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Difficulty: Hard
Conditions: Destroy the enemy
Player: Tokugawa
Enemy: Takeda
Background: The battle of Mikata Ga Hara came about during the drive south by Takeda Shingen against the Tokugawa fortress of Hamamatsu. At this time, the Takeda clan was the most powerful in Japan and Tokugawa was heavily outnumbered. Not only did Takeda Shingen have the advantage in numbers, but also the formidable might of the Takeda cavalry. Despite the odds and against the advice of his generals, Tokugawa attacked.
A winter landscape creates this epic battleground, where Takeda's forces heavily outnumber Tokugawa, especially with heavy cavalry. You, as Tokugawa, possess no cavalry units. Visibility is fine, and there's minimal precipitation. To win (you're outnumbered by more than two to one), you must be patient and employ the terrain features to your advantage.
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The snow-covered landscape won't have much effect on this battle - you're simply heavily outnumbered. Use terrain to your advantage, such as the hills and the woods to the east and northeast. |
For instance, immediately place ranged units on nearby hills as you spot Takeda ahead advancing on your position. It's possible to attempt a straightforward advance assault, but if Takeda shifts cavalry and other tough melee units into the battle, the numbers advantage will quickly prove too much to overcome. Playing this scenario several times, it's definitely possible to win (by simply killing Takeda) by attacking Takeda's forces head on, but it's certainly not a sure thing.
If you plan to attempt a frontal assault, move up your musketeers and samurai archers and follow close behind with your yari samurai, no-dachi samurai, and naginata. Use the musketeers to approach to close range and apply full two-man rank bursts into Takeda's melee units. Advance your samurai archers and lure Takeda's cavalry archers into attacking; the samurai archers can rip through the larger cavalry archers, but keep in mind that you're expending a lot of ammunition to simply clear out the cavalry archers.
Obviously, this isn't an ideal way to defeat Takeda and his immense force. As you peck away at Takeda's forces, he will advance and advance hard with heavy cavalry and naginata. Move in your yari infantry against his cavalry and assist quickly with your naginata. Use your musketeers and samurai archers to fire, as the heavy cavalry approaches the melee battle. Even if you survive the first exchange, you're still heavily outnumbered. Killing Takeda can greatly reduce enemy troop morale and even win the scenario.
An alternate way requires much more patience and use of terrain features such as the ample hills and woodlands to the east. As discussed in the units chapter, cavalry are extremely weak in forestry. If you could lure the Takeda cavalry units into the woods, you could decimate them with your yari infantry, no-dachi, and naginata units. Cavalry suffers a movement penalty around trees; the formations become disorganized, and individual infantry can flank the mounted units.
Use the woods to your advantage, but getting there could be quite a problem. Move units to the east immediately instead of advancing toward the northeast. Remain out of range of Takeda's ranged units.
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