Fighting on the Beaches

Those of you who follow me in another place, or even those of you who have kept awake long enough here to read the posts here and here, will know that something Far Eastern and naval is brewing. Well, sort of. In a flurry of ‘I can’t possibly do that’ the whole of the invasion of Korea was dismissed as being impossible, the overblown concept of a tired and hyperactive wargaming mind. A much smaller campaign was envisaged, with the Channel Islands as the map.

However, megalomania will out. The whole project was delayed while I assembled and painted a Chinese fleet. I confess, as, again, followers of Facebook will know, that assembling the ships was a task the likes of which I do not intend to attempt again (I say that with every naval project). Still, they are done but, critically, I started to read Kenneth Swope’s book on the invasion. A full review of the work will follow (promise) but my eye lighted on a map of the eight provinces of Choson Korea.

My wargamer synapse twinged a bit at that. Obviously, my subconscious was ringing bells and waving flags. It looked rather familiar, and I was not quite sure why. Eventually, I twigged. I could use my Machiavelli rules ideas in this different context. Hmmm….

A bit of Googling and some manipulation of a map landed me up with this.

This is a slightly redrawn map of Korea in 1592, pinched off the Internet with extra bits drawn on by yours truly. If you look really closely you can see vertical lines from the printer, which has still not quite recovered from its sojourn in the wargames room while recarpeting operations were in progress. The extra bits I added were the sea regions and the border between the Ming Chinese and the Jurchen (who, united, will become the Manchus shortly.).

I also bunged in a staging zone for the Japanese forces. Historically, Tsushima was the final jumping off point for the Japanese forces, with other islands behind them back to mainland Japan. Rather than laboriously add these to the map, I just put in a staging area, coloured it a fetching shade of red, and called the job a good one.

As the assiduous reader of the blog will know, I have had a few ventures into the Japanese Invasion of Korea. I have three small Japanese armies, a Korean army and some Ming Chinese, as well as sufficient Mongol types to make up a Jurchen army if required. I thus already have Japanese commanders – Clemmy, Mango, Satty, and Tango. Tango got command of the fleet, and the other three got armies. There is also, on the map, two Korean armies and a fleet, with a Ming army and fleet, and a Jurchen army, inactive in the north. I need to work out what activates them.

April 1592 proved to be a damp squib, as the Japanese fleet failed it initiative roll. May was a bit better, with the Japanese fleet setting forth on a critical initiative roll, followed by a successful initiative from Clemmy with army 1 (JA1). JA1 was therefore transported to left Gyeongsang province, near Daegi. The Korean army in right Gyeongsang province managed to react, again on a critical initiative roll and, in my reckoning, got to a defensive position to block Clemmy. Here we go, first battle.

The Japanese fleet is, evidently, to the right. The dice rolling for terrain did not favour the invaders. Aside from the village on the coast, a river bisected the board lengthways, and two streams added to the defensive capability across the battlefield. Not only that, but the Koreans are drawn up on substantial high ground. This was going to be tough for Clemmy, I though.

Japanese dice rolling did them no favours, either. The first initiative roll gave them precisely no tempo points to get their landing boats away, and so the general set out, alone. This was to dog them throughout the game, as they could just not get their landings coordinated.

The picture shows the problem compounded by the Koreans having sent their cavalry forward to fight on the beaches. On the right you can see Clemmy and his first landers struggling against the might of Korea and coming off distinctly second best. To their left another newly landed base of Samurai is not supporting them nor drawing off their foes. Further left stillmore troops are arriving but are also threatened by Korean cavalry. In the centre you can see a puff of smoke. This was where the Korean rockets hit some incoming boats and destroyed them – this required a roll of six and then a six-one result on the combat dice. I told you it was not the Japanese’s day.

It did not really get any better for Clemmy, or Tango when he arrived to take over command after Clemmy bit the sand. More Japanese arrived to be overwhelmed by Korean cavalry. Even two organised bases of Samurai lost when they advanced into the Korean horse on the left, on what should have been even rolls the Samurai lost one base and had the other driven back. The only slight glimmer of hope was when an Asigaru base managed to dispose of a Korean cavalry base in the centre, but it was small compensation.

Japanese casualties were mounting, and it was evident that it was unlikely to be turned around. Before Tango could give the decision to withdraw, however, more casualties on the left took it out of his hands. The Japanese lost seven bases, mostly Samurai, and a general (Clemmy), plus a bow unit abandoned on the beach. I am not sure whether Clemmy survived or not at this point, but his army has been pretty well destroyed.

As I mentioned above, lack of coordination was a problem with this, plus the Korean willingness to get stuck in on the beach before the invaders had time to organise. Coupled with some dismal Japanese dice rolling at critical points (and some fluky Korean rolls) and the combat could appear to be a bit one sided.

As it is, one Japanese army is destroyed, or nearly so. In a one off game, or a campaign where that was the only invading army, the game would be over. As it is, I need to be a bit more careful, and the Japanese a bit luckier, with the next landing effort.