Japanese Cavalry Battles

[General Malaise]

Some informative video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-DFmwdiRhc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbCugshvMno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8XIZ5F-s_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHtvEXJeDZk

[ReluctantSamurai]

The training time and upkeep for those "horses" must be horrendous:inquisitive:

:laugh4:

[Gregoshi]

The STW battle music kept playing in my head while watching this.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

Oh I can't wait for some epic clashes of Samurai cavalry. And now I know how they get their training lol....

I wonder if the upkeep will be really high? Hmm...

[Tomisama]

Something I remember about troop movements in the original Shogun, was their flexibility.

Especially the cavalry; they moved like silk, flowing from one position to the other.

When the first Medieval came along, we entered into the box-step military movements.

I hope someone designing remembers the way the Shogun units moved in a most natural fashion.

It was very much a part of the essence of the game.

Like silk :wink:

[Tsar Alexsandr]

Cavalry were excellent in Shogun Total War. I really enjoyed them. And they were very flexible. Yari cavalry, Naginata cavalry, and the Hattori heavy cavalry wasn't it? As well as the mounted archers. (Lately one of my utter favorite units.)

[Wasp]

Yeah, and they were pretty balanced as well.

[Kagemusha]

I also loved the cavalry in STW. In historical point of view mounted warfare is bit of tricky pony for this period Japan. typically each contingent in samurai army held some mounted samurais, but they were never organized as large independent cavalry units like "wings" that period European armies had. Usually a japanese mounted unit was infact a mixture of mounted samurais and their foot retainers, but i think in a game this kind of units would be very hard to represent, so i am completely fine running down my enemies with Yari or Yumi armed mounted bushi´s organized in independent cavalry units.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

True. But perhaps brilliant and talented men like Kenshin, Shingen, and Nobunaga would have had their men more organized?

The Takeda cavalry were excellent. So, I would assume he could have established some sort of order.

If nothing else though it's a game dynamic issue.

In the latter times, I believe the Date and the Shimazu had some pretty complex formations and order in their armies. Shimazu had archers stationed with the musketeers to act as snipers. (Due to their greater accuracy.)

[jodmeister]

I remember one player standing out amongst others in their use of cavalry....MagyarKhan....his equine skills were immense.

I only ever remember beating him once in a 1v1 and I was a pretty good player back in those days.

JOD.

[Kagemusha]

True. But perhaps brilliant and talented men like Kenshin, Shingen, and Nobunaga would have had their men more organized?

The Takeda cavalry were excellent. So, I would assume he could have established some sort of order.

If nothing else though it's a game dynamic issue.

In the latter times, I believe the Date and the Shimazu had some pretty complex formations and order in their armies. Shimazu had archers stationed with the musketeers to act as snipers. (Due to their greater accuracy.)

I dont think it was so much of lack of organisation in Japanese armies. More like a different type a warfare. When i think of a period Japanese army.It was comprised of several smaller armies , contingents or sections lead by a vassal of the main daimyo.These smaller detachments engaged each other under direction of daimyo like Shingen or Kenshin who you mention. So instead of gathering all spearmen under one banner. All bowmen under another and all mounted warriors under a third. A feudal Japanese army fought by sending a contingent of lets say Honda against contingent of Yamamoto against each other, while these contingents already held all the different types of warriors inside them.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

I dont think it was so much of lack of organisation in Japanese armies. More like a different type a warfare. When i think of a period Japanese army.It was comprised of several smaller armies , contingents or sections lead by a vassal of the main daimyo.These smaller detachments engaged each other under direction of daimyo like Shingen or Kenshin who you mention. So instead of gathering all spearmen under one banner. All bowmen under another and all mounted warriors under a third. A feudal Japanese army fought by sending a contingent of lets say Honda against contingent of Yamamoto against each other, while these contingents already held all the different types of warriors inside them.

Ah, I see what you mean. :D Yeah, and the various troop types in a contingent would also compliment each other. Hmm. Perhaps it's fair to say that a general's orders were just as important as each contingent's captain/lord/samurai. It's like a lot of small armies perhaps?

This could still be done to a certain extent. Nothing would stop somebody from grouping their army into small task forces.

Of course units that are mixed in the first place would possibly be problematic to players.

I wouldn't doubt that under certain conditions a general enhanced the effectiveness of his troops by grouping them with like groups. Like a lot of spearmen to ward off cavalry, or archers or gunners to mass fire.

I mentioned Shimazu's tactic of grouping experience archers with gunners. So that's like what you were saying I think. :D It was a very effective strategy from what I know. The more accurate and faster firing yumi-archers would pick off officers and targets of high value, while the inaccurate guns simply massed fire.