The Spirit Fields: A Chokosabe Campaign Story/AAR

[Monk]

This is a story driven After Action Report of my Chokosabe Campaign attempting to blend the gameplay of Shogun 2 with a rather basic narrative.

Sorry about the map. When i decided to do this i realized I didn't have saved maps of the intervals I wanted to write about, so i had to retouch by hand. It demonstrates the extent of the powers in my game well. The Hattori are highlighted here in red to make them standout.

Enough of that: Hope you enjoy.

The Spirit Fields
A Chokosabe After Action Report




Japan
1570

After decades of warfare in the Japanese Islands, one man has risen above his peers. He has overcome the terrible divide plaguing his nation and established his family at the head of the Shogunate. With the Emperor's blessing and support, all warfare has ceased and it is a time of peace. A time for an exhausted nation to settle down and once more begin to live their lives at ease. That man is.. is Oda Nobuhide. Together with his ally, an aging Uesugi Kenshin, he consolidates his power in Kyoto, he declares his alliance to be the de facto seat of power in the islands.

But the land is hardly united.

Though much of Honshu falls beneath the command of the Oda alliance, another power has risen in the western half of Japan. Lead by the Chokosabe clan, Shikoku and Kyushu have flourished in peace since being united in 1565. The Chokosabe daimyo, Motochika, is celebrated throughout Japan as a true hero. The man who drove foreign influence from the shores of Kyushu, and put an end once and for all to the divide amongst the people's faith. You would need to be blind to have ignored his rise to power, and Nobuhide was wary.

In 1568 the two warlords announced a grand alliance. Between the powerful trio of Kenshin, Nobuhide and Motochika, Japan was indeed united, save for the independent territories in Eastern Honshu. Though they appear to be friends and make nice for public appearances, especially those before the Emperor, it is no secret Motochika and Nobuhide despise one another. It is rumored the attempt upon Motochika's life, perpetuated by a nameless assassin in 1569, was the work of the Shogun himself.

Regardless of their private feelings, neither man truly wished to wage full scale war upon the other. They were complete equals in power, if not in name or position, and any armed conflict would bring about the deaths of thousands... and so the realm sat, perched precariously upon a divide between east and west.

In the summer of 1570 Motochika launched an impressive three-pronged assault into the Hattori lands in western Honshu. Long since raiding trade routes to fund their insurgancy against the Shogunate, Motochika's goal was to pin down and eradicate the troublesome clan once and for all. His assault was made, however, without the approval of Nobuhide. As tales of the incredibly rough fighting in the Hattori territories made their way east, the Shogunate found his own accomplishments increasingly overshadowed by that of the Chokosabe Alliance.

By the time of his final victory in late December of 1570, Motochika had eradicated the hattori in western Honshu. But there came a request. Nobuhide demanded the won territories be handed over to the Shogunate, as a show of loyalty, and of respect. Motochika flatly refused. It would dishonor those who had died, he argued, but the Shogun refused compromise, as did Motochika.

In January of 1571 it came to war.

And so it was that the realm was divided between east and west. On one side: The western forces of the Chokosabe and their vassals, the Ouchi. On the other, the eastern armies of the Oda Shogunate and their vassals, the Yamana, as well as their stanch allies the Uesugi.

Despite a state of war persisting for nearly four years, no major battles took place in the period of 1571 to 1574. The engagements between the two sides were limited to minor skirmishes, cavalry raids, and quick naval strikes on trade. All of that would chang at Kurayoshi in 1575.

The Battle of Kurayoshi
Year: 1575
Belligerents: Clan Chokosabe v Oda Shogunate
Commanders: Chokosabe Motochika | Takigawa Tokinari

Gathering his forces in the western tip of Honshu, Motochika launched a quick strike into Hoki province in April of 1575. His sweep was knocked away the local defenders, securing the province little bloodshed. It proved to be an embarrassing loss for the Shogunate, the first true shots of the war fired, and the man from the west had beaten the legitimate government clean. Nobuhide himself had been putting down a rebellion near Kii province when the word reached him. Furious, he ordered Takigawa Tokinari from Osaka to march north and drive the Chokosabe out.

It wasn't until the following autumn that Tokinari could muster a march from Osaka castle. Many of the best troops in service to the Shogunate had been sent south to aid Nobuhide in putting down the Kii rebellions. More still had been sent to the east to fight the coalition of independent cities that had maintained their freedom around Dewa. With winter fast approaching and little choice other than to obey his directives, he marched, and arrived in Hoki during late September. Motochika had established a forward base just outside the town of Kurayoshi. Tokanari marched upon his position, only to find the Chokosabe Daimyo well dug in on a hill...

Supported on the right with archers, a veteran core of samurai at his center, and a fanatical group of religious monks at his left, Chokosabe was well prepared for an attack. For three days the two sides stood at odds. Chokosabe patiently waiting upon his favorable terrain, blocking the way forward, while Tokinari paced nervous in encampment. Should he attack? Should he wait? On September 28 he made his choice.

He would attack. The Oda cavalry pressed forward at the spearhead of a great host of samurai and ashigaru, well motivated and seasoned. They were the army of the Shogunate, no force had withstood their attack since Nobuhide had claimed power. The right was with them, surely, they would win... surely they marched to victory.

Motochika sent forward his cavalry and the two forces clashed at the base of the hill. Oda and Chokosabe horsemen met in a vicious fight as the Oda army moved into position. But Motochika waited, his archers on the ridge laying down a hail of arrows, but his men on the hill stood their ground. They would not move.

Chokosabe pulled his cavalry core back, just as the Oda infantry reached the bottem of the ridge. His archers laid continued to fire as his men retreated behind the mainline. The Oda's push was stronger than expected and his cavalry reserves paid for it in blood. The initial skirmish was over, a point to the Shogunate, and now the real game was about to begin. With a mighty horn came the signal to charge, and the two forces clashed against one another. A terrible sound as steel met flesh, Oda's war on the Chokosabe begun in earnest.

From the position on the hill, one could see the entire battle line. The sounds of battle, of steel, of screams, it all meshed into one as the archers continued to fire.

But slowly... the Oda push was stopped in its tracks, it ground to a halt.. and then, the Chokosabe pushed back. Step by bloody step they forced the army of the Shogunate backwards down the hill until they were tripping over the bodies of the horsemen they'd passed on the way up.

The Oda right flank was hit the hardest, subject to a devastating charge from the Chokosabe Warrior Monks. The furious attack ripped the samurai who had been entrusted to that flank apart, collapsing the line. Motochika seized upon the opportunity, and led his cavalry in a wide sweep around the lines. His charge against the Oda support troops and second wave of the assault cut the heart from the Shogun's powerful army. Without support the men on the hill were ground into submission. Those who did not flee were cut down where they stood. The battle had been ended and Chokosabe Motochika surveyed the field. He had defied the Shogun, and had won.

But he and his men had not escaped without a scratch. Many brave men of the Chokosabe had been felled alongside those of the Oda. Laying silent in death they were equals, no longer men of the Chokosabe, or men of the Shogunate, simply men. Upon seeing the carnage Motochika is said to have ordered those of both sides be given proper rites in death.

As for Takigawa Tokinari, commander of the failed assault on Kurayoshi, his body was never found. It is unknown whether he survived the battle.

The battle would see the complete annihilation of the Oda Shogunate's western army and pave the way for an attack to the south. Although having suffered so many losses, Motochika would need to wait in order to press his advantage. He wintered in Hoki, rebuilding his strength for the coming storm. Kurayoshi was the start of the greatest conflict in Japanese history, one that would decide the Sengoku era once and for all and bring about an end to the power of the samurai.

In the follwing year, 1576.. that war was far from over...

[Monk]

A year of Sorrow.

Japan
1576

Following the disasterous battle of Kurayoshi, Shogunate forces were scattered in the wake of the victorious Chokosabe Army. Chokosabe Motochika returned to the fortress, two miles north of the city itself, to winter and rebuild his strength for the coming season. Oda Nobuhide however, was not about to let this embarassment go unanswered. With his western army completely destroyed he sent the call to the North and East, to rally the Yamana and Uesugi clans for full scale war. He would need many more man than the Shogunate could muster if he was to best Motochika, it would seem.

But the Shogun was not a patient man, and after Tokinari's defeat and disappearance in the wake of Kurayoshi, Nobuhide himself decided to end the threat of the Chokosabe. With Kii firmly under the government's control he gathered his forces and trekked through the south, arriving near Kurayoshi in December of the following year, 1576.

Outnumbering the Chokosabe force nearly two to one, the Shogun had a decided advantage and established a siege line around the fortress of his enemy. Motochika could not believe the audacity of the shogun, to risk a winter siege after such a long march! Either Nobuhide was brave or a fool, or perhaps both..



As January dawned upon the Japanese Islands, and both sides began to gear up in earnest, Oda Nobuhide summoned his aids to his tent. It is believed that at this meeting he decided to attack the fortress after only three weeks. The reason for his haste is two fold, or so to be believed. His army was too large and simply could not support itself on the cold plains of Kurayoshi. A forced march from Kii province had nearly exhausted his supplies, and his men were getting hungry. If he waited any longer he may have had to contend with them instead of Motochika!

Secondly, it is believed Nobuhide wated to end the conflict before it escelated any further. Though Kurayoshi was incredibly brutal, it remained a conflict between Motochika and Nobuhide, or so the Shogun believed. If one could be removed.. perhaps further bloodshed would then be spared... And so with his target set, the Army of the Shogunate stormed the walls!



The Oda force was a largely volunteer army from the cities and farms near Kyoto, in contrast, the Chokosabe army was a tough, primarily samurai force. They were men who had survived the hell at Kurayoshi, some still had been present for the pacification of Kyushu, and the Christian rebellions of 1563. They were men apart, and yet as Oda's men stormed the castle, even the best amongst them fell. For when thrown against such odds, even the best can fall.



Motochika could feel the power of the shogun closing in around him. His men were being pushed backwards, slowly, but surely, the walls were being lost to the encroaching Oda army. It was rumored that Emura Moroyashi, a loyal retainer of the Chokosabe family, was on his way to reinforce Hoki province. However, as the hours slipped by and yet more Oda waves assaulted the walls, Motochika could feel as if reinforcements were not coming. In truth, Emura Moroyashi had been delayed by an ambushing force of Yamana. Though he and the rest of his men managed to fight through the ambush with limited casualties, he would not be able to reach the field in time...



His men were being pushed backward into the interior of the fortress. The seige had turned into a desperate fight. One that was measured in the yards gained and lost. Entire units of men died just to gain another step of ground from the determined Chokosabe defenders. In a last ditch attempt to tighten his defense perimiter, Motochika ordered all surviving men to fall back to the center and hold. In all directions they fought: Monks, Samurai, and even ashigaru stood shoulder to shoulder...



Until finally they fell, one by one. Chokosabe Motochika's body was found at the center of a circle of warriors. According to legend, when the Daimyo fell, his most trusted men gathered around the body, even as the battle raged in every direction around them, they fought to protect their fallen lord. Attempting to keep any of the Oda from taking his head as a trophy.

Nobuhide himself entered the fortress as the battle was coming to an end. He is said to have displayed true disbelief as to why any would follow a man like Motochika to their death. His own army, however, was in shambles. Even though he'd won the battle, his army was in far worse shape than Motochika's was after Kurayoshi. There'd be no way he could continue his campaign without reinforcements from the Yamana and Uesugi clans.

Two weeks later, Nobuhide would die of a terrible fever. A disease believed to have been contracted at the siege. The residents of the town of Kurayoshi still love to tell the legend of the battle, and how Nobuhide is said to have laughed on his death-bed. "I suppose I, too, shall follow Motochika to my death.." With both daimyo of the opposing sides now dead. It would fall to their heirs, Chokosabe Akiie and Oda Nobunaga to continue the war for control of Japan. It was also in the winter of 1576 that the aging Uesugi Kenshin, who had served Nobuhide faithfully since the latter's rise to power, passed away peacefully in Echigo.

In a way Nobuhide was right, the conflict until that point was simply between himself and his rival, Motochika. Upon their deaths it would instead spiral into something far greater. With the call to the Yamana and Uesugi clans answered in the spring of 1576, The Chokosabe clan called its own vassals, the Ouchi, and the soon to be emerging Matsuda, into the fight. The polarizing figures of the conflict had been removed, leaving only two sides: East and West. The sides were drawn, it was time for true war to begin.

[Populus Romanus]

Wow, this is good! You have some great screenshots!

[Gregoshi]

Riveting story Monk. It has lived up to the billing you've given it. Storytelling at its finest.

Is there more?

[Monk]

Wow, this is good! You have some great screenshots!

Thank you. I've recorded the pivital battles of the conflict and have to watch them 3 or 4 times to get screenshots I really like. Glad you like them.

Riveting story Monk. It has lived up to the billing you've given it. Storytelling at its finest.

Is there more?

Thank you Gregoshi

Yes there's much more. This AAR will run from 1570-1590 and covers the key battles of the war between the Shogunate and the Chokosabe alliance, as well as the build up around them and their strategic implications. The next update will likely be tomorrow.

[Monk]

The Coming Storm

To fully appreciate just how the deaths of Nobuhide and Motochika polarized Japan, one must only look to the successors of the different sides of the conflict. In the west Chokosabe Akiie took command of the Chokosabe Alliance: Which now consisted of his own forces, the Ouchi, and the Matsuda clan. Akiie was a young man, barely 17 when his father met his end on the cold plains of Kurayoshi. It was not a fate he himself was eager to rush into. In fact, given his general attitude and style of rule, one might make the case Motochilka's death opened the eyes of his son to the folly of leading the army himself.

"It is not the responsibility of the head of state.." Akiie would write decades afterward, "..to lead those loyal to him upon the field of battle. Instead, the Daimyo should concern himself with the affairs of economy and the happiness of the people." It was a position traditionally shunned by the daimyo of the Chokosabe. Always concerning themselves with the actions of the field. It was how glory was won, and honor proven! Akiie believed honor could be proven just as effectively in other ways. From his capitol in Tosa province, he expanded the road-ways. Increased subsidies to farmers throughout his realm, encouraging a much more aggressive agricultural initiative. Beneath Akiie's eye, the lands of the Chokosabe flourished with bountiful harvests, the size of which had not been seen since the conquest of Kyushu.

It was also Akiie who began to emphasize a greater unity with the other members of the "Chokosabe Alliance" Historians credit the shrewd politics of the Chokosabe daimyo to be the true reason why nearly all of western Japan, at this time, truly began to rally together. After Motochika's death, it was no longer simply about Chokosabe Vs Oda, or Motochika against Nobuhide. It was about much more than that. The importance of honor and the unity between the man working the farms and the man leading the nation. That's what this war was about, or so Akiie said. But more importantly.. that's what people believed. Gone was the Clan Chokosabe.. when the common man talked to his neighbor in the sake dens of Kyoto.. it was "The Western Force" or, "The Alliance of the West" that they called them. Later historians have also taken to calling the Alliance this name post 1576.

Akiie's counterpart was Oda Nobunaga, who succeeded his father as Shogun of all Japan nearly at the same time. His position could not have been any different when it came to how one should rule. To Nobunaga, who had spent the better part of his life fighting his father's wars, it was not only his duty to lead, but his right.

"What then could I say to him? The man from Kyoto, or Akashi, or Totorri, who answers the call of his Shogun to fight, but must do so in the knowledge the man who calls upon him, yet stays behind far from the fields? No. I would never ask a man to march where I would not stand beside him" ~Nobunaga in a conversation with one of his aids, Kyoto, March of 1577.

Beneath Oda Nobunaga, a conscription campaign like no other swept through the realm. Men from all walks of life, from all clans who called themselves loyal to the Shogunate, were called into service. No man would be permitted to refuse the call, but those that answered were handsomely compensated. Ashigaru were paid well for their battlefield service - even more should they die in the loyal service of the Shogunate, against those who would see it thrown down. It was the first step in his attempts to modernize and turn the conscripts, who had long served the Oda clan since their rise to power, into something more than hungry peasants from far-flung farms.



As the spring thaw came upon the fields around Kurayoshi, Shogunate forces found themselves incredibly outnumbered when Emura Moroyasu arrived. After having been delayed on the road to the citadel the previous season, he and his men attacked with a rightous anger - to avenge their daimyo and drive the Shogunate forces from Hoki province once and for all. Moroyashu's force was a tough and dedicated lot, with the majority of his combat power coming from the religious arm of the Buddhist temples of west Honshu. Ever since the liberation of Kyushu from Christian daimyo, men of the buddhist faith had flocked to the Chokosabe banner. As the forces of the Chokosabe began to turn more and more into a centralized "western" entity, this tradition continued. Hoki province fell easily to Moroyasu, but he and his men now had a bigger issue on their hands.

Spies had reported that the Yamana and Uesugi clans were massing for an attack on Hoki, coming sometime during the next year. Reports were sketchy at best, but it was believed at the time to be a two pronged assault. Kojima Tanemura of the Yamana would assault from Inaba in the east, while Amakusa Nakayori of the Uesugi would come up from Harima in the south. If the plan worked, it'd catch Moroyasu in a pincer and the entire Western force would be destroyed. In truth, while the Shogunate was moving forces into position, they were unwilling to risk another assault so soon after the terrible clashes at Kurayoshi. The Western forces beneath Emura Moroyasu, in turn, were just as content to wait.

It was not until late March of 1578 that Kuwana Michiyori, a talented commander of the West and long-time supporter of the Chokosabe, landed in Bichu with well over 5000 men. This is exactly what Emura Moroyasu was waiting for, and what lead to the worst defeat of the West's history to that point...

Michiyori would attack Harima and draw the Uesugi forces into a fight near Akashi, while Moroyasu attacked deep into Inaba and put an end to the Yamana. It was so clear in the young general's mind. He marched out in late May pushing into Inaba province. What he did not know was exactly how strong the Yamana proved to be. If he did, he likely never would have attacked. Emura Moroyasu broke into Inaba on the 1st of June, scattering an equally sized Yamana force with little difficulty, what would later be known as the First battle of Inaba Fields was a disaster for Shogunate forces, seeing the death of the Yamana daimyo and nearly a quarter of the standing Yamana army. This was, at the time, believed to be the entire army of the Shogunate's vassal. Forgoing further scouting, and convinced his victory was in grasp, Moroyasu pushed on toward Tottori castle.. only to be confronted by the man spies had warned the West of, Kojima Tanemura - at the head of an army numbering three times that of Moroyasu's...

Second at Inaba Fields
Year: 1578
Belligerents: Western Alliance v Yamana Clan ( Shogunate Vassal )
Commanders: Emura Moroyasu | Kojima Tanemura

A betting man would have seen the odds and fallen back. A smart man would have attempted an ambush. Moroyasu was so swelled by his easy victories, both in Hoki and again on the border, that he elected to attack the Yamana line on open ground. Emura Moroyasu was not an idiot, or is not the general consensus. He had proved himself a fine warrior in the irregular war against the Hattori, fought nearly 8 years ago, and had led men in small scale skirmishes before given his command. Rather, it is held that he simply lost sight of himself and his own limitations after the First at Inaba. The two sides met near a sleepy sea side village. The western force was primarily infantry based where as the Yamana forces was a very well balanced army, with many veterans of the First Engagement at Inaba eager for revenge.

Across the field, leading the Shogunate forces was Kojima Tanemura, the Lion of Omi. Called such after the Battle of Omi where, in 1570, he had led a cavalry charge against a well entrenched rebel force, attacking from Kii province. According to battlefield accounts his charge was broken, but he alone stood against the rebel army. Holding his position on the ridge while Shogunate forces maneuvered to assault the rebel emplacements. His fame was so great he had opened a dojo dedicated to the study of the Yari when he returned to Inaba.



And he was now leading the charge against the West, about to attempt to throw them from Yamana lands. The two sides collided just on the outskirts of the small village, where the ground opened up to fields just before the forest. A terrible clap of thunder sounded from the distance. A storm of a different sort, was on its way to the feild...



Led by the dedicated, and fanatical, warrior monks the Western forces proved incredibly stubborn. Even though far outnumbered they ripped through the first wave of Yamana troops sent against them, like the blade against cloth. Moroyasu was confident. To hell with numbers! But.. that is when the trap was sprung. From the right... Yamana troops sprang forth!



The banners raised high, getting taken to the wind and displaying proud the symbol of Yamana. And.. from the left! A cavalry brigade had swung around the village, and slammed into the archers and reserve line. Led by the Lion of Omi himself, Ashigaru crumpled beneath his attack and scattered. Moroyasu was surrounded...



The battle proved to be a complete disaster for the West, with nearly the entire army destroyed or otherwise unaccounted for in its aftermath. The worst hit were the warrior monks, who according to reports fought to the very last man, even as men of Ashigaru and Samurai status fled around them. Moroyasu is said to have been taken alive and allowed to commit seppukku before the survivors of the western force. Moroyasu had disgraced himself, them and his position by fleeing the field while his men still struggled for their own lives. When Chokosabe Akiie heard of this, it's reported he wrote a letter to Tanemura himself, expressing approval of this display, and allowing his commander to regain his honor before death. Sadly, no evidence of this letter exists.

The destruction of the western force in Inaba would have two main consequences. The first was the establishment of the Yamana as a true threat in the conflict, the second: Hoki province was now unguarded. Had it not been for Ouchi action the following season, the province would have once more been lost to the Shogunate...

While defeated in the north, the Western forces achieved success beneath Kuwana Michiyori, managing to wrest control of Harima from the Shogunate that same season. But the spy reports were correct, and marching toward his position near Akashi was an Uesugi force.. and they were determined to push the West back, just as the Yamana had done...

Japan
1578

[Gregoshi]

I'm on the edge of my seat.

[Populus Romanus]

Great job!

[A Nerd]

Exciting! :O :)

[Tamur]

This is thrilling stuff Monk. Thanks for sharing such great writing!

[Monk]

After being repulsed from Hoki province, Kojima Tanemura returned to Inaba to rebuild and coordinate with the coming reinforcements from Echigo. The first chill of autumn was already setting in by the time Amakusa Nakayori, the Uesugi commander, arrived in western Honshu. Not willin to risk a winter march, Tanemura thought it best to return to Tottori Castle and winter in peace. On August 15th, Tanemura recieved a letter from the shogun himself. Demanding that he attack. The Chokosabe were reeling, and only the Ouchi stood between the Yamana and rolling up the northern flank of the West. Tanemura's reply was quick, and quite amusing, since it consisted of just one word: "Exhaustion."

In three years of war both sides had seen thousands of deaths, the Yamana's standing army had suffered terrible loses after the two battles of Inaba fields, and their assault on Hoki province that ended in a bloody stalemate. Tanemura could not have attacked if he wanted to. The Shogun was not pleased with this news, but what could he do? He was still in the process of rebuilding the government forces after the battles at Kurayoshi. He ordered the Uesugi, under the command of Amakusa Nakayori, to maintain their positions near Osaka and not march until the following Spring.

Despite their defeat near Inaba, the Western Alliance was in much better shape than that of the Shogunate. It was only now that Chokosabe Akiie fully comitted the Chokosabe reserve forces, who had been placed in Shikoku should they be needed in this conflict. Season after season, fresh troops arrived near the front. By the time March came upon the islands, washing away the icy grip of winter, the West was ready for war once more.

Akashi was a city, the trade hub of Harima province and where Kuwana Michiyori had established his camp when he took the province away from the Shogunate nearly a year before. It was famed for the legendary No-Dachi dojos and the skill of any who studied there, as well as owning particularly dedicated farmers. It shouldn't, then, come as any surprise that when the West took it over the people rallied around their new overlords. The Shogunate's increased conscription campaign had been taking a toll on the people. With the brutality of Inaba Fields and Kurayoshi well known (and increasingly exaggerated) the hard campaign for new troops by Nobunaga began to cause unrest. In contrast, Akiie's focus on finances and building presented a comfortable alternative.

Battle of Akashi
Year: 1579
Belligerents: Western Alliance | Uesugi Clan (Shogunate Ally)
Commanders: Kuwana Michiyori Amakusa Nakayori

When the Uesugi pushed into Harima they expected to be greeted as the liberating force. They represented the shogun and the legitimate government, the arm of the Emperor. Why should they not be? Instead, memories of brothers and husbands and sons, who had marched to Kurayoshi and never returned ensured a cold greeting. To say the common-folk were hostile would be much to far, but there was little in the way of kindness shown. The commander of the Uesugi force, Nakayori, was put at ill by the reception he and his men received as they marched through the lands. His men began to whisper of bad omens, though he tried to quell such talk.



When his men arrived at the field near Akashi, a terrible storm had settled upon the land. It was cold. It was wet, it was miserable. The ground was turning into a mud-pit as the rain came down harder. In truth, it's believed that Amakusa Nakayori had intended to continue marching north and take the village of Tsuyama. Kojima Tanemura, at that very moment, was leading a force of men through the backwoods of Hoki province, attempting to slip by the combined Ouchi and Chokosabe force and steal into south.

What Nakayori didn't realize, and what no one would have forseen, was that Kojima Tanemura would walk into an ambush in the north and see his entire force wiped out. Tanemura himself would be killed as he fled the field, an end unfitting a man of his calibre and skill. The Uesugi were indeed alone at Harima Fields, but they believed if they could simply break through - reinforcements would be waiting...



The Uesugi came charging over the hill, their spears glittering in the rain and crackles of thunder. At their head was an impressive cavalry division who had seen action against the independent cities of Dewa. It was said when they charged, the entire world shook. And charge they did...



They came like a tidal wave, crashing hard against the western forces and shaking the very earth beneath their hooves. But these were not simply peasants. These were men of the West, fighting for a cause far above simply retaking a province, or being loyal to a Shogun. They fought to right a wrong done years before, to a man fast becoming a legend.



The lines quickly degenerated into a confusing and terrible melee, as thunder boomed and lightning struck in the skies above, men seperated only by their ideal of who should lead a nation slew one another.



Not since Inaba fields had there been carnage of this scale, even the Ambush at Tsyuama that had seen the end of the Lion of Omi himself could not compare.



A desperate struggle developed in the center where Kuwana Michiyori held the line against the heaviest charge of the Uesugi cavalry. Back and forth the two sides pushed, covering the same stretch of five or size yards what seemed like hundreds of times. Slowly, Michiyori was getting pushed back, but there was a plan within his desperation. He had intentionally thinned his center, leaving only his finest men and his own body guard to hold it, while the flanks had been bolstered heavily with the Ashigaru accompanying the army. When the Uesugi line collided with his, he and his men held on for dear life while his loyal forces easily overwhelmed and flanked the entire army.



By late afternoon it was all over... His plan had worked incredibly well, and the Uesugi force was routed. Nakayori forced to flee back to Osaka to regroup. There was a price, however. Michiyori's samurai took heavy losses, the nagitana divisions particularly hard hit. Though he'd won the day he felt uneasy having lost so many fine troops. But the reality of the situation spurred his actions. The way to Osaka was open for the first time in the war.

Osaka had been the military and de facto seat of Shogunate power ever since the Oda had claimed it. It had served as the base and main supply point for every major army that had attacked the West. Michiyori could not let this opportunity pass him by. He sent a call to the Matsuda clan, Vassals of the Chokosabe and members of the Western alliance. And then.. he marched toward Osaka.

When we make dicisions, we never know how they may end up before hand. Its part of life, to struggle with the unknown and trust that your first foot forward is your best. Michiyori's decision to march on Osaka was made in haste without seeking counsel from his aids. But even if he had, it's unlikely his actions would have been any different. How could he have known.. he marched to a place that in five years time would be called: The Spirit Fields?




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Thank you for the comments and feedback guys, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Gregoshi]

The words have been stealing the show, but I gotta say the screenshots are fantastic too. They are well composed and tell the story too.

[A Nerd]

The words have been stealing the show, but I gotta say the screenshots are fantastic too. They are well composed and tell the story too.

I must agree! Please continue, I am enjoying it greatly! :)

[HopAlongBunny]

Epic story!

Thank you Monk

[Populus Romanus]

WOW! Wow! This is awesome! Way to go Monk! Keep this going! You have me at the edge of my seat!

[DaVinci]

Indeed, great AAR, Monk ... 10/10 points, so to speak :)

[Monk]

Indeed, great AAR, Monk ... 10/10 points, so to speak :)

A secret of the day: This AAR was created using your great Shogun 2 Realism mod. I believe the version was .310 I am very glad you are enjoying it.

A note to all: You can expect a huge update coming monday which will be the finale. It will become apparent in the narrative soon, if it hasn't already, that we're building to something big. I do hope you enjoy the conclusion.

Until then, enjoy your weekends.

[Populus Romanus]

A lot of giant battles in one place with so many dead bodies that the entire plain becomes known as the spirit fields? Oh man, this is going to be brutal!

[Monk]

On the fields of Osaka
The Finale of: The Spirit Fields, A Chokosabe After Action Report

After the battle of Akashi, Uesugi forces in the west were completely destroyed. The immediate consequences became clear when numerous provinces beneath the clan's control rose up in open rebellion. Having lacked a strong, public figure since Kenshin's death years prior, the clan's power slowly dwindled as they were forced to battle in a desperate bid to hold on to what they could. But with so many dead on the fields near Akashi, it was clear that while still powerful, the Uesugi were nothing but a shadow of what they had once been. Oda Nobunaga was running out of allies. With the power of the Uesugi clan fading, the only true support he could count on were the Yamana, and they were still rebuilding after the disaster that was Tsyuama, where Kojima Tanemura had been killed. The shogun was indeed alone, but he still had strength. The twin battles of Kurayoshi had seen the utter destruction of the government forces in the west and central parts of Japan. Thanks in large part to the efforts of both the Yamana and Uesugi clans, Nobunaga had a much needed chance to rebuild his power in Osaka. By the time of the battle of Akashi, he had nearly tripled the size of Shogunate forces in Honshu.

[IMG][/IMG]

Fresh off his victory at Akashi, Kuwana Michiyori arrived near Osaka in late 1579. Accompanying him on the march was Matsuda Mitsutane, Daimyo of the Matsuda clan and loyal vassal of the Chokosabe - along with 3,000 of his troops. Chokosabe men numbered in at atleat 4,000 themselves. Nobunaga marched from Osaka and met both men some four miles west of the city proper. The Shogun's force, however, was an easy match for the west's host, and neither side seemed particularly eager to engage the other. Michiyori made camp on the fields of Osaka along with Mitsutane. The Matsuda Daimyo argued for an attack, but Michiyori was nervous. It was a daunting task ahead of them, and the stakes were high. It was true that if he could take Osaka, it could turn the war in the West's favor - but the same would be true if he lost. The way into the West's line would be left wide open. The Ouchi alone would not be enough to resist an attack from the Shogun without support.

It was fortunate for Michiyori that Nobunaga was just as unwilling to attack as he was, but for entirely different reasons. The Shogun had sent a force north into Yamana lands to provide a screen for them while they rebuilt their strength. After Michiyori displayed hesitation in attacking.. Nobunaga recalled them. An army of 5,000 Ashigaru auxiliaries were marching to Osaka and would arrive within weeks.

When Michiyori at last learned of this through the western spy network, he was visibly shaken. He had no choice - he would have to attack...

The First Battle Of Osaka
Year: 1580
Belligerents: Western Alliance v Oda Shogunate
Commanders: Kuwana Michiyori, Matsuda Mitsutane| Oda Nobunaga

Western forces dug in on a hill overlooking the plains as the Shogun encroached on their position. Nobunaga pushed forward, with a powerful core of no-dachi leading the charge up the slope. The west had not fought the shogunate force since Kurayoshi, at least, not in a battle of this scale. When the two sides finally met a terrible sound echoed over the fields.





The battle lines held, neither side giving a single ground to the other. For hours the battle pulsed, with flurries of combat, followed by a slow, falling off of activity, only to begin again. The first engagement took place a little after 9:00 am, or is so believed by reports. It did not stop until nine hours later when the Chokosabe managed a break through on the left side of the lines, managing to encircle the Shogun force and trap them - but by this time, so many had died from both Chokosabe and Matsuda, that any victory claimed would be pyhrric in every sense of the word. As the Western advantage began to be clear, Nobunaga and his retainers are reported to have quit the field with the remainder of the second wave, leaving many of his samurai trapped to die fighting in all directions...



The First Battle at Osaka ended in late afternoon, as the awful sounds of steel against flesh finally gave way to the gentle chirp of the crickets, greeting the night. Michiyori surveyed the field, he had lost almost the entirety of his samurai core holding the line against the no-dachi charge. Even more, his cavalry divisions were in shambles - and all the while, Nobunaga had retreated and was bringing reinforcements...

The Second Battle Of Osaka
Year: 1580
Belligerents: Western Alliance v Oda Shogunate
Commanders: Kuwana Michiyori, Matsuda Mitsutane| Oda Nobunaga

Two weeks later, Nobunaga would return to the fields near Osaka at the head of a huge army. Michiyori had been bogged down trying to organize a retreat since the aftermath of the first battle. His men were exhausted and many still were wounded, unable to be moved effectively. The Shogun cared little for such details, and pressed his advantage while he still had it!



Under a hail of arrow fire, the Shogunate forces advanced with Nobunaga himself at their head. They slammed into the western line, nearly causing the force to buckle then and there! But Michiyori would not be deterred, and fought side by side with his men on the gentle slopes of the field as he had done at Akashi. With terrible losses, he managed to repulse Nobunaga's charge and force the Shogun to fall back, but in his place, came the rest of the shogunate forces.



At the Second of Osaka there were no true battle lines, actions developed all across the field, desperate struggles between groups of men, sometimes as large as a few hundred, and sometimes as small as twenty! It was incredibly chaotic, as communication broke down, Michiyori gathered to him all the western cavalry he could. The Matsuda clan were getting pinned down in a nearby treeline by Shogunate archers, and he was determined to relieve them. His actions led to one of the more memorable moments of the Sengoku period, Michiyori's Charge. His men gathered near the edges of the main action and set their sites on the Shogunate archers. Nobunaga saw the formation, however. His own lines of communication had been maintained quite well with the use of runners, moving between the different areas of action. He quickly organized his men to focus fire on the charge... the results were devestating...



Michiyori charged into a deadly crossfire, battle field reports from Osaka can be at times lost in their own mythology, but even still, they claim only ten men made it through the concentrated arrow fire. Whether they are to be believed or not, the fact remains Michiyori himself was killed at the Second of Osaka.



Without support, the Matsuda clan was pinned effectively near the far trees. While the Chokosabe force struggled on the fields, the Shogunate army was able to pick apart and completely annihilate the west. Matsuda Mitsutane is said to have barely escaped the battle with his life, but with Michiyori dead, the western forces were without leadership. The Battles of Osaka left a population enthralled and terrified. By the second battle's end, it is estimated over ten thousand men, from both sides of the conflict, had lost their lives on the same piece of land. It wasn't long until the people began to tell the stories of Osaka. How when the moon was just right, a terrible mist would take to the fields, and horns would sound. The spirits of the men slain, rose once more, to continue their battle started in life. Whether true or not, it was years before any commoner willingly set foot on those fields again...

Regardless of local legend, the facts remained that so many samurai had lost their lives at Osaka, that both sides of the conflict simply.. didn't have the man power to recruit them in the numbers seen at the start of the war. More and more, ashigaru became the mainstay of both western and shogunate armies.

Though the Shogunate had won at Osaka, they'd lost so many men. Nobunaga was forced to retreat back to Kyoto and attempt to rebuild there. Unfortunately for him, he would get no rest. Because he had withdrawn his northern screening force from Yamana lands, this gave the west a chance to finally knock the Yamana out of the fight once and for All. Kira Tanetsuga led a powerful counter attack shortly after the second at Osaka, culminating in the battle of Mimasaka fields in 1581. There, he destroyed the Yamana powerbase, and could now threaten Kyoto from the north.

Nobunaga could feel the power of the west closing in. In one last ditch attempt, he marched from Kyoto, intent on pushing all the way to Akashi and re-opening that front. Unfortunately, As he neared the plains of Osaka, he was greeted by a western force - led by Emura Hiroyo. The stage was set for one final battle at the legendary grounds, and though none could have forseen it at the time, it would decide the fate of all Japan.

The Third Battle Of Osaka
Year: 1582
Belligerents: Western Alliance v Oda Shogunate
Commanders: Emura Hiroyo| Oda Nobunaga

Camping on the fields of Osaka, legend tells of Nobunaga becoming incredibly agitated one night. He began screaming in his tent, when his aids came to see him, they found him throwing accusatory insults to... no one. He turned to them, and simply said "Take this fool away.." before leaving the tent, continuing to grumble and speak to himself. Reports of that same nature come in from both sides of the conflict, so much death had been seen on the fields, perhaps it was unnerving - even to a career soldier like Nobunaga.

It was on June 17th that Nobunaga finally shook from him whatever anxiety he suffered and attacked the western line. Shogunate forces consisted of a well balanced army, with a large core of cavalry and mainly ashigaru to support them. To counter this, Hiroyo had deployed his men in the trees, and simply dared the Shogun to attack - he got his wish just as a cool breeze got caught in the branches...



Nobunaga threw his cavalry into the trees, causing the west to commit their forces to contain them, while seeming a foolish tactic in of itself, it allowed Nobunaga to advance the main body of his army without worrying about a hail of arrows from the skilled Chokosabe archers.



The battle was actually going his way for a time, but it was then that Nobunaga made a dicision that later historians would debate about endlessly. At that moment, the Chokosabe were moving men to either side of the forest on the open ground. While they were losing the fight in the center, they could at any moment swing their men around both flanks and encircle the Shogun's army. It was the same tactics Michiyori had employed at Akashi to beat the Uesugi, and now it was being shown here at Osaka. Nobunaga must have seen this, but instead of diverting men to stop the flank.. he strengthened the push in the center. But that wasn't enough. The dedicated Nagitana Samurai were still holding. And so - he himself led a charge, in an attempt to break through once and for all and kill Emura Hiroyo...



It was a terrible failure. Slowly, the entire Shogunate army got sucked toward the center, while the patient western force slowly enveloped them. Nobunaga looked around only to see his men fighting in every direction. The trees blocked his vision, and somewhere amidst the melee, the shogun fell. Shogunate forces were killed to the very last man. As the battle came to an end, the fields became oddly quiet. Save for the voices of those upon them - there was no wind, and there was no sound of sight of any bird or beast. In his letter to his daimyo, Emura Hiroyo expressed his own feelings of Osaka. "Those fields are void of life. To go there is to experience the absolute nothingness of one's soul. I could never return to that place."

In the wake of the Shogunate's defeat at the Third Battle of Osaka, Hiroyo would push on and do what no man before him had done, wrest control of Osaka from the Shogunate. The following season, Kira Tanetsuga did him one better, leading a force down from the north and laying siege to the city of Kyoto. With government forces nearly completely destroyed, taking the city was by now a foregone conclusion. Kyoto fell in the January of 1583, and as Oda forces were in full retreat, Chokosabe Akiie made the long trip from Shikoku. He was surveying the fields of battle that he had hear so much of, and his journey to Kyoto took him passed Osaka and the site of the three battles. After he reached Kyoto, he was asked of his experience, what seeing the fields was like. Akiie never once commented on what he did, or what he saw, at Osaka. When asked, he would simply reply: "No man should suffer the Spirit Fields.."

By 1584 - Chokosabe Akiie had been declared Shogun of all Japan. Though there were still dissenters in eastern Honshu, the power of the Western Alliance had proven to be more than a match for their enemies. The war for japan continued, but the worst of the conflict was over. No other battles would ever match the scale or carnage seen at Osaka, Akashi, Kurayoshi or Inaba Fields. It was not until 1603 that Japan was finally united beneath the banner of the Chokosabe, but the memory of Osaka still remained. The myths and legends of Osaka are the result of three battles that effectively ended a war, but more so defined a nation. The power of the Samurai would never be the same after those battles, and Japan would slowly turn to new methods of waging war. The Sengoku was coming to an end, and Japan had new, strong leader. But now a new challenge presented itself.. peace with the memories of hell, fresh in a populous' minds...

The spirits of Osaka
Angry, lost, alone
I take my place among them

[Ishmael]

Bravo Monk. Absolutely brilliant.

[Gregoshi]

Outstanding! What a campaign! Monk, you are one lucky man to have played that out. Thank you for bringing it so vividly to life for us.

[Myrddraal]

Wow, that was fun.

[Populus Romanus]

Outstanding!

[HopAlongBunny]

Thank you Monk :)

Epic struggle and epic presentation

[Tamur]

Epic, definitely. I very much liked the small stoppages of time where you zoomed into a single moment and held it there to examine. That made everything else seem so much more grand. Well done indeed!

[A Nerd]

I loved it! The story was great and the screenshots were excellent. Hopefully you have the time to write another when you fire up another campaign! :)

[mambaman]

Gotta say: one of the best AAR's I have read for some time Monk-truly superb

Couple of questions:

• The realism Mod you are playing-does it allow you to increase default unit size?
• Can that mod be applied to a save game?

Thanks

(PS: would be great for some people to start coming back to this particular forum)

[Monk]

Gotta say: one of the best AAR's I have read for some time Monk-truly superb

Couple of questions:

• The realism Mod you are playing-does it allow you to increase default unit size?
• Can that mod be applied to a save game?

Thanks

(PS: would be great for some people to start coming back to this particular forum)

Hello Mambaman, thanks. This was my first real go at the game that got beyond turn 40 or so and it turned out to be one of the most memorable. I'm glad people enjoyed it so much

As to your questions, Realism+ has gone through a lot of changes in each version. I haven't played it since v1.6 or so, which was quite a long time ago! I can't comment on how it holds up today. There's a forum for it here at the .org linked in my sig, however, which should help you decide if its something you'd enjoy.

It would likely be a bad idea to apply it to a save game. Most rebalance/realism mods for Shogun 2 change a lot of things around with food count and income. You'd likely see really weird stuff going on if you applied it mid-game. Probably best to just start a new game.

[mambaman]

Great-ok Monk will do and well done again