Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima (STW)

From Warpedia

Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima
(Battle of Hachimanbara)
Part of the Sengoku period
4thKawanakajima.JPG

BattleKawanakajima2.jpg

4thKawanakajimaLocation.png
From top to bottom: in-game portrait for the battle; Woodblock print depicting the battle made by Utagawa Hiroshige, with Shingen on the left and Kenshin on the right; location of the battle (represented by the red dot).

Date:

1561

Location:

Kawanakajima / Shinano Province / Japan

Historical result:

Inconclusive

  • The Uesugi and Takeda take heavy losses and are forced to withdraw from Shinano
  • Takeda loses a significant amount of his best commanders

Objectives:

Victory conditions:

  • Defeat your rival daimyo (destroy or rout the Uesugi army)

Defeat conditions:

  • Your army is destroyed or routed

Historical analogue:

Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima

Belligerents
TakedaSTW.gif
Takeda
UesugiSTW.gif
Uesugi
Commanders
TakedaSTW.gif
Takeda Shingen
UesugiSTW.gif
Uesugi Kenshin
Strength

Historical: 20,000 troops


Historical: 18,000 troops

Casualties

Historical: 14,400 troops Modern estimates: 4,000+ troops

Historical: 11,160 troops Modern estimates: 3,000+ troops

 

The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima (presented as 4th Kawanakajima in-game), also known as the Battle of Hachimanbara, is an historical battle in Shogun: Total War. The battle is a re-enactment of the fourth of a series of battles fought during the Sengoku period between the Uesugi under Uesugi Kenshin and the Takeda under Takeda Shingen at Kawanakajima in Shinano Province. When Takeda Shingen conquered Shinano province, expelling Ogasawara Nagatoki and Murakami Yoshikiyo, both of them to fled to Uesugi Kenshin seeking help, and a battle for control of Shinano Province quickly erupted between the Takeda and Uesugi, contesting each other for control over the Kawanakajima plain between the Sai River and Chikuma River, and fighting a total of five battles over it: the Battle of Fuse in 1553, Saigawa in 1555, Uenohara in 1557, Hachimanbara in 1561 and Shiozaki in 1564, with this re-enactment focusing on the fourth battle, Hachimanbara, the most famous and bloody of the five battles.

Uesugi Kenshin's army was in the process of besieging the Hojo's Odawara castle in Sagami when word reached him that Takeda Shingen was on the move with his own army, so he quickly abandoned the siege and withdrew towards Shinano, hoping to destroy Shingen once and for all. He left Kasugayama Castle in Echigo Province with 18,000 men and marched towards Kawanakajima. The Uesugi army was able to capture Kaizu Castle, but the castle was able to set off a series of signal fires to inform Shingen in Kai Province that Kenshin had made his move, largely due to Kenshin's hesitance to take the castle quickly, as he wrongly believed it had a larger garrison than it did. Shingen left Kōfu in Kai Province with 16,000 men, acquiring an additional 4,000 as he moved through Shinano, and once he had arrived, he deployed his army beside the Chikuma River, keeping it between him and Saijoyama, where the Uesugi army had arrayed itself, settled in at the top of the mountain: both sides held their positions, unwilling to make the first move: this allowed Shingen to take 8,000 of his men and quickly recapture Kaizu castle while the rest of the army remained where it was.

Finally, a plan was formed: one of Shingen's generals would lead 8,000 men in an attack up the mountain under the cover of night, with the strategy being to rout or force the Uesugi army to withdraw down the mountain, where Takeda Shingen would be waiting with the rest of the army to slaughter the remaining Uesugi forces in a pincer. However, either through spies or scouts, Uesugi Kenshin learned of this plan and took the initiative, advancing his entire army, with the exception of 3,000 men left to defend the mountain top from the Takeda secondary force, towards Shingen's force, using bits of cloth to deafen the noise of their horse's hooves to keep the element of surprise. The Takeda forces were caught by surprise, and the Uesugi army quickly began its attack, assaulting Shingen's force in waves. Famously, Kenshin himself broke into the command tent and nearly killed Shingen, saved only by one of his retainers driving off Kenshin. The Takeda main body held firm against repeated attacks and, after punching through the 3,000 men Kenshin left behind to guard his rear, the Takeda secondary force descended down the slope into the Uesugi's rear. Kenshin was able to retreat with what remained of his army, burning his encampment at Saijoyama and withdrawing to Echigo Province, while Shingen refused to give chase. Casualty figures for both sides were significant, the Uesugi having lost 62% of their forces while the Takeda lost 72%, among them a sizable amount of Shingen's best generals. Despite this, the battle ended inconclusively, both sides forced to withdraw.

The player assumes control of the Takeda main body of Takeda Shingen. The map is foggy to simulate night and the player's force is deployed at the base of a hill, while the Uesugi army is deployed on top of a hill. The player's objective is, using their smaller force, attempt to find the Uesugi army, ambush it and either destroy or rout it to achieve victory. The player is defeated if their army is destroyed or routed. The fog makes it difficult to locate the enemy army, and this works in the favor of the player and the AI, as well as against them.

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