SW: The lands of Asai Sukemasa

**caravel** · 03-08-2009, 21:03

The lands of Asai Nagamasa circa 1555 - The war with the Oda

Another Great Lord gone to meet his maker.

His Heir is seen as a careless and uncouth man. But in truth Nagamasa is a thinker and like his ancestor of the same name, he has ambitions.

Three years later after much preparation, Nagamasa initiates the most daring and potentially disastrous strategy yet...

The Oda No-Kami of Tamba peers outside one morning to see the bright banners and tents of Asai troops camped outside his castle. The castle hold out for 2 seasons and then falls. Nagamasa now earns some much needed respect from the Taishos.

Next mustering his forces together. Nagamasa places them under the command of his most able general Asakura Kagetoshi. Kagetoshi leads the army to Wakasa to meet the army of the grizzled veteran Oda Yurakusai. Kagetoshi has been placed in an impossible position by Nagamasa. With the bulk of the army and the survival of the clan resting on his shoulders he has no option but to win or perish in the attempt.

The battle is a bloodbath and all of Kagetoshi's retainers fall. At times the great Taisho himself can be seen dueling with the enemy, then for a time the men lose sight of him. The battle continues and it is a apparent that the Asai Teppo Ashigaru are having the desired effect on the enemy. Lord Oda's Crossbowmen and Yari Ashigaru begin to waiver. The Asai Teppo let off yet another barrage - the enemy flee. As the smoke clears some of the heavy cavalry can be seen chasing the enemy Taisho himself... but they lose sight of him. He must live with his own dishonour.

Finally the Oda realise that their Taisho has deserted them and fall away. The province is in the hands of Kagetoshi.

There were many slain and many good Samurai lost. Kagetoshi cleans his sword and mounts his horse, his only words: "prepare to lay siege"...

The besiegers are no sooner encamped when Kagetoshi rallies his troops to prepare for the counter attack. Yurakusai leads the enemy force with reinforcements from neighbouring Oda provinces.

Kagetoshi orders his troops to take up positions on the high ground. Knowing their strengths he positions the Ikko Ikki in the woods. The Teppo he orders to the front with the Yari Samurai and Ashigaru protecting their flanks. From the outset the Teppo score many hits, but Yurakusai is determined not to see a repeat of his last meeting with them. He orders his men to advance. The ensuing fight is a massacre, with huge losses on each side.

Eventually Yurakusai is surrounded in the woods by the Ikko Ikki and brought down. The remnants of the enemy run. Kagetoshi and a mere handful of the Ikko Ikki make their way to the castle to rejoin the rest of the wounded men and Ashigaru. It was a close battle indeed.

Meanwhile news comes from Kawachi that Katamasa has taken the province! Defeating a band of rebels that had been bought off by the Oda, Katamasa was now preparing to rebuild the fortifications.

Seated in the castle in Inaba, Nagamasa ponders his next move...

**Martok** · 03-08-2009, 22:13

Whew! Relatively speaking, that was almost an orgy of expansion, especially after turtling for so long. Assuming you can hold onto your new possessions (no guarantee, I realize), I hope your income situation has now improved somewhat.

Some nicely-fought battles, by the way. It's those close ones that make a campaign exciting (albeit nerve-wracking for the player)!

**PershsNhpios** · 03-17-2009, 08:25

Nagamasa,

I humbry besheesh you to prace more fannatashtic shtories here for ush to read-a them..

**seireikhaan** · 03-17-2009, 15:47

Wow...

You are obviously more skilled than I- I have major doubts about my ability to win an attack like that with so many teppos.

**Puzz3D** · 03-18-2009, 00:30

YS, ND and WM are identical to STW stats, and tests show that the performance of these units, except for the turning speed, is the same in SW and STW. The YS is different in STW/MI only in that it has one additional point of armor, but this wouldn't affect melee performance. The perceived difference in performance in SW might be due to bonuses or penalties from the vices and virtues which wasn't a feature of STW or STW/MI.

**caravel** · 03-21-2009, 01:02

The lands of Asai Katamasa circa 1598 - The war with the Oda

Nagamasa passes on. His son Katamasa is now Daimyo. Katamasa's first move is the ill fated attempt on Yamashiro.

Kyogoku Tadamasa leads the attack. The battle is a close one with the Oda fielding a lot of archers it soon turns unpleasant. Eventually, despite turning the tide of the battle, Tadamasa is surrounded by the enemy and has difficulty rallying his men. The result is a rout with Tadamasa in the lead. Katamasa is enraged to learn of this great dishonour. There is some suspicion that Tadamasa may have partaken of a beverage or several before heading into battle...

The following year it falls once again to Asakura Kagetoshi to salvage his clans honour and mend the harm that has been done. Knowing of Kagetoshi's reputation the Oda army in Yamashiro pull out.

In a classic move, knowing full well that Kagetoshi has left Wakasa undermanned and vulnerable, Oda Nobumasu lays siege. The small garrison, outnumbered by at least one thousand men, retreat to the castle.

Leaving the young general Asai Ietsuna with 900 men, Kagetoshi heads back to Wakasa with 500 of the best. Once again the Oda retreat before his advance.

Puzz3D, thanks for the info and a great mod.

**PershsNhpios** · 03-21-2009, 01:26

The Oda were a nasty bunch in my last STW campaign!

I want to see that you crush every last one of them! Just look at them!
Their symbol looks like a lemon-squeezer! Paah!

Thank you for update, Nagamasa!