Quote Originally Posted by econ21
I know but that +1 cavalry bonus is so tempting!

And the Shinano battle map - it is so beautiful! And defensible - there's a convenient little sunken plateau on some heights to the rear east of the map. The enemy can tire themselves marching there. The ridge line is something of a right angle but just right for about 3 archers and accompanying foot. The sunken plateau can hide your cavalry to hopefully surprise the enemy in a counterattack. An excellent position - but the Shinano map still becomes a virtual Verdun as the Hojo horde and others bleed my men to death there.
Ahhhh, shinano is glorious for defending. I like the steep ridge up front on the left. With archers up there the enemy usually starts with a couple units in range, you can destroy them as the march up the hill. Since you start at such an angle when the AI wheels its army the left flank gets caught on the cliff (mostly archers usually). I like to route the infantry with cavalry sent of to the left, then charge my infantry around so they are between the archers and their route point. My cavalry I've kept in reserve at the back of my map route the archers who get slaughtered by my infantry while trying to flee. It's b e a utiful.