Battle of Ozawahara

Katte kabuto no o wo shimeyo "After victory, tighten your helmet cords." (words Hōjō Ujitsuna is said to have left to his heir Ujiyasu; tradition) A sixteen-year-old goes to the front himself. Before dawn on the 12th day of the 6th month of Kyōroku 3. Uesugi Tomooki of Ōgigayatsu has come south out of Musashi, crossed the Tama River and occupied Kozawa castle. South of the castle the Ōgigayatsu army has made camp on the plain, with the Tama and its two fords at its back. At Odawara, Hōjō Ujitsuna has sent his sixteen-year-old heir, Ujiyasu, against them. It is Ujiyasu's first battle. [How the Hōjō win] You may activate 9 units per turn; the Ōgigayatsu also 9. The strongest Hōjō unit is the household guard (Hojo Hatamoto) at the side of Ujiyasu (Hojo Ujiyasu), and the further forward the general goes, the further forward that strength can be used. The Ōgigayatsu begin holding their camp on Ozawahara (25 points), Kozawa castle (20) and Yanokuchi ford (10). The Hōjō hold their camp to the south (15). The victory line is -36: if the score margin seen from the Hōjō side exceeds -36, you have done better than history. [How the Ōgigayatsu win] Hold the castle and the plain. Kozawa castle doubles the defender's strength. Behind you, the Tama has two fords, at Suge and Yanokuchi; if you must fall back, there is no other way. [Commanders] Hōjō: Hōjō Ujiyasu (Hojo Ujiyasu) with his guard and horse guard, and the bands of Odawara, Tamanawa, Sagami and Izu. Ōgigayatsu Uesugi: Uesugi Tomooki (Uesugi Tomooki) with his guard, the bands of Ōgigayatsu, Kawagoe and Musashi, and the garrison of Kozawa castle. The names of the commanders on both sides in this battle survive only in later war tales. Only the two certain names (Ujiyasu and Tomooki) are shown on the board; the other units are named by where they came from. [Decisions to try on this board] - (Hōjō) Bring Ujiyasu forward to use the strength of his guard, or keep him back on the defensive? - (Hōjō) Break the camp on the plain first, or surround Kozawa castle first? - (Ōgigayatsu) Stand fast on the plain, draw back on the castle, or hold the fords to keep a way out? [Outcome] Ujiyasu is said to have defeated the Ōgigayatsu army on Ozawahara, and Tomooki fell back north of the Tama. It was a victory in a sixteen-year-old's first battle. Seven years later, after Tomooki's death, Ujitsuna took Kawagoe castle. And sixteen years later, on the night of Kawagoe, Ujiyasu destroyed the camp of Tomosada, Tomooki's son, and the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi line came to an end. The admonitions Ujitsuna is said to have written to Ujiyasu before his death are said to close with the line: after victory, tighten your helmet cords. A sixteen-year-old went north from Odawara The camp on the plain had the river at its back The general went forward, and his guard fought at the front Tomooki crossed to the north of the Tama After victory, tighten your helmet cords Sixteen years on, the same man would break his son's camp by night One view places the battlefield below Kozawa castle (Inagi), another on the upper Tsurumi River (Asao). The board places it on the plain south of Kozawa castle, with the ground simplified. The times in the war tales are uncertain, so the board's clock is only a guide from before dawn to late morning. 1 hex = 250 m, 1 turn = 1 hour, 1 CS ≈ 250 men. T1 = 6th month 12th day, 4:00 (before dawn); T4 = 7:00; T8 = 11:00.