The battle began with the Western Army gaining the Initiative. (Throughout the game neither side with the Initiative chose to move second.) Receiving only three Command Points it activated and moved the Ukita (13) to attack the Fukushima (S). The fighting soon spread to both sides of Sekigahara with the Konishi (14) joining in. The Eastern Army chose to activate and advance the Tsutsui (I), Matsudaira (J), and Tanaka (L) -- in addition to the clans activated by the enmy advance -- in order to make room for an eventual advance by the Tokugawa (D). Attrition was running about equal, but the advance of the Ukita (13) had gained control of the road junction inside the village. So in the latter half of turn 2 the Western Army was required to make an activation attempt for the Kobayakawa (5). It defected! In a single die roll the Western Army lost about one-third of the Stalwartness Points leading to army withdrawal. For turn 3 the Eastern Army gained the Initiative. Its most important task was to activate the Tokugawa (D), but this failed. (These troops wouldn't begin to move until turn 6.) The next most important was to send the Kobayakawa (5) to attack everybody in reach: the Hirasuka (2), Ogawa (6), and Wakizaka (7). The defectors were careful to test the resolve of the Toda (4) with only two units ... and it remained neutral. The Ogawa and Wakizaka were wiped out and the Hiratsuka's ashigaru unit was eliminated as well. Only one Kobayakawa unit advanced so that the Toda would be tested just once ... and it defected! It thus had to attack the Hiratsuka's samurai unit. The surrounded cavalry was eliminated, too! These were important results because on the other side of the Fuji River the Eastern Army lost four units at no cost to the enemy. For the Western Army's half of turn 3 it received eight CP's. This was certainly timely, as more clans could be activated and moved to guard the rear of the Ukita (13) from the defectors. The Kinoshita (1) ... neutral! The Shima (12) ... inactive! The Shimazu (8) ... inactive! The Ishida (11) themselves ... neutral! That meant the Otani (3), activated by the treachery of the Toda (4), had to abandon the Kinoshita by crossing the river; on the high side of the slope they would threaten the flank of the defectors using the bridge. In combat, however, the Western Army eliminated three units at no cost to itself, wiping out the Tanaka (L). Even better, the losses to the Eastern Army throughout the turn caused no less than three clans -- the Ii (P), Kyoguko (R), and Fukishima (S) -- to go into flight. Attrition was now just 96-109 in favor of the Eastern Army. The Ukita (13) continued their drive, wiping out the Todo (Q) on turn 5 and the Kato (M) on turn 6. The Matsudaira (J), followed by the Tsutsui (I), tried to turn the Ukita flank by advancing along the Fuji River. But they were intercepted by part of the Ukita plus the Konishi (14). The Matsudaira suffered enough losses to go into flight, and it looked like the Tsutsui would meet the same fate. But part of the Kobayakawa (5) crossed the river to rescue them. Good luck in combat eliminated enough units for the Konishi to go into flight -- the only clan in the Western Army to do so. Together with the rest of the Kobayakawa, which struggled with the Kinoshita (1) but eventually wiped them out, this boosted the Western Army's attrition to 150, though the Eastern Army was not far behind at 130. Still, the Western Army had activated all but one clan by the early part of turn 6. The Eastern Army had to spend scarce CP's pulling clans back to safety: part of the Kobayakawa (S) back across the Fuji River, the Tsutsui (I) south along the Fuji River, the Hosakawa (N) away from the other river, and the Terazawa (K) abreast of the inactive Honda (H). Several clans of the Western Army defended the bank of the Fuji River from the bridge northward. In the latter half of turn 6 the Eastern Army's only offensive action was an unsuccessful attempt to cross the river here, targeting the Otani (3) ashigaru unit. On turn 7 the Western Army used the Initiative to pull back the Ukita (13) just far enough to avoid attack by the onrushing Tokugawa (D). Behind them the Ishida (11) crossed the bridge to attack the Toda (4). (Due to a poor CP die roll in the previous turn the enemy hadn't been able to move them to a less exposed position.) The attack was successful, leading to clan flight, and advance after combat forced a counterattack on the Kobayakawa (5) that, even reinforced, led to the loss of a Kobayakawa unit. But the Western Army had forgotten about the mandatory counterattack by the Otani (3) ashigaru, which was eliminated. The nearby Schichinote Gumi (9) should have been used to cover the possibility of a hole. (Instead the clan had been dismissed as too weak for *offensive* action.) The Kobayakawa (5) exploited the gap to surround the Otani samurai unit. Thanks to three musket attacks and 5-1 odds in melee, the defender was eliminated despite a die roll of "1." The Western Army was over the withdrawal threshold with 165 Stalwartness Points lost. But the Eastern Army won by the slimmest of margins -- the losses in the last turn brought its total to 159 SP's! Once more and the outcome would have been a draw! -------------------------------------------- | Dave Bieksza | bieksza@erols.com | -------------------------------------------- "The Net is vast and infinite." - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ In the previous game the Western Army had won the first Initiative die roll, so for the sake of experimentation the Eastern Army would have it this time. The key to the Eastern Army's narrow victory in the previous game was the treachery of the Kobayakawa (5) in the Western Army -- with its help the Eastern Army was able to overpower the small enemy clans west of the Fuji River. Thus the Eastern Army planned to test the loyalty of Kobayakawa before the Western Army could initiate countermeasures (i.e., activating certain low-numbered clans which would enhance the Kobayakawa's loyalty). The Eastern Army rolled only 3 Command Points, but that was enough to activate and move the Fukushima (S). That clan's samurai unit dashed across the Fuji River to welcome the Kobayakawa to the fold. The Kobayakawa remained loyal. In fact, throughout the game not a single clan changed sides! Oops -- the Fukushima had already committed themselves to attacking the Wakizaka (7). The former did enough damage for the latter to go into clan flight, but the Fukushima did the same when smashed on one side of the Fuji River by the Kobayakawa and on the other side by the Ukita (13). The Ukita also crashed into the Kyoguku (R) and Todo (Q), and before long both were gone from the battlefield. The Eastern clans initially deployed around Sekigahara were small and thus were particularly vulnerable to clan flight. Trying to stem the tide of the Kobayakawa and the Ukita piecemeal would have been hopeless, particularly as the Kobayakawa were advancing near the Fuji river in order to outflank any such defense. About the only advantage the Eastern Army enjoyed at this point were larger Command Point allocations -- in just one turn did the Western Army receive more than 3 CP's! So the Eastern Army pulled its forces back. Some units went into a solid defensive line running south from the Honda (H). Some even moved onto the lower elevations of Mount Nangu. The area by the road was left open for the expected advance of the Tokugawa (D) (units could not move through occupied hexes). Unfortunately the Tokugawa failed their first activation roll. The Western Army took advantage by enveloping the Honda with the Ukita while the Kobayakawa attacked frontally. Losses to the Eastern Army were heavy -- by the end of this turn (Game Turn 4) the Western Army would enjoy a 120-25 advantage in attrition. At the same time the Ukita were also crushing the Tanaka (L) and with advance after combat two units actually crossed the unnamed river. Just then (Game Turn 4) the Tokugawa activated and advanced. A shift of Initiative would have made their impact devastating, but the Western Army held the Initiative to the end of the game. Taking advantage of the Initiative, Western Army forces backed away from the Tokugawa juggernaut; the Ukita took the opportunity to send more units across the river and attack the Hosakawa (N). The Tokugawa smashed into the Konishi (14), which couldn't be spared the Command Points to prepare a better defense. The Konishi took such heavy looses that they immediately went into clan flight. But the Western Army had in general taken such light casualties up to then that it was willing to absorb plenty more as long as it could bag the last few Stalwartness Points needed for victory. So in Game Turn 6, instead of running away the Kobayakawa boldly attacked the Tokugawa and eliminated two units. Meanwhile the Ishida had moved across the river to support the Ukita units but with only its samurai getting into action the gains were less than expected. On the other hand, the Tokugawa attacked the Kobayakawa so vigorously the latter went into clan flight! At the end of Game Turn 6 the Eastern Army was barely hanging on with 159 SP's in losses ... but the Western Army had now lost 120 SP's! In the next turn the Ishida ashigaru finally joined the fighting and eliminated a unit to send enemy losses over the limit. Could the Eastern Army salvage a tie? Unfortunately, with the exception of a few units that had crossed the river the Tokugawa (plus the smaller clans that had retreated earlier) were too far away from any of the remaining enemy units. Paradoxically, the Western Army's shortage of Command Points had resulted in most of its smaller clans never leaving their deployment hexes. However, the Kuroda (O) had to carry out a mandatory counterattack, and by excellent luck it managed to eliminate a unit of the Ukita ... which was just enough to cause clan flight! The removal of the clan brought the Western Army loss total to ... 158! The Western Army won by a margin almost as small as the Eastern Army won last time! -------------------------------------------- | Dave Bieksza | bieksza@erols.com | -------------------------------------------- "The Net is vast and infinite." - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ With respects to Dave Bieksza for his battle story, undoubtedly of better litterary quality than mine... Second game - The rematch ========================= This time I played the West side. I planned to use the power of large clans: 13 (Ukita), 11 (Ishida) and 5 (Kobayakawa) to crush as many of the smaller Eastern clans possible before their D (Tokugawa) super-clan can overwhelm us with their numbers, unique firepower quality and loss-taking endurance. To avoid making them 'worry' and react, West must not activate *before them* any major clan in the SE: 16(Mori) or 19(Chosokabe) or occupy both the village of Sekigahara and the crossroads behind it. If so, Tokugawa will be delayed: 0 turns: 28%, 1: 20%, 2: 14%, 3: 10%, 4:8% ... that is, more than half-chance for 2 turns or more. and enter battle: Turn 3 (earliest try to activate D) + 2 ? (delay) + 2 (march to battle) = turn 7, too late to affect anything. * Turn 1 (Initiative East: 5 Command pts; West 5 CP) My opponent activates clan S (Fukishima) and retreats from their exposed forward position to a line south of Clan R down to the river. Clan J (Matsudaira) activates and enters Sekigahara. O stays inactive. My West activates Clan 3 (Otani) to strengthen our will and deter later betrayals. Then clan 13 attacks the village [kills one unit of J; their cavalry only retreats and so J survives]. Clan 11 crosses the river NE to attack Clan O (Kuroda) across the stream. The exceptional resistance of their lead unit translates to 'no result' in game terms: 3 attack fires missed and no retreat caused at 5:1 (P=1/8x2/6=4.17%). Clans N, P but not R nearby wake up to the danger. Score 5 west : 0 east * Turn 2 (E:4, W:4) East re-arranges O to counterattack a weak spot in 11 [in the battle 1:1 losses], all of N attack a flank unit of 11 [no result]. S strikes the south flank of 13 [elim 1 enemy], P concentrates against the cavalry of 13 [retreats but survives]. One unit of J locked in combat in the village survives a mandatory 1:5 attack ! West activates 1 (Kinoshita) as preparation so that 5 (Kobayakawa) comes faithfully on our side. They march east to outflank 13 from the south of the river. 13 attacks strongly R [1:1 losses, our concentrated troops more vulnerable to fire], and also pin S [one more friendly loss]. In the north, 11 locked in melee with O and N, 3 undecided results and one friendly loss. The inf. from J finally collapses, all the clan runs away. Score 27 west : 30 east * Turn 3 (W:4, E:3) Clan 5 crosses the river behind enemy Clan S, some pin them from the SW [one enemy loss]. Clan 13 attacks again R [1:1 losses, so R flees]. 11 tries to keep O and L pinned across the stream so that a few march NE up hills and woods to outflank them [1 loss from 11]. Clan 1 approaches. East tries to activate Tokugawa and succeeds from the first try! To my surprise, my opponent splits the massive clan: most march west: 10 inf +1cav, the rest (6+1) march SE to support B and A. O counterattacks Ishida (11), kills two of his units and puts his personal 'army' to flight (44 points!). Score 50 west : 68 east * Turn 4 (W:5, E:7) Seeking a decision in the southeast side, 'West' calls 16 and 19 and march them to the battle, although it may be too late. Clan 5 attacks S from all sides [1 own, 2 enemy losses, they still hold] and, behind them, also K in a dense block [2 enemies crushed, other allies stand in their way of retreat, K evaporates]. Indecisive combats continue in the center. East is encouraged by the collapse of Ishida; Honda samurais (H) ride beyond the enemy to pin the infantry of 12 (Shima), while N gangs on 12's cavalry [crushing it, clan 12 flees]. L attacks 13 [1 enemy loss]; many advanced units of D reach the battle and engage the vulnerable clan 5: [1 own, 3 enemy losses. All of Clan 5 loses face and melts away]. O marches westwards, B fails to activate to merge with the smaller part of D approaching. All survivors from S (Fukishima) - 1 encircled unit and Q (Todo) - 2 units perish to the last in battle while facing 13. Glory to Bushido ! Score 107 west : 144 east * Turn 5 (E:5, W:8) East is free to wreak havoc in the NW corner after 11=Ishida fleed: O pins 9 and attacks 10 (1 enemy elim); N and L strike 14 in an awkward corner positions (2 enemies elim). Units from 13 are unharmed in the central ongoing combat. In the east A doesn't activate, but B does. West will clearly lose the battle, but can we take the E side down and force a draw ? I count the endurance reserve of enemy clans: 2 units each for O, N, L and P. I need 3 of them to fail. Clan 1 strikes L [only 1 unit killed]; clans 3 and newly-entered 4 press N [no result!]; clans 8, 9 and 10 make a sacrificial effort against O [no result]. 8 also helped against L. 13 hasn't collapsed yet and their concentrated fire wipes one P, but not two as needed. The last unit from 14 falls valiantly. Six other indecisive combats. Score 118 west : 171 east My opponent has won a clear victory; as in real history, Tokugawa becomes the Shogun Triumphant ! We liked this game, but still think the board format is practically cumbersome (count distances in hexes, make care you have 3:1 not 2:1 etc.). But then we enjoyed the much larger 1940v2 scenario (for Empire 2, computer of course). I think we'll try Turning Point Stalingrad next. Happy gaming, Mircea (mpauca@fx.ro), Bucuresti, Romania