Tokugawa's Wild Ride!

Yes, Game #5 in the series refighting the 1572 Battle of Mikata Ga Hara proved an exciting battle.  The result left no doubt that an inferior army can defeat a larger one.  Convincingly too.  Unfortunately, I was on the losing end of this contest and took a sound drubbing.

Initial battle deployments

With Game #4 seeing an equally convincing victory for Takeda (Pascal) over Tokugawa (me), I figured I had a chance at victory when we swapped sides and played again.  Wrong!  Wrong, indeed!  The battle went so terribly wrong for the Takeda almost from the start.

How did an inferior army handily defeat a superior one?  Please read on to see.

As seen from the initial battle deployments, the Takeda army is caught by surprise with elements of the army somewhat isolated from the bulk of the army.  Having the advantage of ambush, Tokugawa forces have as many as two turns to maneuver as long as the Tokugawa do not trigger any response from the Takeda by attacking or entering an enemy ZOC.   

Takeda longbowmen isolated and facing the enemy alone. 

After closing the distance between the two armies, Tokugawa attacks!  Leading with Samurai spear, these infantry charge into the Takeda longbowmen.  The longbow gets off a volley of missile fire before the Samurai can close.  The incoming arrows disorder the Samurai.  Still, the Samurai carry on and cut down many bowmen before the bowmen retreat. 

Tokugawa attacks!

With the lead longbow unit retiring, the pursuing Samurai plow into the adjacent unit of longbowmen.  Having no time to get off an effective shot before contact, these bowmen break and run for the rear.  Casualties are heavy.  Facing fresh Takeda Samurai cavalry if they continue, Tokugawa Samurai foot stop to reorganize.   

Takeda archers are put to flight!

In a one-two punch following up on the success of the foot Samurai, Tokugawa Samurai cavalry charges forward to hit the retiring bowmen.  Already wavering these archers scatter and run.  The charging cavalry carries on into the waiting Takeda cavalry.  In a brief but sharp clash, the Takeda cavalry is driven back.  Reining left, Tokugawa Samurai cavalry catches the retreating longbowmen in the rear.  They are cut down where they stand.  A path to the Takeda command tent is open and, perhaps, ripe for the picking.

Destruction of the Takeda center

Seeing the entire center of the Takeda line either destroyed or in disarray, these hard charging cavalry veer off to the left.  Wheeling about, they bring a new, unsuspecting target into their sights.  That target?  Takeda Samurai horse archers caught from behind!  

Caught in the rear and no place to run, the Takeda horse archers scatter.  Still, the Samurai cavalry comes on.  Charging up the hill, these horsmen contact a unit of Ashigaru spearmen. 

Samurai horse on a rampage!

Tokugawa commander pleased with his efforts!

After a long melee, the horsemen are victorious but exhausted.  They have done all of the damage they can do this turn.  The damage inflicted was astounding.  In these devastating attacks, Takeda Army Breakpoint dropped from 22 to 10.    

Rampaging Samurai cavalry finally halt.

Tokugawa commander still smiling
 as the Takeda Army Clock drops. 

While the battle continued until the Takeda Army Breakpoint clock tolled zero, I end the battle narrative here.  The remainder of the battle waged for several more turns in jockeying for positions, mopping up exercises, and isolated attacks.  Still, for the Takeda to mount a serious counterattack with its right obliterated and its center heavily damaged was unlikely.

Watching the series of Tokugawa charges and subsequent pursuits unfold was awesome even though I was on the receiving end.  Takeda never had a chance to recover from those early attacks.  Those early, knock-out punches stunned the Takeda army from which it never recovered.

Game #5 produced an exciting battle with drama and tension on every move and every roll of the dice.  Especially in defeat, I admire the skill used to gain positional advantage.

Well played, Pascal!  Thank you for a very enjoyable game.

For now, the battlefield of Mikata Ga Hara has been cleared from the table.  A new battle is set out in its place.  A battle for a different period, a different set of rules, and a group of different players.