Crane Army:
Crane Elite Archers led by Daidoji
Uji
Daidoji Iron Warriors led by
Doji Kuwanan
Lion Army:
Matsu House Guard led by
Matsu Gohei
Lion Elite Spearmen led by Kitsu Motso
I do not have detailed notes on the battle, but basically it went like this:
Setup consisted of a large ridgelike hill which ran down the center of the field crosswise, ending right at the edge of each player's setup area. On either side of this were large forests, with about 12" of space between the woods and the forests.
In the first turn, the Crane played Know the Terrain and put the archers atop the hill, forming an archer's row. The Daidoji went around one side of the hill, and the Matsu went around the other.
During subsequent turns, the Daidoji engaged, and slaughtered to a man the Lion Spearmen (which proved to be a very innefective unit) leaving Ujiaki to flee the field. Meanwhile, the Matsu House Guard made their way around the hill and eventually came up the hillside on an attempt at the Crane Archers' flank. They sustained nearly 40% casualties from the Crane's arrows on their approach.
After destroying the spearmen, Kuwanen led his Iron warriors up the hill to aid his archer friends, who were in big trouble. The lion spearmen served one useful purpose before they died: they had drawn the Crane's screening unit pretty far off.
As the lions finally figured out how to hide behind the hill, the Cranes made an attack using Indirect Fire and All or Nothing. This surprised the Lions, but due to bad rolling was actually quite innefective. The crane archers were spent for a turn, and then the lions started up the hill. It was at this point that the Cranes sun began to set. Uji ordered the unit out of Archer's Row and wheeled to face and fire at the oncoming lions. The maneuver was successful, but the attack was not. Uji spent void to increase the unit's ATT, but the damage inflicted by the reduced frontage of the unit was not significant, and the Lion player played Bad Kharma, which made Uji permenantly spent. Now, effectively leaderless, the Cranes attempted to flee in organized fashion. They did a facing change, and were unable to successfully complete any maneuvers after that, leaving their flanks open to the Lions' charge.
Despite their nearly 2:1 advantage in numbers, the Crane Archers were slaughtered by the Matsu House Guard. The icing on the lion's cake was when Gohei slew the spent Uji in a Test of Might. Killing the Crane general won the day for the Lion, but Kuwanen and his nearly fresh Iron Warriors were within 6 inches of Gohei and his beaten House Guards.
Lessons Learned: