Tokugawa 1580 Campaign

[barocca]

waiting patiently for more

B.

[Togakure]

I would do better to invest my time here, rather than getting myself into trouble in the Backroom .

Nice to hear from you Barocca. That one of the Org's most dedicated veterans has been reading my story in addition to the other fine fans here honors me greatly. I have been a bit under the weather of late, but will continue this soon. Writing this awoke my passion for Shogun campaigning that had been dormant for some time, so I've since played a number of campaigns using other factions. Several openings (what I consider to be the first 16-20 turns or so) would make interesting write-ups. They are also easier, as this one is fraught with peril from Turn One. Ah,the shame, that O'Jonin in his Tokugawa guise might lose his first published campaign ! Ah well, the nice thing is, I can always try it again, and my honorable warriors are pixelated images and not flesh and blood, and Soul.

More soon, and thanks guys.

[tool Dude]

Hehe...I happy that you gonna continue Toga cause I've been thinkin of doin it too. It just a matter of time for me I think eh...

[Togakure]

Hey that's great . It will be nice to have some company in here (that I can actually see). I look forward to some fun reading. I just finished the next write-up for this one so I'm gonna post in now. I have a screenshot of the map, but Photobucket is down for scheduled maintenance at the moment, so I'll add it in later.

[Togakure]

Spring, 1583. As the winter came to a close, I decided that having Asano and his squad sit idle in Mikawa was not a good use of available resources. Oda Nobuharu was in Mino with only 200 or so troops, and I needed a concrete assessment of control and troop strength in Echizen and Hida. As the snowflakes from the last of the late winter storms ceased to fall, I sent Asano and his troops into Mino on an intelligence-gathering mission.

Asano reported that the confrontation in Mino could hardly be termed a battle, though he and his men did take the field against an obstinate Nobuharu and his 120 archers and 60 ashigaru. Hanging back like a coward, Nobuharu sent his troops racing for the tall mountain to the East of Mino province. Asano's ninja easily outpaced them and reached the top long before they did. Again, when the enemy realized that their foes were shadow warriors, they turned and fled the field. Tadatoshi-san's honor and reputation grows.

From his vantage point in Mino, Asano discovered that I was entirely wrong in my estimation of activities in Echizen and Hida. Echizen is in the hands of the Ikko Ikki, some 400 or so troops of indeterminate composition. Hida is not under the control of the Takeda, but occupied by a very large Oda force of some 1600 men--the entire remaining Oda army. Apparently Katsuyori's forces were either defeated in their attempt to take Hida, or were driven from the province by Oda reinforcements before they could establish control. As proud as the Takeda clan is, it is my hope that they will continue to focus their attention on the Oda. This will allow us to continue increasing the number and improving the quality of our troops, particularly mine here in Totomi.

Most of my Yari Samurai in Totomi have been replaced by superior units produced in Owari. The new troops have been trained in Owari's Famous Spear Dojo, sport the finest yari--crafted by legendary swordsmiths, and their enthusiasm and dedication has been significantly bolstered by proganda cleverly developed by my officers in Owari's Golden Palace. Of my original Yari Samurai, only my son's unit remains here. I think next season, when another unit of Owari Yari Samurai arrives, I will send him to Owari to serve under the tutelage of Honda Tadakatsu-san. I cannot afford to have my only heir killed if Katsuyori attacks me here in Totomi, and if there is a battle here, it will be a terrible one. Totomi's relatively flat terrain is ideal for a cavalry-heavy army like the Takeda's, and while I do have two units of Yari Cavalry at my disposal, it will be my Yari Samurai that will have to bear the brunt of the horsed Takeda might. In the event of a battle, many will die ... .

Kawachi is now under the command of a First Rank taisho, an archer just trained in Osaka. I do not recall his name, but apparently he shows promise. If Kawachi is attacked and he is able to successfully defend it, I will promote him to Second Rank and the prestige of serving under his command will dramatically improve the abilities of the troops there. Kawachi's garrison is excellently equipped, but consists only of archer and sohei units--no Yari Samurai. This is problematic as Kawachi's best point of defense is the bridge that crosses the river there, and in a bridge battle, the otherwise formidable Buddhist monks are likely to be cut to pieces preventing a bridge crossing if the enemy has a large contingent of archers. Kawachi does not yet have a Spear Dojo, so I will divert the fine Yari Samurai that complete training in Owari to Kawachi as soon as the port there has been completed. Though it will take some time and koku to produce a proper amount of spearmen, I think we will be able to train and transport enough before the province is significantly threatened by either the Shimazu or Mori. The ronin in the area do not pose a significant threat provided they are not provoked.

Our intelligence network has dispersed nicely, covering most of the provinces in central Japan surrounding and including Yamashiro, in addition to providing internal security to all of our own provinces. Front line shinobi have advanced as far as Tajima, home of the formidable Yagyu clan. I have asked the leader of the Tajima cell to seek out Yagyu Munenori and inquire of his health in my name. I have been thinking that Munenori-san would make a formidable sensei for my sons. They will need the best kenjutsu training if they are to rule as proper shoguns after me.

Currently Tajima is under the control of a small group of ronin, and sports a Large Castle, and Famous Archery, Spear, and Horse Dojos. I do not like the idea of such quality resources falling into the hands of the Mori so close to Kawachi ... Terumoto is in neighboring Harima with an army that could easily defeat the rebels in Tajima. I have ordered Asano, who is returning to Mikawa from his reconaissance mission in Mino, to travel to Tajima by sea and launch a surprise attack on the rebels next season. Though he will be significantly outnumbered, he has demonstrated fine tactical command in all of his previous missions. I am confident that he can succeed in defeating the ronin and destroying the troop production facilities there. My only concern is that Terumoto could very well attack Tajima this season. Though our troops in Kawachi threaten his southern flank, he can afford to send troops against Tajima while still defending Harima. His troops are few in number, but high in quality. May the gods favor us so that the Mori lord hesitates. Were we not allied and in need of the koku, I would have some troops from Kawachi pin him in Harima to give Asano time to get to Tajima. But we will honor the alliance. It better serves our purposes ... for now.

Finally, by driving the small Oda force from Mino we have created a void, which will surely be filled by one of the three other factions surrounding the province. Will it be ronin from Echizen, Omi, or Wakasa, vengeful Oda from Hida (most likely, in my mind), or opportunistic Takeda from Shinano? If the province were not technically under our control, I would hope it to be the Takeda who occupy that province--it would reduce the size of the army in Shinano and thus decrease the pressure on us here in Totomi. However, should the Takeda attack while Mino flies our mon, we will have no choice but to declare war on them. This would not be good timing at all. Perhaps it was not so wise to send Asano against Mino, even though I did need the valuable intelligence he gathered while there. Well, it is done, and we shall see.

The winter chill has passed, and the sakura bloom in the orchards outside Hamamatsu. The skies shine with spring polish, providing a radiant sea upon which tall, white clouds sail majestically. It is a fine sight, one that will surely thrill Chacha-chan. Tomorrow I will escort her to her favorite waterfalls in the gorge just beyond the orchards. Hopefully she will find the newly laquered palaquin to her taste--I paid the artisans an exorbitant fee to assure the finest quality. They are fortunate that I am such a reasonable daimyo, who appreciates fine art and craft.

[Dexter]

nice ... weary weary nice
I am thinking of posting my first campagne too ... playing since 2001 the original STW and the STWW i think it should be interesting to see the reaction of the members when unit size is set to 120 ( yes expert, morale, fatigue etc on)