Night Battle of Kawagoe

Katta, katta! "We've won, we've won!" (the battle cry Hōjō Tsunashige is said to have raised as he sallied from the castle; tradition) Wake the sleeping camps, one at a time. Late on the night of the 20th day of the 4th month of Tenbun 15. Hōjō Tsunashige has been besieged in Kawagoe castle for half a year. Around him lie three camps: Uesugi Norimasa of Yamanouchi, Kantō kanrei; Uesugi Tomosada of Ōgigayatsu; and Ashikaga Haruuji, the Koga kubō. Together they outnumber the garrison many times over. Hōjō Ujiyasu, encamped at Sunakubo, has sent letter after letter begging for peace and lulled the besiegers. Now his army is about to break into the Ōgigayatsu camp from the south. [How the Hōjō win] You may activate 12 units per turn; the Uesugi Alliance 8. The 12 units of Ujiyasu's vanguard begin on the board, already at grips with the south of the Ōgigayatsu camp (the moment of the attack). The other 17 enter from the south edge (10 on turn 2, 7 on turn 3). Tsunashige and three other units in the castle are standby units and sally out on turn 2 (23:30); the two garrison units stay in the castle and never move of their own accord. The Hōjō begin holding only Kawagoe castle (30 points). The Uesugi hold the Ōgigayatsu camp at Tōmyōji (20), the Yamanouchi camp at Uedo (25) and the camp of the Koga kubō (15). The victory line is -25: if the score margin seen from the Hōjō side exceeds -25, you have done better than history. [How the Uesugi Alliance wins] Keep the castle surrounded and do not break. The Ōgigayatsu Uesugi at Tōmyōji (Uesugi Tomosada and 14 others) are also standby units: from turn 2 (23:30) each turn there is a chance they rouse, starting at 50% and rising by 50% per turn. The Yamanouchi Uesugi at Uedo (Uesugi Norimasa and 22 others) are standby units: from turn 3 (0:00) each turn there is a chance they rouse, starting at 30% and rising by 30% per turn. The Koga kubō east of the castle (Ashikaga Haruuji and 12 others) are also standby units, and these never rouse of their own accord. Both rouse at once if attacked, or if an enemy comes next to them. [Commanders] Hōjō: Hōjō Ujiyasu; Hōjō Tsunashige in the castle, and his brother Fukushima Katsuhiro, who slipped through the siege lines to carry word into the castle; Hōjō Tsunataka; Matsuda Morihide; Kasahara Nobutame; Daidōji Morimasa; Tōyama Tsunakage; and Tame Mototada, who waited behind and checked the pursuit. Uesugi Alliance: Uesugi Tomosada of Ōgigayatsu; Nambada Norishige; Ōta Sukemasa; Uesugi Norimasa of Yamanouchi, Kantō kanrei; Nagano Narimasa of Minowa; Nagao Norikage of the Shiroi Nagao; Ashikaga Haruuji, the Koga kubō; Yanada Harusuke. [Decisions to try on this board] - (Hōjō) Once the Ōgigayatsu camp breaks, go for the Yamanouchi at Uedo, or for the Koga kubō east of the castle? The order in which you wake the sleeping camps decides the night. - (Hōjō) When should Tame Mototada's reserve come forward? - (Uesugi) Abandon the Ōgigayatsu camp and tighten the ring round the castle, or go to its aid? [Outcome] Ujiyasu's army broke into the Ōgigayatsu camp at Tōmyōji, and Uesugi Tomosada and Nambada Norishige were killed. Nambada is said to have died by falling into an old well (tradition). The Ōgigayatsu Uesugi line ended that night. Next the camp at Uedo gave way, and Uesugi Norimasa of Yamanouchi fled to Hirai in Kōzuke. In the castle, Tsunashige threw open the gates, sallied out and struck the camp of the Koga kubō, and Ashikaga Haruuji fell back on Koga. When Ujiyasu made to pursue further, it is said, Tame Mototada behind him had the conch blown for recall and brought the men back (tradition). Six years later Norimasa abandoned Hirai as well and took refuge with Nagao Kagetora of Echigo, to whom he handed the office of Kantō kanrei and the Uesugi name. Uesugi Kenshin's campaigns into the Kantō begin on this night. For half a year the castle was surrounded Letter after letter came, begging for peace At midnight, from the south, the Ōgigayatsu camp gave way The castle gate opened, and a voice cried, we've won, we've won The kanrei to Kōzuke, the kubō to Koga and that kanrei's title would one day pass to Echigo The half-year siege, and the manoeuvring before Ujiyasu reached Sunakubo, are folded into the opening set-up (the moment of the attack). This is a night battle, but no night turns are used (night turns have no combat, so a night attack could not be fought). Accounts of the numbers differ; rather than the large figures of the war tales, the board simply gives the besiegers a several-fold advantage. Unit suffixes (Band I, Ashigaru II and so on) are names given by the designer, not unit names from the sources. 1 hex = 300 m, 1 turn = 30 minutes, 1 CS ≈ 350 men. T1 = 4th month 20th day, 23:00 (the attack); T2 = 23:30 (Tsunashige sallies); T3 = 21st day, 0:00 (the Yamanouchi begin to stir); T12 = 4:30 (before dawn).