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Post by Mitsu Kaizen on Jan 17, 2018 0:16:56 GMT -5
Kaizen continued to take notes. he looks up at the map and noticed something odd. "what about a two prong attack?" he suggested. "due to the cover in the forest you can hide the number of troops there. A few well placed fire arrows and just enough firepower to make the defenders think on which side to defend." he takes a second look at it. "however, if you let the gate fall but are able to keep the attackers coming in one by one. it makes a bottleneck and an easy killzone." he pauses for a moment. he was about to speak, but lost his train of thought.
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Post by Kaiu Yoshi on Jan 17, 2018 1:27:21 GMT -5
Yoshi put on his hat with a sigh, so much for avoiding class participation. he looked over the plan and gave a few nods as the unicorn generals spoke.
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Post by Seppun Kojima on Jan 17, 2018 2:25:29 GMT -5
"There is an infinite number of ways for a General to deploy his troops in order to execute the will of his Lord," the Imperial continued, behind the desk and looking over the battle plans with the mien of a wizened general. "Akodo-san is your subordinate officer, Mirumoto-san. Remember, at the strategic level we plan in very broad strokes. As the Rikugunshokan you perform the upmost echelon of battlefield planning. The officers below you will get into the details. If you are too focused on how to accomplish your mission, you will begin to micromanage your forces.
"Everyone has a role to play, class, even the rank and file foot soldier. Your classmates have made good suggestions. So, we're going to place the blocks on the map based on your initial planning. The battlefield will change and new intelligence will later change how you further plan. It's a process, ever changing."
He nodded to Joo-Eun, Ryuha, and Kaizen.
"Certainly if you put all of your forces directly at the gates, you wouldn't be able to accomplish a thing. So, a feint has been mentioned - let's place a unit of heavy infantry here, at the gates. After all, they are more likely to be able to handle a frontal assault. As for the rest of your troops..."
He placed the first block in front of the school gates.
"Both the lakeside and the woods have been mentioned. Thinking ahead, because this is a siege, the lake could provide an avenue to resupply the school. Additionally, the woods provide cover and concealment; they protect your units from enemy attacks and hide their position, which is a tactical advantage in warfare. So, it may be advantageous to both secure the docks - not only to deny the enemy resupply, but to secure your own resupply efforts. With four remaining units, how would you use the one remaining heavy infantry and light infantry units?"
He opened up the question to the class, opposed to the appointed General and Commander.
"Also, for extra credit, can anyone identify a passage from Akodo's Leadership that covers what we're discussing?"
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Post by Utaku Joo-Eun on Jan 17, 2018 2:41:07 GMT -5
"To charge your army into battle without foreknowledge of your opponent's capabilities and weaknesses brings you no glory and brands you a coward. Your concern is to the safety of the Emperor and that of your clan. Blind death is swift death. Instead, when facing the enemy, let him see what you want him to see. Show him your right hand, strike with your left. Hide all he does not need to see, for the sting of your slap will ease the pain of a sudden blade in his side," Joo-Eun quickly replies, quoting a lengthier passage from the work by Akodo and at the same time making a none too subtle point about something that the others are not considering, which is the lack of actionable intelligence.
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Post by Seppun Kojima on Jan 17, 2018 2:59:27 GMT -5
Very subtle, Utaku-san. You have the grace of a charging Utaku steed, don't you?
His lips curled into a small, knowing smile. "I told you, Utaku-san, you would receive an intelligence report soon, Utaku-san. As I have said before, we're beginning with the highest level of military planning. As we move forward, we will refine the process based on input from our subordinate officers, intelligence reports, and other applicable considerations," he attempted to assuage the eager Unicorn. "Akodo One-Eye wrote, 'Sending an army without a scout is like leaping from a mountain without looking below.' We sent that scout. We're simply waiting for them to return to us.
"So, I ask you: does a General standby and wait for someone else before he begins to plan?"
It was a rhetorical question.
"No. Time is precious. If you become too strung up on what you do not know, you are squandering away what time you have on what you do know."
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Post by Mitsu Kaizen on Jan 17, 2018 4:16:54 GMT -5
"If i were defending..." be looked at the map. He then pointed to the east side of the map. " thats where i would go. There are two exits. And you can get a better idea of the attacking army." He paused. "What about allys? Would the defenders have anyone to call upon?"
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Post by Akodo Izumi on Jan 17, 2018 5:01:39 GMT -5
Izumi came to the front of the class feeling rather in the limelight. As an Akodo she felt a pressure to show tactical brilliance and really didn't want to set the tone badly for the year or embarrass herself in front of the sensei. She let the others talk as she calmed herself and studied the map.
She was limited by the army and intelligence but a flexible plan would do at this stage. She smiled to herself thinking of the numbers of fierce debates she had heard about the role of scouting in an army.
"If we only have infantry then our light infantry can also act as both skirmisher and forward scout making sure nothing significant has changed and finding enemy positions. I think the trees near the hot spring are our best route in, with some distraction to cover our advance. Though it also depends on how that is guarded at its entrance which we can't see from this map. It will be important for our troops to coordinate well in the forest so the heavy infantry don't get left behind or units gets exposed for ambush. Possibly the hot springs could make a decent forward command post and place to fall back to."
She said nervously almost in one breath before looking to her fellow officers and the sensei really hoping she hadn't made a fool of herself.
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Post by Seppun Kojima on Jan 17, 2018 6:43:17 GMT -5
"At this time, we are unaware of the enemy's capability to call upon external forces, or allies," Kojima informed Kaizen with a nod.
He paused and listened to Izumi offer up her part of the plan. With a small smile he commended her.
"Light infantry do have the ability to serve as scouts due to their mobility on the battlefield. This also allows them to quickly seize key terrain, which may be our objectives. This will bring us to our next point...
"Mitsu-san is thinking about this the right way," he explained. "The enemy. What does the enemy think? A good officer knows how to anticipate his enemy. Assuming you were the enemy commander, and your end state was to defend Rokugan High School at all costs, which places on this map would be the most important to you...? This is called key terrain."
With a pause he turned around it wrote it on the dry erase board, along with the definition: Any locality, or area, the seizure or retention of which affords a marked advantage to either combatant.
Kojima nodded and returned to the map and his students.
"Class, please identify what you believe to be key terrain on this map."
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Post by Mirumoto Ryuha on Jan 17, 2018 8:48:09 GMT -5
"I would say the school building. As the central unit on campus, it is the easiest to deploy reinforcements from. They could move to any spot from that point in the nearly the same amount of time. It also sits atop the hill the leads up from the gate, so it is on higher ground to defend a frontal assault if the wall is breached there."
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Post by Seppun Kojima on Jan 17, 2018 9:07:23 GMT -5
"Astute observation, Mirumoto-san," Kojima acknowledged her, using a pen to draw a circle around the central school building. "The higher ground makes this a critical piece of key terrain for the enemy. It's equally important to us because if we seize it, it would change the course of battle. So, remember: key terrain is valuable to both sides. There has to be a reason to fight over it."
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