Quote for the Day

"Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained"

Battle of Okehazama

This legendary clash occurred in the province of Owari, the home province of the late and great Nobunaga Oda. The two opposing warlords were Nobunaga and Yoshimoto Imagawa, leader of the ever powerful Imagawa Clan.

It happened right around May or June 1560. The battle was very much on Yoshimoto's side. The Oda were outnumbered 1 to 10. They were so outnumbered that Sado, his adviser, pleaded that Nobunaga surrender, to prevent the worst case scenario of being entirely slaughtered. Even some of his most fearsome generals like Katsuie Shibata show fear in his eyes, and instead ask Nobunaga to remain and hold on inside the castle.

Nobunaga, having the pride of the samurai, does not want to go down without a fight. So he makes a speech that would play a great role in the coming fight. In front of his men he stands gloriously, proud to be an Oda. And in a very inspiring voice he says "The Imagawa has 40,000 men marching towards the sacred place? I don't believe that. He 'only' has 35,000 pathetic soldiers. yes, that is still too many. So, Sado? you want me to surrender. What if we do surrender? Will you get content in losing your life that way? Or what if we hold on like Katsuie wants me to? What if we stay here, behind castle walls, lock the gates up until the Imagawa lose their appetite and go home? We will be able to prolong our lives for five to ten days, and what we cannot defend will still be undefendable. We are at the bottom of the pit, you know. And our very fates are interesting. The misery is also too great. I see it as a chance of a lifetime that I cannot afford to miss. Do you really want to spend your lives praying for longevity? We were born in order to die! Whoever is with me, come to the battlefield tomorrow morning. Whoever is not, just stay wherever you are and watch me win this!"

The Oda army was microscopic compared to the length and width of the Imagawa. Nobunaga made his way to a place called Okehazama where Yoshimoto camped his men. Nobunaga's men increased by the time he got there, from 250 to 3,000. Yoshimoto on the other hand was too over confident, that he allowed his men to drink wine and have celebrations about their recent victories. While celebrating, a storm passed through the land, making the Imagawa soldiers take shelter in their tents. The very moment the rains stopped, the very first move of this battle was made.

The first move was given to the hands of Nobunaga Oda. He ordered his men to raise many banners in the southeastern side of the camp of the Imagawa. Yoshimoto did not expect any attack from the minuscule army of Nobunaga. Little did he know that the banners being held up high and proud, are in the possession of  mere straw dummies. Nobunaga is not fool enough to attempt a straight forward assault, for if he does, his entire army will be vanquished, devoured even, flat out destroyed.

So, Nobunaga assembled a number of cavalry units. He sent the cavalry to take out the scout patrols in order to secure the element of surprise. After waiting patiently, the cavalry units successfully took out the patrols. At that very moment, Nobunaga rallied up his men and quietly marched up, to the north of the camp. From the north, Yoshimoto's tent was closer, more so that only a handful of men guard it. He then quickly, assaulted the camp of the Imagawa, the soldiers were in confusion. For the Imagawa, a happy day in celebrating turned into a day of deadly capabilities. For the Oda, a day of unending despair into a day of everlasting happiness. Yoshimoto quickly reacted and thought that this ruckus was just a fight between his own men. So he shouted for them to stop and go back to their positions. Quickly after a soldier appeared right in front of him, he suddenly realized that this soldier was not his own, instead it was of the Oda. The soldier quickly slashed Yoshimoto with his sword, but Yoshimoto parried the attack with his very own weapon, only to be beheaded by another man. With the Imagawa without a leader, they fell into the might of Nobunaga Oda. This made Tokugawa Ieyasu, the leader of the Tokugawa clan ally to the Oda, thus making the Oda more powerful than ever.

The day was won by the Oda army. It was a decisive victory for them.This battle proved that brains is always better than brawns, and that the size of the fighter does not matter. This victory established that Nobunaga was no longer a mere Daimyo of a fallen clan, but that he might one day, one day, rule all of Japan.

Quote for the Day

“A person, who no matter how desperate the situation, gives others hope, is a true leader.”

Quote for the Day

"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."

The Sengoku Period

Before the Sengoku Period, there was the Onin War. The Onin War was the a ten to eleven year long civil war between the Hosakawa and Yamana clans. At an unexpected turn of events, the Hosakawa found themselves controlling the Ashikaga Shogunate (the clan that handled the title of Shogun and controlling the capital of Japan, Kyoto). The Sengoku Period or sometimes referred to as the "Warring States" period was a time of chaos and discord in Japanese history. The entire country of Japan at that time was divided into provinces, controlled by clans and led by a single Daimyo.


Some famous clans at that time are as follows. The Oda clan, masters of "ashigaru" or foot soldiers. The clan's central outpost was located in Owari, in the Tokaido region. The first daimyo in the Oda clan's history was Nobuhide Oda. He would later be the father of Nobunaga Oda, a man who will play a great part in the Sengoku Period. Next is the Takeda clan, headed by none other than Shingen Takeda. Shingen was also known as the Tiger of Kai. His most prestigious, lightning paced cavalry rode Shingen and his clan to go down in history. The Uesugi Clan, led by the legendary Dragon of Echigo, Kenshin Uesugi. The long time rival of the Takeda, their battles were recorded as one of the the greatest ever to be fought. The Uesugi were the masters of faithful prayer. Those same faithful prayers made them become a force to be reckoned with. The Tokugawa clan, formely the Matsudaira and vassals of the Imagawa Clan. They were camped at the Mikawa province, dangerously facing the castle of Owari. They were led by a man with a famous name, Ieyasu Tokugawa. The patience of Ieyasu made him one of the very last men standing, and made him a super power yet to be dealt with.

This era lasted for more than a hundred years. A hundred plus years of bloodshed and chaos to Japan. As many different clans clash to fight for the name of Shogun, no man woman of child is safe from harm. At the very end, one man is left standing, one man uniting Japan, and one man to control it all.

The Demise of Hannibal Barca

After his devastating loss in Zama, he still managed to survive. Yes, Hannibal Barca rode his loyal steed away from harm. After two to three years following the defeat in the Battle of Zama, he went back to Carthage. He went back there not as a great, infamous general willing to go to the unending boundaries of the Earth, but as a simple statesman that only wants to make his once great hometown, start anew. Even though that the very leaders of Carthage absolutely hate him. This hate emerged from the idea of even challenging Rome, more so to challenge them in their own land, in Roman soil. On the other side of the coin, the Carthaginians like him, for simply being man enough to challenge Rome, and actually win most of the battles when very much needed. That is why he was elected Chief Magistrate of the once great country of Carthage.

After some time, Carthage somehow retained bits of the shadow of what it once was, by the leadership of Hannibal Barca. Carthage's rising power alarmed Roman Power. They were afraid that Hannibal, being a once in a lifetime general and all, would cause an uprising in Carthage, making it a force to be reckoned with once again. So the Romans would get into position in case an event of like that will occur.l First, they peacefully asked for Hannibal to go down from power, having no other choice, he followed the demands of the extremely paranoid Romans at that time. So Hannibal not only did he step down from power, but he went on a self-prompted exile.

The exile was a symbol of the greatness of Roman Power, that even the greatest of generals, fall to their might. Hannibal traveled to the far edges of the known world. His destination was the city of his forefathers, Tyre. The place of what was known to be one of the handfuls that put up a fight against the legendary Macedonian army, led by Alexander the Great himself. Tyre now, at present form is in the country named Lebanon. It is an Island just off shore, by Beirut. After a vacation that was not so enjoyable in the city of the people who built Carthage, he went on around the world. At another point in time that the Romans were gaining. The defeat of Hannibal in Zama and the occupation in Carthage made their momentum go up by a hundred. They finally reached the land of the Selucid Empire, where the infamous Hannibal Barca is hiding. Hannibal tried to impress the emperor of The Selucids named Antiochus III and try to command an army to fight off the Romans, Mr. Antiochus did not accept. The results were horrifying, the entire Selucid Empire was driven out of their home land, into Asia Minor. Leaving Hannibal running away, to another place called Crete, where he took his own time to rest his old body until the Romans release the tightness around Asia Minor.

He went back, after sometime and took refuge to a man called Prusias, in Armenia, who was now in combat with the ally of Rome, King Eumenas. Hannibal was a general there, to repay the people covering him up. He won a handful of naval victories, before being given up by the very person he trusted, Prusias. So, he went on, away from the given place, away from the Romans.

The Romans never stopped hunting him down, but Hannibal does not want to die to them, not after all he has done, all that for nothing. So, at Libyssa he went to a small shack, writing his own will, at the same time insulting the Romans. After, he drank poison to die. The Romans found the body of Hannibal, lying dead flat on the ground. The Romans found his writing, and burned it, then they re-wrote it, to claim that it was theirs. The writings said "Let us relieve the anxiety of the Romans who have grown weary of waiting for the death of a hated old man."

The Battle of Zama

All of the battles in the Second Punic War has been leading up to this very battle. To Zama they come face to face. The two dominant forces collide; Hannibal against Scipio, Scipio against Hannibal. As Zama being used as the battleground for the two forces; the two devils don't waver. This battle predicts the future of the world. Hannibal's oath to his father going on against the power drive of Scipio; they fight at Zama. Both Super Powers now find themselves in a middle of a world changing, historical event, without them even knowing.

It happened in the summer of 202 BC. The preparations were a piece of art itself.It was 54,000 carthaginians against 43,000 romans.  Scipio and the legendary Roman legions assembled themselves in three safe, protected lines.The first line is composed of mainly Hastati, they are the "lighter" side of the legion, if you will, ideal for moving around at the same time having adequate defense, a rather not so great armor and a rather large shield. The second line of the army is what the Romans called the Principes. These so called "warriors" was the main body of the Roman army. They wore a good quality armor with a good quality shield, and also a good quality of men, but the good quality of this type of unit comes at the price of flexibility and speed as well. that leaves us to the last line of Scipio's outstanding army, the Triarii . These units are the last resort of the legions of Rome. They are the units they go to in the final moments of a decisive battle. They have a great armor, and great shields. They have excellent defense, leaving them one of best units in the field. But, they have no match in a 100 meter dash, even if they fight a wobbling old turtle. Finally, he assembled his cavalry at the flanks of his main army, the right side consists of Italian horse backs, at the left is made out of superior Numidian cavalry.

Hannibal's army was assembled at almost the exact same way. the first line was made out of inexperienced mercenaries, more like fighting peasants. The second line was composed of Carthaginian levies, soldiers with superior spear weapons, and defense, and that same defense compromises it's speed. The final line of the legendary Carthaginian forces are the war veterans of the whole Italian conquest, making that line a force to be reckoned with. They have not so hot cavaliers, supporting their east and west, mainly because of the defection of the Numidian force and the lack of respect for Hannibal by the Carthaginian higher ups. Above everything else, Hannibal Barca has eighty dominating war elephants.

The battle was one for the ages. The most devastating sight in the battlefield was the huge blubber of the elephants of war. First of all, Hannibal commands his mammals to charge directly at the Roman legions. Slowly but surely, without even breaking a single sweat, Romans simply step away. Stepping away is one of the largest steps ever made in our world's history. Anyway, this stepping away made the elephants go deeper and deeper into enemy territory. The Roman consul, Scipio ordered his men to throw spears into the elephants that made it through the first round of action. The first round of action is the blowing of gigantic horns to confuse the elephants and terrify them to flee back. Oh most elephants flew back all right, but not "fight another day" flew back, it was the "go back, retreat! kill all in your way!" kind of flew back. This elephant rampage devastated the left wing of the army of Barca. Right after, the experts of the Numidian cavalry charge at the left cavalry of Carthage's army. After, they vanish in the horizon fighting till' the end.

The same happened at the other side of the army. Now, that leaves the infantry alone face to face in the battlefield of Eternal Warfare. Romans charge with all their might, the up on coming Roman army make the Carthaginians waver, making some of the mercenaries defect. The first and second line of Hannibal's army move aside so the veterans can deal with the main Roman force. The two large forces meet in a stalemate, clashing together causing pain, agony, despair, and depression. In the scales of balance, the battle is on Hannibal's side, by a single miligram.

Then the whole battle turns, and now by a whopping 100 kilograms in the Scipio side. Just because the cavalry came back to devour the whole army of Hannibal, backstabbing. He managed to escape the battle, suffering great casualties. You can win everything, but when it comes to the last minutes of your life, it's all of nothing.

Maharbal, one of Hannibal Barca's ever loyal generals said, "Hannibal, you know how to earn a victory, but not to use one." He was very right, Hannibal could have finished the Romans for good, he could have controlled the whole world in a single command. Yet, he was way too soft, he gave the Romans another chance, that chance led to his certain death.