.  My last order was in 2024 when I really backed up the truck and loaded up with many boxes of these excellent self-adhesive tufts.

Needing to resupply some of the colored tufts, I began a reorder.  Prices have certainly increased since 2024 but it was the sticker shock of postage to the US that kept me from pushing "Buy."  To add insult to injury, extra import duties would be charged on shipments to the US.  Even before the import duty was accounted for, postage was going to be over USD$30 for a small package!  At that point I closed the browser and went off in search of alternatives. 

After only a little searching, I found several vendors on Amazon who offered something similar at a fraction of the price.  In fact, the eight boxes of tufts shown below, delivered, were about the same price as the shipping charge from Tajima1 alone.  While these are not self-adhesive, they are about the same size as my favored Tajima1 tufts.  We will see how this goes!

1/100 Tanks

Always on the lookout for plastic 15mm Zvezda models, a pack of five PzIVs showed up on ebay a couple of weeks ago.  Luckily, I was able to snag them for a reasonable price.

1812 The Retreat From Moscow

Finally, and the piece de resistance was a small package from England.  In this thin package was the first offering from Paul Brook in his just released Battle Chronicles series.

This small format, 60-page book arrived courtesy of Reject Lee and Ray who helped in putting this title together.  Really a nice-looking effort of a similar size to Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame series.  I must admit that the footprint of this book is preferred to the large wargaming guides that Helion has been publishing.  The Helion guides, while beautiful and comprehensive, seem a bit unwieldy to read and use.  1812 is very comfortable in hand.

A cursory flick through the book reveals a pleasing layout and easy to read text.  The text layout is accompanied by handsome game maps and photos of Ray and Lee's gorgeous 1812 Retreat from Moscow collection.

Quite a nice effort.  Well done, guys, and THANK YOU!  Now, why was my copy not autographed???

Next time, hopefully a battle report from Monday's Battle Among the Tombs.

Suvorov's Russians

As suggested by popular demand (well, popular demand in the sense that two readers asked for a parade!), I present the Russian Army mustering out for the 1799 project.  Actually, this is not quite true.  I reckon there are at least two battalions of jagers that are not included in this parade.  If I search, I bet I find these missing light infantrymen lurking among the SYW Russian Army.

Turning pages back, a long way back, through the Painting Log, I first began working on this Russian Army in 2009.  With no upcoming battle to deploy on the table, adding to the collection has been hit and miss over the years.  2018 and 2019 saw some renewed activity but not much notable progress since then.  2026 has seen six infantry battalions muster out representing the most activity in a long time.

The photo above shows the composition of the Russian Army as of June 2026.  Well, correct with the exception of the missing jagers, that is.  Figures are mostly AB Miniatures with some Eureka and Old Glory tossed in for good measure and variety.  Besides a few odds and ends, The Lead Pile is empty of FRW Russians.

Those units ready for service are:

• 6x Cossack regiments
• 3x Militia/Foot Cossack battalions
• 5x Musketeer Regiments of two battalions each
• 3x Grenadier Regiments of two battalions each
• 6x Combined Grenadier Battalions
• 8x Artillery batteries

I really ought to put together a scenario to bring this army onto the field of battle for its baptism of fire.  First, though, a series of Feudal Japan actions featuring the Battle Among the Tombs.

Hope you enjoyed the parade!

Battle Among the Tombs

With all of May and June travel and visitor hosting in the rearview mirror, time to return attention to bringing up a game.  Having enjoyed the four-game series of Montebello, I was very tempted to move directly on to Marengo.  However, a change of pace and period seemed good too, so I switched gears to something different.  Since the Feudal Japan collection has seen no action in a very long time, I figured bringing those armies to the table would provide another series of enjoyable challenges.

I needed a scenario, though.  The search for a suitable scenario was not long in the offing.  Scrolling through the Commands & Colors Samurai Battles website brought up the 1615 Battle Among the Tombs.

The problem with this battle is that two Imperial tombs are present on the field.  I needed to make something to denote these distinctive battlefield features.

A quick order to Brookhurst Hobbies provided the required Peter Pig Torii Gates.  I must say that the turn-around time from Brookhurst Hobbies was impressive.  The package was posted the same day ordered.  The impression of tombs was fashioned from several Litko bases.  The results are simple but effective additions to denote these BUAs on the battlefield.

My interpretation of Samurai Battles' battlefield deployment is shown below.  The situation shows the action after the Tokugawa had already driven the Osaka back from the river.

Battle Among the Tombs

First trial of the scenario is set for Monday with QRS and Battle Briefing sent out for review.  Rules of Engagement will be my version of Basic Impetvs played on hexes.

Return to Marathon

In a last-minute invitation to join into a game, Scott convincingly drew me away from domestic duties to make the drive to Coeur d'Alene to join he and Dale for a gaming session and lunch.  I am glad that I accepted!

After a brief catch-up as we awaited Dale's arrival, we descended into the game room to see the Battle of Marathon laid out on the table.  Scott and I refought Marathon back in September (see A Marathon Marathon).  Hard to believe that this was our last miniatures game together.  More surprising that the battle was still on Scott's table!  As expected, the rules of engagement were Command & Colors Ancients (CCA) using Scott's beautiful 28mm armies. 

CCA Marathon

Since today's offering was a first for Dale, Scott and I played Game #1 to give Dale a feel for the game and its mechanisms.  In this game Scott commanded the Greeks while I headed the Persian Army.  Banner count needed for victory is six so first commander to eliminate six units wins. 

I find commanding a lightly armed Persian Army a difficult task when facing the heavy Greek infantry.  When the Greek heavy infantry make contact, they can cut wide swathes through the Persians.  The Persians are not without hope, though.  In this first game, however, my Persians fell decisively to Scott's Greeks 6-3.  Not a horrible showing for my Persians but I never managed to truly bring the Persian firepower to bear.

In Game #2, I faced Dale in his maiden test with Scott ably assisting.  While the battle got off to a good start for the Persians with a successful playing of the "Darken the Skies" card, the Greeks came roaring back to lay waste to much of the Persian line.  Still, the Persians managed to pick off a few weakened Greek units to eke out a 6-5 victory at the last minute.  Hoorah!

Scott at the head of the Greek Army.

In Game #3, I faced the cunning maestro, Scott, as we swapped sides in a rematch.  Scott commanded the Greeks while I headed the Persian Army.  In a tense but quick game, my Persians overpowered the Greeks in a 6-3 victory.  There were anxious moments for the Greeks, though.  Scott successfully brought his cavalry across the river to cut up the Greek center badly.  Hoorah for a second victory!

With three games in the books, we broke for lunch.  After lunch I needed to return home while Scott and Dale continued with a game of What a Tanker.  Scott and Dale played the rules at the recent Enfilade! con in Tacoma in May and were anxious to bring that enthusiasm back home.  While I could not participate, Scott sent along a couple photos from that game.  Perhaps I will get to give these rules a try sometime?

For me, having spent a week away tending to family, this invitation for a half-day session was most welcome.  Now, back to catching up on domestic duties.

  

Thanks, Scott and Dale!

EDIT: A second post delayed from appearing in blogroll feed by about 20 hours!  This makes two posts in a row.