Shimazu Campaign -- Spring 1531

Battle of Nagato

As the Shimazu army drew close to the forest, one of archers spotted the Mori banners hiding within the foliage. Ijuin's instinct had proved correct, as he wasted no time searching for the enemy at all. Slowly, the Shimazu army deployed in front of the forest with the archers in the center, General Ijuin's yari samurai on the right flank and the Ashigaru unit, commanded by General Matsudaira on the left. Once deployed, Ijuin ordered the archers to approach and open fire on the enemy position.

Just before the first volley took flight, Ijuin's archers returned some astonishing intelligence on the makeup of the enemy force: Mori's garrison had no archers whatsoever! Ijuin knew he would be able to take his time and exhaust his arrows before seeking a close engagement. However, the Mori forces soon decided to leave the forest under fire and attempt to climb the steep hills to the east to escape the lethal barrages.

Sensing that the enemy taisho was losing his nerve, Ijuin ordered the Ashigaru unit to enter the forest behind the enemy as they vacated it. The archers were ordered to maintain their barrage, while Ijuin himself climbed the slopes on the right flank of his formation. Finding themselves cornered and with no means of escape, the Mori taisho opted to attack downhill as their pursuers in a desperate attempt to escape the blockade.

Mori's force split into two: their Ashigaru taisho charged at Ijuin's position, while their yari samurai chased the Shimazu archers. When the split became apparent, Ijuin ordered the trailing Ashigaru unit lead by Matsudaira to charge behind the yari samurai and into the rear of the Mori general. Ijuin ordered his unit to stand fast and hold the attacking Mori general long enough for the Ashigaru backup to arrive. Ijuin's 26 men valiantly stood their ground, beating back frenzied attacks by the enemy taisho and their Ashigaru contingent, which outnumbered Ijuin's yari samurai almost by a little over 2 to 1.

To prevent a flank attack by the yari samurai, Ijuin ordered his archer unit to engage the Mori samurai unit and hold them until their general had been wiped out. Matsudaira's Ashigaru moved swiftly and closed the gap between them and the Mori general unimpeded, as the Mori yari samurai had already descended into the valley below in pursuit of Ijuin's archers. Matsudaira slammed into the enemy taisho's rear. Within minutes, their taisho routed and his head taken while fleeing for his worthless life. Ijuin's unit sustained all of the casualties of the fight with the enemy general.

Both Ijuin and Matsudaira pursued the enemy ashigaru until they wiped most of them out. Afterwards, they turned downhill to attack the yari samurai unit, which by now had managed to gain the upper hand against the Shimazu archers. Matsudaira's ashigaru unit arrived on the scene quickly, and their rear attack prompted the remnants of the last Mori unit on the battlefield to rout. The fast Shimazu ashigaru cut down most of the fleeing yari samurais as they ran in panick through the forest.

Ijuin gazed over the scene, knowing well that he has secured a decisive victory over Mori's defenses in western Honshu.

Aftermath

Matsudaira's Ashigaru unit performed admirably in their first test on the battlefield. Their presence secured victory with their swift and decisive strikes. And through all that, they lost not a single man!