The Korean Campaign Advances

After the debacle on the beaches, a second Japanese fleet was deployed on the map, and the two Japanese fleets transported an army each to Gyeonsung province left and Gyeonsung province right. Incidentally, in case you are wondering, the left and right designation are of the provinces as seen from Seoul, on on the map Gyeonsung Left is to the right. Confused?

The Korean army in Gyeonsung Left passed its initiative roll, but did not beat the incoming imitative of JA2, and so could not meet the Japanese on the beach. Therefore a battle inland between the slightly reduced KA1, which was a base of cavalry down, and the full strength JA2 was decided upon.

The Koreans are to the left above, with their infantry aiming to block the crossing of the stream and the cavalry to oppose the Japanese who were already across it. I confess I totally messed up the Japanese deployment. I meant to have the left as the Ashigaru yari-armed heavy infantry, but instead plonked down the missile (arquebus and bow) troops instead, leaving the Samurai and Ashigaru heavies on the far side of the stream. The plan had been to shoot a hole in the Koreans to get the Samurai heavies across the stream, while the Ashigaru heavies held off the Korean cavalry.

It got, shall we say, complicated. Above you can see the Japanese heavy troops approaching the stream, with Korean missile troops opposing them. In the foreground you can see that the Japanese shooters, plus one base of Ashigaru heavy troops, are causing the Korean cavalry some difficulty. They have struggled to charge because of the presence of the heavy blade troops, but are getting shot to bits by some lucky Japanese shooting. Some of the Korean cavalry did eventually manage to close in, but the charge was ill-coordinated and the remaining base found itself held and heavily outnumbered.

The Korean cavalry base in contact soon fled, but on the far side you can see the Korean infantry is having a successful time in delaying the Samurai heavy foot. The Ashigaru are closing in to cross the stream, something which they, in fact, struggled to do. It got a bit worse after they struggled to cross the stream, as well.

You might have noticed in the previous shot the Korean cavalry base under direct command of the general. This was withdrawn from the action on the Korean right (nearest the camera) and charged the Ashigaru heavy foot as they attempted, for the second time, to cross the stream. This was too much for the Ashigaru, who promptly fled, taking their supporting Samurai heavy foot with them. Pursued by the Korean cavalry, as you can see above.

On the Korean right flank a confusing infantry fight developed, with casualties on both sides. The Japanese had the advantage of their general in this action, as he could direct one of the bases at whim, to wit, in this case, onto the flank of Korean foot. Mind you, the Koreans also did the same to Japanese foot, resulting in losses, but the Japanese just about prevailed, and a poor morale roll saw the Korean army flee.

My notes for the battle declare this one to have been a tough fight. The Koreans lost a cavalry, two shot and a spear unit, while the Japanese lost a Samurai blade, and Ashigaru blade and an Ashigaru shot base. It was pretty close, and the Korean dice deserted them at a critical point.

The lesson so far from the campaign is that I probably need more Japanese cavalry. Korea was not, in fact, good cavalry country, being hilly, but the relatively low numbers of Korean cavalry present are causing the Japanese all sorts of problems, although their tactics in this game rather blunted the potency of the horse.

Strategically, of course, what has happened, due to the loss of KA1, is that the road to Seoul is open, and it is down to KA2 to stop the advance. However, JA2 is a bit low on strength for the moment, and I suppose I should reinforce it with the remains of JA1 defeated on the beaches last game. There is also the question of the Korean fleet to consider, and whether it will intervene.

So a good, tense, close game, and the campaign, after a stuttering start, is now well underway.