STW War Story Part V
Furinkazan - The Ambition of Takeda
Fire (1)
Chapter 7 Fire across Kinki
Autumn 1536
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Autumn 1536, Takeda united the
entire northern Japan.
Accompanied by the expensive victory of Echizen, Takeda also lost its fine general - Sanada Kiyomasa, who killed Imagawa Yoshimoto in Mikawa in revenge of Sanada Takamasa, his father (let's assume). While waiting for the almost-matured heir of Takeda Shingen, lord Takeda Nobutora decided to launch the campaign against Oda. Mino and Owari were taken with less than 100 men died - but nobody could be sure what challenges were awaiting. Oda Nobuhide gathered quite a large army in Omi - but Takeda Nobutora still decided to make the attack. However, at the same time, Oda emptied Omi and attacked Owari...! |
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Owari : Although the Oda army had a much larger size, many of them were poorly trained ashigaru. In addition, Oda Nobuhide was not the commander of the army - he moved to Wakasa. Takeda Nobutora had deliberately left a large number of archers in Owari. After seeing all Oda army came to the left, 3 out of 4 groups of archers were ordered to move on the hill, ready to fire at Nobutora's command. As soon as 1/3 of Oda's army crossed the bridge, the archers poured arrows on the enemy! |
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Takeda Nobutora blocked the enemy
using the only group of yari samurai, adding the flank of yari ashigaru.
These two units suffered high losses, but they were supported by their
daimyo fighting side by side.
Finally the enemy routed and their taisho was killed. The Oda army soon broke into chaos - many of them killed while crossing the bridge (the arrows were still pouring from above). |
| Sorry
about losing the picture again. Here is the stats extracted from log file:
Oda : Killed 48, Lost 292. Takeda : Killed 289, Lost 118 (so many friendly kills!) |
Omi province was also taken free
by Takeda's Mino invasion army at the same time. With
nowhere to retreat, the 900 Oda soldiers either retreated into the Owari
castle or were forced to disband. Oda Nobuhide lost greatly.
It was a poor timing for Oda Nobuhide to launch the attack - and he did not even command the army in Owari. Is the lord of Oda so afraid of the fierce Takeda warriors, or he was too worried about the defense in Wakasa because Echizen has fallen? |
Harvest of 1536: Poor (25% down), Tax rate = 75%. Budget = 3769 koku
Spring 1537
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The harvest was less than
expected - which was bad because Takeda really needed more soldiers at
this moment. The entire Takeda army was numbered less than 2000 - which
was definitely insufficient to conquer Kinki.
But there was still some chance - if Takeda could concentrate their attacks and do it fast enough, then Oda will be forced to retreat into the castle and perish with time. Then, Takeda will be able to spread like fire - from a spark at the corner to the entire Kinki. Putting into action - now Takeda attacks Wakasa! Also, a spear dojo in Omi was started. Takeda is very short of yari troops after the fights in the northern mountains. The spear dojo in Shinano will soon be used for yari cavalry training. |
Autumn 1537
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With an outnumbered army, Oda
Nobuhide retreated from Wakasa.
The gain of Wakasa enabled Takeda to see their old foe - Mori Motonari in Tajima! But it is not yet the time to revenge for the western provinces... the fire needs to concentrate their heat - or it will be extinguished easily. With the northern passage now blocked - Takeda Nobutora soon attacked south - Iga. |
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Iga : The Oda army also retreated from Iga! Another large number ended up in the castle. |
Harvest of 1537: Good (25% up), Tax rate = 75%. Budget = 6697 koku
Spring 1538
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With a good harvest, Takeda could
now produce more troops. Another good news - when Takeda Nobutora attack
Yamato, his heir was finally matured.
The legendary general of Sengoku Jidai - Takeda Shingen - joined the Takeda clan as a yari cavalry general in Kai! |
Summer 1538
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Oda again retreated from Yamato!
Now Oda is only left with Tamba, Kawachi, and Kii. Although there were
very few army in Kawachi, Takeda Nobutora was almost sure that Oda
Nobuhide will move a large garrison here next season.
Just to play it safe, Nobutora ordered the Wakasa army to attack Tamba at the same time the Kawachi attack was launched. Either Kawachi or Tamba will be taken by Takeda! |
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It turned out that Oda Nobuhide
played a trick of shadow daimyo - but they surely gathered a large number
in Kawachi.
Takeda Nobuhide had little chance to prevail in Kawachi even if Oda Nobuhide was not really there - he called off the attack. Yet Tamba was taken free. |
Harvest of 1538: Normal, Tax rate = 100%. Budget = 7321 koku
Winter 1538
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Another year of
"peace", the fire of Takeda had spread through Kinki without any
single real battle. The total number of Takeda had risen to more than
2500.
Knowing that Oda Nobuhide moved to Kii in Autumn, Takeda Nobutora anticipated that Oda's main force will come back to Kawachi in the next season. Now it comes to the chance to attack Kii. And, Nobutora was correct - the Oda army in Kii was forced to retreat to Kawachi! The 3000+ Oda army was reduced to only 1000 - although the were no real battle...! |
Spring 1539
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Now Oda is left with only one
province of Kawachi, yet their number was a great threat in this river
province.
Takeda Shingen finally arrived in Wakasa via Mino. His father assigned him a tough mission - attack Yamashiro, the province of the emperor...! Also, Nobutora did not want to wait any longer. He marched the elite troops of Takeda into Kawachi, seeking the decisive battle between Oda and Takeda. Yet Oda Nobuhide attacked Yamato at the same time! The spring of 1539 will be critically important for Takeda... |
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Kawachi : With Oda Nobuhide leading the majority of army to Yamato, Kawachi was only defended by 360. However, the commander of Oda was Nobuhide's brother, Oda Nobuhiro. Might be a tough opponent... Choosing a heavy rainy day, Takeda Nobutora charged all yari samurais across, followed by cavalry. Oda archer's ability were largely affected by the rain, and finally their ashigaru lost their will to fight! Oda Nobuhiro, the ashigaru general was killed! |
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What an easy victory for Takeda. However, there is no guarantee that Takeda Shingen will perform equally well in Yamashiro. Also, could the small number of Yamato army resist the invasion of Oda Nobuhide? |
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Yamashiro : The first real battle of Takeda Shingen - the fine cavalry of Takeda faced the fierce monks and archers guarding the emperor's lands. The enemy sit against the slope on the far back. What is in the mind of Shingen? |
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Using one group of Cavalry archers as bait, Shingen successfully lured some warrior monks to come forward! Needless to say, these proud monks became practicing targets of Takeda's bowmen! |
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Shingen spread out the formation.
Yari samurai were evenly distributed; the yari cavalry flank the enemy on
the right, while cavalry archers flanking on the left.
As Takeda approaches the monk, the warrior monks charged down! The yari samurai soon came forward, and the flanks moved to its position and charge! |
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Takeda's cavalry were surely posed a great threat to the combination of monks and archers! The enemy were routed under the extensive flanking, and they were not forgiven on their way home...! |
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Killing 82% of the enemy, Takeda
Shingen accomplished a great victory for his father. Although himself did
not make any kill (Takeda Shingen likes to command behind the army), he
was surely a great commander.
Corpses everywhere in Yamashiro. The emperor of Japan was shocked by the tactics of Takeda Shingen. He soon declared his support for the Takeda clan! So now it is left to Yamato - the destiny of Oda... (to be continued) |
