Prior to the start of Japanese Month, I've been looking at the background to base rules upon. As with most of us, I'm relying upon Stephen Turnbull's books primarily to provide the information that the rules will be based upon.
Over the next few days I'll lay out the main background to Japanese battles that will provide the basis for the rules I intend to apply - so the players know why the rules are being applied.
Scouts
Once an army was on the move, scouts were often sent to provide reconnaissance, and messages needed to be transmitted between elements of the same army, or between allies, speedily, and without the information falling into the hands of the enemy. A number of systems of protecting their intelligence, and ensuring its safe delivery came about. Often, written messages would end with 'you will be informed of these things by the messenger.' By not placing the entire message in writing, the messenger could enjoy some degree of protection from those who would kill him and steal the scroll.
Scouts were therefore vital for many Japanese battles. The topography tended to be hilly and wooded (and unlike European hills, Japanese hills tend to be steep and dramatic rather than gently rolling). Add to this the tendency for Japanese generals to attempt to outflank and get into the rear of their enemies.
I will allow players the opportunity to use scouts for spotting - including in more 'out of the way' places (such as behind hills or woods) and allow one scout for Poor commanders, two for average and three for Exceptional.
Once troops have been spotted the scout must return to a command stand before the opposition need to reveal their troops.
Scouts move the same distance as messengers and hence faster than opposing cavalry - although opposition forces contacting a scout can 'kill' the scout.
The additional rule is that scouts will report back on any standard troop stand encountered (i.e. from 1 or more unit(s) of foot or cavalry).
Therefore troop movement for both sides will be made by use of dummies until spotted but units, orders and composition must be made on the players maps prior to the start of the battle.
Flank Marches
This means that armies could easily arrive unnoticed in a flank or rear or allies would arrive from unexpected directions so I will allow for flank marches in the rules. This is a major difference to typical Renaissance battles - but bear in mind that the Japanese had been at war with themselves or the Koreans / Chinese almost continually for 600 years. Generals would seek any advantage they could to defeat their enemies (which explains the rapid acceptance of ashigaru and firearms despite flying in the tradition of warfare).
In addition, it explains the various battle formations of armies of the period that tended to provide 'all round' protection - just in case.
Players can opt to have up to 30% of their army (or allies) come in a flank march but once notified it must be diced for each turn. The player must (on the map) specify where the flank march will come in on before the start of the battle and from which turn they want it to turn up. From that turn onwards they will roll to see if it makes it onto the table - starting with 1-2 on a d6. Failure to call it just means they have another chance next turn - adding 1 to the dice roll requirement (so 1-3 on turn 3, 1-4 on turn 4 etc.).
Fog of War
Many Japanese battles led to the use of terrain / darkness / weather to sneak up to or around the enemy, to ambush their enemy, to draw them off or to otherwise spring a surprise or two on them.
For that reason I will engage 'fog of war' to allow players to move troops and dummies to hide their forces from the enemy until spotted. This will only apply for Principles of War battles for the time being. Standard spotting rules will apply (so an army in the open will be revealed immediately). This will also include heavy rain (which was used to 'hide' troops until the last moment) which will cut spotting distances by 50%.
Ambushes
Japanese generals were also great exponents of ambushes and I will further allow for the opportunity for commanders to do so. Ambushing units do not need to be within command radius as they have specific orders but the player can choose the most opportune time to do so. For example, a unit hidden in woods is not spotted unless an enemy unit has come within standard spotting distance.
Therefore the ambushing player can then opt to allow the enemy army to pass then fall into the flank or rear of the passing troops. Players must mark on the map where the ambush (if any) will take place and how many units are committed to the ambush.
Troops in ambush count as being on Attack orders. If discovered by enemy troops in the area where the ambush is due to be launched from they will therefore count as being on Attack rather than Hold orders.
Battle Formations
As much as we can replicate the typical formations (or at least the basic shape of these) I will see if we can insist on keeping the traditional formations based on the Daimyo's orders (so taking on attacking / defensive formations as required).
As you can see from other elements mentioned in this post, there was always a danger of being attacked in the flank or rear or being ambushed and Japanese commanders had relatively flexible and fluid formations to meet threats that would appear from any angle.
Again, if we're fighting with the Japanese, lets fight as they would.
Orders and order changes
A variety of methods were used to communicate across the battlefield in feudal Japan, much like in any other culture. These methods included visual signals like flags and banners and audible signals using drums and horns. Messengers on horseback used ciphers and other methods to prevent their messages from falling into the wrong hands. By the beginning of the Sengoku Period, battlefield communications had become fairly complicated affairs, with larger armies than ever before, and a multitude of flags and banners covered in a myriad of colors and designs.
Once an army was on the move, scouts and messengers were often sent to provide reconnaissance, and messages needed to be transmitted between elements of the same army, or between allies, speedily, and without the information falling into the hands of the enemy. A number of systems of protecting their intelligence, and ensuring its safe delivery came about. Often, written messages would end with 'you will be informed of these things by the messenger.' By not placing the entire message in writing, the messenger could enjoy some degree of protection from those who would kill him and steal the scroll.
By the mid-16th century, flags and banners were seen in greater numbers than ever before, and in an unprecedented variety of styles, sizes, shapes and colors. Where once only higher-ranking samurai and commanders had standards (flags), now lower-ranking warriors wore flags to denote their unit or division, along with their clan or lord.
Not only were armies larger than in the past, but the number of clans present on any given side in a battle had increased as well. In any one battle, a single daimyo could have under him several other daimyo, each with a number of units or divisions, and sub-commanders, as well as individual samurai of such a reputation (or wealth) as to warrant their own individual banner. This profusion of banners meant that the commanders, especially the daimyo at the head of each side of the battle, had to have especially large and noticeable standards to identify their location; warriors needed to know where to rally around, whose orders to follow, and what those orders were. The role of standard bearer was one of the most dangerous, and thus one of the most honorable, positions on the field of battle.
Horagai were conch shells used as trumpets or horns, to issue orders across the battlefield. A complex system of conch calls came into use by the height of the Sengoku period. Many yamabushi were renowned for their skill with a conch, and were hired into feudal armies as kai yaku, or trumpeters.
In terms of order changes I will allow these to be communicated either by messenger or by flag / music. This allows for players to write simple orders and then can implement them by signal rather than waiting for the order to arrive.
The order must be simple : Attack Unit to Front, Attack Unit to Left, Attack Unit to Right, Withdraw, Hold etc.
However, the unit being signalled to must roll to 'spot' (or hear) the signal (standard spotting rules apply). Failure to spot means either the order is ignored for that turn OR the message is misinterpreted (e.g. they attack in the opposite direction to that which they are supposed to or withdraw rather than attacking).
Therefore players have the opportunity to choose - use a messenger and ensure the correct order gets through or save time but risk disaster if the 'spot' goes wrong.
Rashness and Commanders
Even at the very end of the Sengoku period, there was still the desire to emulate ancestors and obtain personal glory on the battlefield. This could be manifested in several ways but the simplest is to have any samurai (NOT ashigaru) units roll against their strength once they first sight the enemy. If the morale roll is failed, the unit will be Rash and will seek to attack the nearest enemy (regardless of who or what it is). The unit must subsequently roll against its morale each turn to stop being Rash. This is affected by modifiers based on the general's status - poor, average, good, exceptional. The unit gets -1 for Poor, no modifier for Average, +1 for Good and +2 for Exceptional.
For example, a samurai unit spots a group of enemy ashigaru. They roll against their strength (14) and roll a 16. Their daimyo is ranked as Good (giving them +1) but still fail the roll - so move at full speed towards the ashigaru.
Similarly, there was a considerable trust between a daimyo and his subordinate generals. Traditionally the daimyo would sit at the back of the battlefield (preferably on a raised point where he could see the battlefield from) and issue orders by messenger or other methods. Subordinate commanders were issued orders and expected to follow them (though this was sometimes not the case).
Therefore sub-ordinate generals are key to samurai armies and there should be at least three (one for each flank, one for the centre) and possibly four (one to control the troops surrounding the daimyo. Given the leeway they had, players must roll when orders are issued. This is based on the strength of the General's unit with a modifier based on the daimyo's ranking. So a poor Daimyo gets 0, an average +1, a Good +2 and an Exceptional +3.
So a General's unit of 6 strength given an order by an average daimyo must roll 8 or less to absorb and act on the order. A 9 or 10 means the order is ignored. If the General's unit suffers damage, there is and increased likelihood that the change of order is ignored...
This rule might need a bit of work but I think it reflects the chaos of battle and self-importance of some Generals.
Personal Challenges
Another element - particular to Japanese battles and that often had a critical impact - up to 1615 at least - was that of personal challenges. There are a number of incidents where - in order to save a larger body of troops - an individual or small group of samurai would approach the oncoming enemy and issue personal challenges to opposing samurai. Given the honour code among samurai it was virtually impossible to resist such a challenge once given - and it really would hold up bodies of samurai as individuals stepped from the ranks to take up the challenge when offered.
This was often seen in the case where a unit was retreating and some samurai (and ONLY samurai) would turn to face the enemy in the hope that in the time taken to issue, accept and fight the challenge, the retreating force would get away or reform.
Therefore for samurai units facing ONLY opposing samurai units, players can opt (in the event that their unit is Shaken or Retiring Shaken) to issue a personal challenge to the unit facing them to prevent the whole unit being charged while in that state.
For the sake of simplicity I will state that (until we see how the rule plays out) that the attacking unit MUST accept the challenge (although I may allow for a modified roll - e.g. at +2 and the units strength to resist the challenge and just run down the Challenger). There must be space for the challenge to take place - so no Challenges are allowed for units already in melee / contact with the enemy.
The Shaken unit will automatically and permanently lose 1 strength point and will move a Challenger unit forward. The chasing unit then also moves an Accepting unit forward (also losing a strength point). The opposing teams then 'dice off' - highest roll wins. If the attacker wins then the strength point is returned and the whole unit is free to follow their orders next turn.
If the defender wins, this is seen as them winning the initial combat and more samurai having to step forward to fight them - so the attacker loses that strength point (to reflect physical losses and the blow to morale). Combat is therefore extended by one additional turn. The attacker loses no more strength but they are stationary (though still on original orders). If attacked by another enemy unit during this second turn they will fight and check morale with their current strength (i.e. -1). Regardless of other activity at the end of that turn the Challenger is deemed to have succumbed to numbers and wounds and the attacking unit free to follow orders again.
Each samurai unit can only issue a challenge once.
As can be seen - this is simply a way of buying time - either to rally a shaken unit or to get them clear of danger (or move other troops in to support them).
Castles and sieges
Castles were very important to battles during this period. Nearly every major battle includes a castle (either being besieged or as a staging post for an attack). However, except at the end of the Senguko period, Japanese lacked siege guns of any size and relied more on digging underneath or setting fire to opposing castles.
The Japanese saw castles as essentially glorified pallisades from which a smaller number of troops could hold back a larger number until relieved or degraded enough to risk a sally forth.
To assault a castle / fort therefore players do not need specialist equipment as such - just numbers. Defenders are deemed to be behind hard cover for both shooting and melee.
Another option to consider is the aspect of pressure on the besieged (in terms of not knowing if help was on the way, suffering the taunts of the besiegers for their cowardice, dwindling supplies etc). I will set up a rule based on how much surprise the attackers gained and put in modifiers for supplies, surprise, support known to be close by, size of attacking force etc. Once battle is joined then a roll each day (for a campaign) or each turn during a battle with modifiers will determine if the besieged surrender, stay behind the walls to fight it out or sally forth.
If the latter, the troops will be given an extra 1-2 strength points to simulate desperation / desire to get to grips with the enemy.
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