UESUGI ~ Winter 1581 - Autumn 1583

Winter, 1581 I have attacked and taken Wakasa from the Shimazu clan. This success was followed by Kenshin removing the rebel army from Mino.

Spring, 1582 Though the war with the Shimazu is going well, I am not convinced that they are about to roll over and die. Therefore, I have sent a small, mounted raiding party heading east into enemy Talima, they are carrying a small supply of pidgeons to carry messages back to me. They are to report enemy troop strengths and where possible, sabotage enemy infastructure whilst also attmepting to locate the Shimazu Daimyo. My son, Masamune has reached manhood and entered service with my army. I have ordered him to Shinano where he will take command of an elite unit of Cavalry Archers, he will also take overall command over the garrison there.

Summer, 1582 Maruoka castle in Wakasa has fallen to my forces.The first message from the raiders reported that they have encountered no enemy forces in Tajima and that they have burned all the farmland they passed on the way to Inaba. The raiding party have once again reported no enemy resistance in Inaba, finding nothing of value worth destroying. They will cross the border into Mimasaka in a few days time.

Autumn, 1582 Another message from the raiders, Mimasaka has suffered greatly under Shimazu rule and the province is mostly burnt out villages. There was no word of Muneharu.

Winter, 1582 Masamune has united the Shinano garrison with reinforcements from Musashi and Kai and has moved to Mino in response to a sudden surge of enemy activity in Owari.



The raiding party has sent a message from Bizen, they have still not encountered any sizable enemy garrisons. They found nothing of value again but they did manage to torch a line of borderforts.

Spring, 1583 The raiders passed through Sanuki without incident and are heading to Iyo.

Summer, 1583 The raiders report great success in Shikoku, a mine was burnt out in Iyo and they put most of the provinces farmland to the torch. With no enemy garrisons at all on the island they are operating with a free hand. I have ordered them to take a ship to Kyushu and report to me immediately upon landing. Still no word of Shimazu Muneharu.

Autumn, 1583 Well there has been no word from the raiders for over a month now, I can only assume they have been caught and/or killed. However, I now know the location of Muneharu - he has taken command of the forces in Owari. Though I wish to bring a speedy conclusion to this war by killing Muneharu, I am not going to mount any serious attempt to attack the province as it is perfectly suited for defensive warfare. I have attacked Omi whilst Kenshin and Masamune move into Owari. They have been ordered not to press for a battle, only to keep the Shimazu forces from leaving to support Omi.



My forward scouts first caught sight of the enemy army at around midday and immediately began harrassing them as they deployed to intercept our main army. Screened by the trees, the Cavalry Archers were able to inflict significant damage to the elements in the rear of the shimazu force whilst sustaing few casualties from the return fire.



With men dropping like flies and with no light cavalry to counter my mounted units, the enemy Taisho decided on a tactical withdrawal. This is a tricky operation in the best of times, but with my Cavalry so close it ended up as a full scale rout.



We have now almost completely surrounded Owari. Mino was attacked by a small party of Shimazu samurai that crept across the mountains but they were practically wiped out by a single unit of Cavalry Archers. My defenders took 230 heads and lost only 10 men themselves.

Overview
Though it looks like Shimazu is surrounded I am fully expecting him to run for it to another province when I attack Owari. I`m gonna build up a little more in Mino as if he does stay and fight I can expect heavy casualties from crossing the bridges. If he does stay and I kill him, I`ll take Yamashiro before finishing off the Imagawa.