This was the start of our studio Campaign: Mongol Invasion of Japan. It was inspired by my extensive collection of Scythians and Khandish (obviously based on mongols by GW) and a GW collectors model of a Manchu War lord and my opponents collection of Japanese (which can be seen in the 1912 campaign).
We decided to play a scenario I had come up with using lists created with my WAB calculator (
http://warformiddleearth.blogspot.com/2012/02/warhammer-ancient-battles-calculator.html).
We used the following forces:
Japanese Defence force
Shoni no kagesuke on horsebook
Standard bearer
10 archers
8 samurai
10 samurai
14 ashigaru
6 ninjas
3 samurai on horses
Mongolian landing force
Khan Yowi
Kim of Korea
8 keshig with bombs, kharesh
8 keshig mounted with kharesh
10 foot men with kharesh
10 foot men with kharesh
So the victory conditions went as follows:
The Japanese got half pts for everything they killed
full points for everything they captured (forced to flee while at sea)
+500vps for capturing the khan.
The Mongolians got half pts for everything they killed
half points for every unit they got on the mainland
200pts for each tower
400pts for the village
+50pts for killing Shoni no kagesuke
Each turn we rolled a D12. On the roll of a 1 the kamikaze struck and every model on the water or within 4" took 1 strength 2D6 hit with no armour saves aloud
The Japanese could deploy any where they wished on the board and the Mongol craft arrived from the far sea side. The japanese force set up with their archers on the island tower, their 8 samurai on the ship, the ninjas, general and horse on the shore, the other samurai in the tower and the ashigaru outside the village.
Then the mongol fleet arrived, ready for anything. The rules stated that until one of the mongols set foot on the Japanese shore I could keep regenerating my destroyed units off this board edge.
My first move was to send the entire mongol landing force to overhwelm the fortified out post tower. It was a source of easy points and those archers with their 2+ saves (in a building with pavises) would be a pain to my fleet unless i took them out, something that could not be achieved by shooting.
But first ashore was Kim, rushing forward towards the tower, only to be unhorsed and shot to pieces by the bowmen inside.
One of the aravs from the Ilkhanate, plus a mongolian mounted Keshig and a Korean keshig on foot, disembarked from the fleet, ready to surround and take the tower. But the Samurai warriors in the Japanese ship moved on to the shore as well, disembarking and preparing to drive off the attackers.
However the Keshig's proved to uncontrolable for Khan Yowi (who had by now disembarked), as they went hearing off into the action. The Korean Keshig made short work of the Samurai, before driving of the battle standard bearer and hacking him to bits on the beech. The Mounted Keshig on the other hand, charged the tower. They managed to kill two of the Archers but took a casualty themselves, leaving the fierce fight in the tower to continue.
While the Khan and his Aravs were dealing with the isolated tower, a small landing craft of plucky footmen from the Ilkhanate was making its way, followed by another craft containing Kim, towards the mainland.
By now the Mongolian horse had done their work, and had cleared out the tower garisson. The Khan had rembarked, but soon disembarked (Perhaps he forgot his packed lunch) and the Arav of the Ilkhanate was making it's way towards shore in the flat bottomed barge.
But both Keshigs were left stranded on the island.
The mongols were by now nearly all reembarked and sailing for the mainland. However Shoni and his Horsemen had now boarded the Japanese ship and were looking to pray on the smaller landing craft. Suddenly hope looked bleak for the Arav running the gauntlet for the mainland.
It soon became clear why Khan Yowi had disembarked as he set up his head quaters in the un maned tower. Here we can see Khan Yowi (unfortunatly not painted yet) and his retinue, including the turncoat samurai (Boo hiss) and his impaling stake (I use his retinue for markind wounds)
Then Shoni struck, him and his three riders boarding the Arav's landing craft. In a quick round of combat the four samurai had captured the vessel and the men of the Ilkhanate were marching to a japanese cell.
With an arav captured this put me back a considerable ammount and it looked like Kim too might soon be captured or slain by Shoni.
By now a barge had been found for the mongol horsemen and the entire fleet was sailing again, also a new Arav had arrived by craft to help storm the beech. But there was still no sign of the Kamikaze thankfully.
And unavoidably Kim's raft was also boarded by Shoni. The pair duelled and Shoni won, but slew the Korean commander instead of the desired capture.
With Kim distracting the Japanese Vessel and general the other barges and landing craft moved round it, preparing to disembark the force in the face of the defiant Samurai waiting for them on the beech. It should be an easy matter to overwhelm these picketts and the village should be ours before nightfall!
With Kim slain it looked as though Shoni may capture the Arav that had fallen behind, but at least the barge had now made landfall, and the men were preparing to disembark just as soon as more of the craft landed.
Not waiting for the Aravs to disembark the samurai waiting for them charged the barge, fighting out a hard combat withe the men of the ilkhanate. But after taking a casualty the Japanese fled, however I managed to maintain order in my ranks and the Arav did not pursue.
With thr Koreans now also on the barge and Preparing to disembark, the japanese decide to move up the Ashigaru to counter this new threat. Shoni to had moved his craft to shore and looked ready to disembark and stand to the last.
Then all woe, before Khan Yowi and General Shoni's Eyes KAMIKAZE! It ravaged the coast, striking down an entire arav and all but five Keshig and two footmen, But the mongols were not the only ones to suffer. Shoni was wounded and all his horse swept over board, luckily for my Khan he was just out of reach of the divine wind, but this considerable set back could have lost me the game (If i didn't get a man on the mainland I coulnd't win.
Then Kim (brother of the late) arrived with a force of Aravs and Mongol Keshig. But there was a small chance that we could reach the shore now, however even so there was a chance.
Shoni now disembarked from his ship, having been badly wounded by the storm. After this recent luck the samurai rallied and set about closing in on the last two Keshig on the barge. the two Keshig lost no time in firing their bows at the rallied samurai, and killed two.
The remaining four mongols were by now just waiting for the reinforcements to arrive, and praying to their ancestors that another Kamikaze did not strike them.
With another two shots from the two remaining Keshig another two samurai fell, this was too much for them and suspecting that there were probably many more mongols in the barge they fled for their village.
Then the Kamikaze struck again. It swept away everything this time, the reinforcements, the barges, the ships, everything apart from one Keshig! But now the next lot of reinforcements were here. However with the sun setting and the tide going out there was a slim chance we would make it. And with the new reinforcements the Khan commited himself for a costal assualt sending the last keshig on shore. And as his foot hit the sand we knew this was the do or die moment.
After many many turns the landing craft arrived! Kim however was shot down by a longbow shot from Shoni. Shoni and the Ashigaru now prepared to meet the assualt head on with the ninjas and three remaining samurai (brought down to size by a last charge from the Keshig. Bringing up the flanks.
Then the mongol hordes disembarked, ready to be charged in the next turn by the japanese defenders.
In the first round of combat Shoni hacked his way through one of the arav's, but was wounded. However the other arav destroyed the remaining samurai and began its march on the village while the Keshig on foot forced the ninjas to flee and took control of the beech tower.
The mongol keshigs however made little progress through the ashigaru, but didn't lose a man.
The arav was now force marching in column dirctly for the village, a post that must be secured before nightfall. Having driven of the mounted Keshig and run down the other arav, Shoni charged into the tower, only to be hacked apart by the Keshigs inside.
It was the final moments before night fell when the Keshigs dispenced of their Turkish bombs, hurling them into the Ashigaru below and taking out all but the drummer.
With night came the realisation that the Arav was still not in the village and would have to turn back.
Only two japanese men were left alive, but had the landing been at to great a cost for the mongol forces, would they infact have to turn back.
In the end it was a close run thing and my mongols won a minor victory by only 40vps.
The next battle would be an open field afair with my mongols facing the japanese in the open field, a thing that my opponnt remarked his samurai had "never done before".
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