Good stuff! Glad you like the "storming", Plant Head!

Jackson's idea is good, too, about surrounding the bridge province to cut off reinforcements. You can take it one step farther:
Once he's surrounded, pull most of your units OUT of one of the provinces. You can leave the defenders as high-defense units. The point is to lure the enemy into attacking, and having his forces leave the bridge province. You don't even need to win this battle, just kill off more men. If the remaining defenders are naginata and muskets, his attack may even get halted in its tracks! This will reduce the number of men in the bridge province, and you won't take as heavy losses. A good general wins, not by beating the enemy in combat, but by stacking the chips in your favor BEFORE the battle is joined!

-- B)