I have to admit Varley's article is one of the best I have read all year. Packed with so information it is hard to pick out the best part of the article. I wish I had the article earlier this year. Why? The article had some prime data on the Battle of Okehazama which I would have used in my Okehazama book. I will tell you up front that the next edition will.
"Thus, in the days before Pearl Harbor in 1941, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943) and many other Japanese military leaders referred to Okehazama in their letters and diaries as they planned their surprise attack on the United States. For them, Okehazama was a synonym for a sudden, unannounced attack"(p.114).
They knew Nobunaga's success at Okehazama and how to use his tactics at the right situation. However, according to Varley, Nobunaga only used the surprise attack once in his mighty military career.
"Whether or not Nobunaga defeated the Imagawa with a surprise attack at Okehazama, he did not use that tactic during the remainder of his military career"(p.114).
If this was true, one reason why could be he was not forced to use the surprise attack option. He was slowly destroying his enemies with diplomacy and force. As I said before Varley's article is data rich. If anybody out there is a Nobunaga fan, this article is a must read no question. Again, I must thank Samurai-Archives for sending me the article. More later.
Nobunaga no Tame!
No comments:
Post a Comment