Battle of Tachikawara

"Those killed were beyond counting." — Moro Akisue, a retainer of the Yamanouchi Uesugi, on this battle (in substance) The Tama River in Musashi Province. At the hour of the dragon (8 a.m.) on the 27th day of the 9th month of Eisho 1, the army of Uesugi Tomoyoshi of the Ogigayatsu branch crossed the Tama and came up onto the riverbed at Tachikawara on the north bank. On the south bank follow the relief forces of Imagawa Ujichika, come from Suruga, and Ise Sozui (Hojo Soun) of Odawara. They are few, and they are strong. To the north, the army of Uesugi Akisada of the Yamanouchi branch, which has given up its siege of Kawagoe castle and marched south, is hurrying toward them from the Tachikawa manor. From Fuchu to the east comes the army of his ally, the Koga kubo Ashikaga Masauji. The two sides will face each other and fight from about noon until evening. [How the allies win] Fourteen units may be activated each turn. The sixteen Ogigayatsu units stand on the riverbed on the north bank; the twenty-four Imagawa and Ise units are on the south bank around Hino and Manganji. The Tama can be crossed only at four fords (Tsukiji, Hino, Manganji and Sekido). The allies begin holding Tachikawara (30 points), Hino (10) and Sekido (10); taking the Yamanouchi positions at the Tachikawa manor (20) and Yaho (10) widens the margin. The victory line is +55. If the margin from the allied side exceeds +55, they have done better than history. [How the Yamanouchi and the Koga kubo win] Fourteen units may be activated each turn. Only eight vanguard units are on the map at the start; the rest arrive on Turns 2 to 6 at the north edge (from Kawagoe and Iruma) and the east edge (from Fuchu). Drive the Ogigayatsu on the riverbed back into the river before the Imagawa and Ise have finished crossing. [Commanders] Allies: Uesugi Tomoyoshi (head of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi); Ueda Masatada (deputy governor of Sagami); Nagai Hironao (lord of Kunugida castle); Imagawa Ujichika (governor of Suruga); Asahina Yasuhiro and Kushima Sukeharu, senior Imagawa retainers from Totomi; Ise Sozui (Hojo Soun); Daidoji Shigetoki. Yamanouchi Uesugi and the Koga kubo: Uesugi Akisada (Kanto kanrei); Ashikaga Masauji (the Koga kubo); Nagano Fusakane and Nagao Fusakiyo, both killed this day; Moro Akisue; Chiba Katsutane (only the Chiba Denkoki records his relief force). [Decisions this board poses] - (Allies) Which ford for the Imagawa and Ise: nearby Hino, Manganji where the Yamanouchi are not coming, or Sekido in the east to turn against the Koga army from Fuchu? - (Allies) Push the Ogigayatsu forward from the riverbed, or hold the riverbed until the relief has crossed? - (Yamanouchi) Strike the riverbed as each force arrives, or wait on the northern terrace until all have gathered? Waiting lets the Imagawa and Ise finish crossing. [Outcome] Having let the enemy cross the Tama, the Yamanouchi side gave way in the fighting from noon to evening and fled. About two thousand were killed, a rare toll for the battles of the time. Nagano Fusakane and Nagao Fusakiyo fell, and Akisada escaped to Hachigata castle in northern Musashi. Yet while the victorious Tomoyoshi rested his troops, Nagao Yoshikage, deputy governor of Echigo, joined Akisada, and from the 11th month Kawagoe castle was besieged again. In the 12th month the castles of Kunugida and Sanada fell, cutting the Ogigayatsu off from the Imagawa and Ise lands, and in the 3rd month of the following year Tomoyoshi submitted to Akisada. The victor surrendered, and the Chokyo war came to an end. The Imagawa and Ise troops had already returned to Kamakura by the 4th day of the 10th month, and Sozui held memorial rites for the dead at Nirayama. This was the battle in which Sozui first entered the wars of the Kanto in earnest. At the hour of the dragon they crossed the Tama The Ogigayatsu banners rose above the riverbed Behind them on the south bank came the men of Suruga and Izu From north and east the kanrei and the kubo hurried in From noon until evening they fought upon the riverbed The victor submitted the following spring No reliable source gives the strength of either army. The number and strength of the units treat the Imagawa and Ise relief as "few and strong" and bring the Yamanouchi side onto the map in stages. The fords are placed at the crossings of the early modern period; where the armies crossed on this day is not recorded. 1 hex = 300 m, 1 turn = 45 minutes, 1 CS = about 300 men. Turn 1 = 8 a.m. (hour of the dragon) on the 27th day of the 9th month; Turn 6 = 11:45; Turn 12 = 4:15 p.m.