Battle of Wada (Bushi Life #5) AAR part4

 -Turn 4

 From this turn, both sides faced limits on how many fatigued units they could restore. Each army was unable to recover two of its units. The exchange of arrows inflicted additional damage on both forces. Despite taking fire, the main Bakufu force on the central street remained fully operational, while the powerful Wada stack to its left had two units flipped to their fatigued side.

 The Wada continued their advance, while the Bakufu fell back in an effort to form a more solid defensive line. On the right flank, a red unit that had been fatigued by arrow fire was abandoned during the withdrawal and was promptly destroyed by the pursuing Wada troops. Bakufu casualties now totaled 11. The Wada also brought forward two fresh units to bolster their strongest stack.

 The Bakufu, however, were not merely retreating. After the Wada’s elite leaders pressed ahead, two fatigued blue units with a combat strength of zero were left behind. From the far left, a Bakufu force swept in and struck these exposed units, wiping them out.

-Turn 5

 All fatigued units from both armies recovered this turn, except for one Bakufu unit that remained in the rout box. The Bakufu’s volley against the most advanced — and most powerful — Wada stack was exceptionally effective, flipping every blue unit in that formation.

 On the right side of the main street, an intact Wada stack crossed over and drove off the red units positioned behind the Wada main force. However, this proved to be the Wada’s only offensive action of the turn. With three turns remaining in the game, the Wada focused on regrouping and preparing for their final assaults.

-Turn 6

 Although both armies now suffered from limited recovery capacity, they still managed to refresh all fatigued units.

 After an exchange of arrows that inflicted light casualties on each side, the Wada renewed their advance. To the left of the main street, they had assembled two powerful formations.  The leading stack, commanded by Asashina and Yoshimori, struck at the Bakufu’s far-left position. Thanks to advantageous terrain, the Bakufu held on stubbornly. The melee dragged on for four rounds before the defenders finally fell back. The Wada emerged victorious but exhausted.

 The retreating red troops, all fatigued, were in danger of being eliminated by an immediate follow-up attack from the second blue stack. However, at this critical moment the Bakufu played the Minamoto no Sanetomo 源実朝 marker. 

 This marker restores Bakufu units more effectively than the Oe marker used earlier. Sanetomo, the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate only in name with real authority in the hands of the Hōjō, revitalized the red troops, who counterattacked and destroyed the isolated blue unit operating behind their lines.

 Given the Bakufu’s rejuvenated condition and their own restricted recovery options, the Wada chose not to press the attack further. Instead, they regrouped once more, preparing to stake everything on the final two turns.