




Conquest of Japan
Impressions Software, Inc.
Strategy Supplement


Software Copyright 1992 Impressions
All rights reserved worldwide
This Manual Copyright 1992 Impressions
All rights reserved worldwide.  No portion of this manual
may be copied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any
electronic medium or machine-readable form without the prior
written consent of Impressions Software Inc.


Overview

This booklet details facets of forming armies and fighting
battles in the field.  It answers the following questions:

  What can I do to capture all ten cities of Honshu?
  What should I consider when forming an army?
  What should I consider when choosing a battle formation?
  What tactics can I use when fighting a battle?
  How do my warriors know when to attack?
  How do archers and arquebusiers (missile-firing warriors)
  work?
  How are the results of a single combat (warrior vs.
  warrior) determined?
  How does morale affect my warriors?

This booklet is intended as a supplement to the instructions
given in the manual.  To learn how to play the game, one
should look to the manual or the technical
supplement/tutorial.


Main Map Level -- Goals of the Campaign

The basics of the Main Map level are fairly straightforward.
Your objective is to control all ten armies of the island of
Honshu; you do this by forming armies to defend your five
cities and attack those of your opponent.  The map of Honshu
is divided into an invisible grid of squares.  Each mobile
army can move one square per round.

When a city is taken, the mobile army (if any) that came
from that city is automatically disbanded.  (As explained in
the manual, the warriors are too concerned about the goings-
on at home to fight!)  In this way, potentially overwhelming
forces can be routed by conquering their cities -- but only
if you can conquer the city before its army reaches its
target.  Depending on how the cities are located at the
start of the game, you may find this to be a key part of
your campaign strategy.
The Five Warriors (Warriors in Battle)

(The following passage discusses the strengths and
weaknesses of each of the five major warriors, and their
applications on the battlefield.)

It would be wrong to suggest an optimum combination of
warrior-types to make the "perfect army."  First of all,
there is no one perfect combination to be had, as each
warrior's usefulness depends on how well you use it.  And
second, part of the fun of the game is in finding the
composition that works best for you.  With that in mind, we
offer these thoughts to consider when making your choices.

When fighting on their own, the Standard Battle Values table
shows clearly the strengths and weaknesses of the five
warriors you can control.  The Samurai warrior on foot is
overall the strongest piece on the battlefield, being good
both in attack and defense.  These are your hard-core
troops.  In offense, they are your battering ram to break
the line of your enemy.  In defense, they are your hard wall
to protect the leader.  They are so strong (and brave) that
they can take on more than one Spearman at a time, and have
a chance of survival and even victory.  The strength of the
Samurai lies in his body armor, which is both elaborate in
design and construction.  Watch the opening sequence of the
game to see the large number of protective pieces of body
armor that go to make up a single soldier's uniform.

The mounted Samurai or Samurai cavalry are in some ways the
most difficult to command.  Being faster than any other
piece on the battlefield means that they are ideal for rapid
action: both in response to enemy moves, and to probe the
weak spots of the enemy defense.  However, as you can see in
their ratings, they may be the best attacking piece, but
their defense is such that a few spearmen that manage to
surround and smother a horseman will easily win.  The
answer, then, is to keep the cavalry group moving.  Thrust
at the enemy -- do not use them as a defensive wall.  They
should be like lightning -- your enemy should never know
when they will strike next.  In a large war, they can be
used as a tremendous sword to cut through the enemy; alone,
they become like the commando, constantly nagging the enemy
defense.  If the enemy's missile power is causing you great
losses, hit them with cavalry.  If a large force is meeting
you head on, hit one of the sides with cavalry and swing
your men round to support them; then the battle is less
straightforward.  If an enemy is falling back, then use your
cavalry's lead to block their retreat.  Always remember to
keep them moving, and they should always attack first.  If
the initial attack does not succeed, pull them back, regroup
using the group formation command and go again.

The arquebusiers and bowmen's worth are in their missile-
firing capability -- hand-to-hand fighting is not their
strength.  In the early phase of the battle, they should be
used to weaken the enemy line before an attack.
Arquebusiers have a higher Firepower rating than archers,
and have more success at destroying their targets than
bowmen.  So if you are up against heavily armored troops
(e.g. Samurai), it is worthwhile to concentrate them against
the Samurai, leaving the bowmen to irritate the lighter
troops such as the spearmen.  The best (and only!) defense
against missile-firers is to charge them down.  They are
weak at hand-to-hand, and cannot fire their weapons when so
closely engaged.  Likewise, if your bowmen/arquebusiers can
be protected -- either placed behind a row of Spearmen or
allowed to fire over a river (where enemy passage will be
slow and cumbersome) -- success is more likely.

Spearmen are the basic footsoldier.  They are the least
expensive, and therefore the most plentiful in any army.
Although no match for the Samurai alone, they often respond
by fighting in groups.  Standing either shoulder-to-shoulder
in line or double-line is surprisingly effective, as all
will benefit from being near their comrades when fighting.
Be prepared to switch command mode to Single mode and direct
operations by controlling each man individually.  You can
then use your spearmen to surround an enemy piece, giving a
much greater chance of victory against it.  Because of their
cheapness, Spearmen can be used as a protective wall for the
more expensive (Samurai) units or weaker missile-firing
units.

                   Standard Battle Values

                        Attack  Defense Firepower
            Leader          4      6       0
            Samurai         4      4       0
            Mounted         6      2       0
            Samurai
            Spearmen        2      2       0
            Signalmen       1      2       0
            Bowmen          1      1       2
            Arquebusiers    1      1       4


Basic Battle Tactics -- An Outline

This section deals with battle tactics on three levels:
strategic, tactics (army) and tactics (individual).

At the strategic level, your primary concerns are deciding
the time and location of a battle.  If you are on the
offensive side, you have the luxury of comparing the size of
the two forces and observing the location of the defender
before choosing to attack.  If you are on the defensive,
your only tool in choosing what size force attacks you is
avoidance, and your location decisions need to be taken
prior to your attacker reaching you.  By comparing forces,
each side can better decide whether they should fight all-
out, or try to conserve men for another day.  Observing the
location of the battle lets both sides choose battle tactics
to best exploit the tactical advantages of the terrain.

At tactics (army) level, your concern shifts to the shape
and use of your formation.  When presented with the seven
formation choices, look at their layouts and read their
descriptions in the manual.  The placement of your forces in
that formation determines their usefulness in the fight; you
would not want to have to break up a secure front line, only
to move forces into the fray that were previously too far
away to be useful.  When in battle, the movement of
individual groups can drive your battle plans.  A group of
Mounted Samurai can be used as an invasionary force,
slipping around and behind the enemy lines, attacking and
getting out quickly.  Other lines of Spearmen or missile-
firing troops can be similarly directed against enemy
threats, and new formations for these "lines" can be used to
head off attacks from different directions.  In these cases,
the computer's preselected groups may not represent the
optimum "split" for your forces; in that case, use the Group
Number statistic and Assign Men to Groups command to form
your own, new groups.

At tactics (individual) level, you are mostly administering
tactical decisions made at the Group level.  Many times, you
will use Single movement commands to coordinate your
warriors' efforts towards a single target.  They are then
able to surround an enemy warrior, and gain the upper hand.
You will also be using Single mode to reform lines of the
formation, and keep your forces next to each other.  That
way, they have the advantage of each other's support when
defending against a foe.

In most (but not all) cases, these three levels of tactics
coincide with the three levels of control in the game.  See
the manual for details on the different commands.
The Micro Miniatures System

This game is an example of Impressions' Micro Miniatures
system, a series of games using an automated, miniatures-
based wargaming system.  Where in some board wargames you
might be responsible for the complete control of each
individual man, the Micro Miniatures system gives each
warrior intelligence and the ability to direct himself in
combat.  You are able to command the entire battle with a
few simple commands, yet still be able to guide each single
man on the battlefield if and when you want to.  Impressions
plans to release one game under the Micro Miniatures system
each year, and will continue to refine the system in
accordance with players' comments and suggestions, as well
as with technological progress.  The following information
describes some aspects of how the system works.

Attack Initiative
Your warriors are programmed to attack when they consider it
appropriate.  Thus, by simply moving a group of Spearmen up
to the enemy's forces, they will automatically attack them.
On the other hand, if a threat steps close enough to one of
your warriors on the battlefield, he can decide to break
rank and attack; archers can even set aside their bows, and
fight hand-to-hand at an extreme disadvantage.  Thus your
overall tactical plans must bear in mind the temperament of
your individual troops, and not leave them where they feel
vulnerable enough to disobey orders.  Warriors will also, on
occasion, countermand a direct instruction to attack one
warrior in favor of attacking a weaker opponent.

Missile-Firing Warriors
Archers and arquebusiers will also attack when appropriate;
however, as they attack from a distance, one need only
locate them within range of the enemy for them to begin
firing.  Missile-firing warriors choose their own targets
from those within range; an individual target cannot be
chosen for them.  Remember to keep them distanced from enemy
troops, or else they might drop their bows and fight hand-to-
hand (see above).  Also, remember that just because an arrow
or musket-shot appears to hit a target, it doesn't mean it
was fatal; it may take several shots to be successful.


Resolving Hand-to-Hand Combat
When two warriors clash, the battle occurs in something like
"rounds" of combat.  In each round, the attack (or
firepower) and defense ratings for each warrior are used to
calculate the success of the battle, taking into account the
terrain each character is on and the morale of each man.
From this, three results may occur.  The first is death --
one warrior falls in battle.  The second is that one warrior
is wounded enough to retreat -- that warrior suffers a drop
in morale, and will be less willing to fight until he "licks
his wounds."  The third result is no result, which means the
battle continues for another round.

Resolving Missile Attacks
When a warrior is hit by an arrow, the result is either that
his body armor is pierced, or that it's not -- if pierced,
the warrior dies, otherwise the warrior ignores the attack
and continues on.

Multiple-Warrior Units
If a unit containing more than one warrior (represented on
screen by a single piece) is hit by a missile or loses a
hand-to-hand fight, it may only lose one or some of the
warriors in the unit.  As long as that unit has at least one
man in it, it will not disappear, but its fighting
statistics will change to reflect the loss.  Single pieces
represent more than one warrior when the size of either army
(including its nine signalmen and one leader)  exceeds 100
warriors.  You can check this using the Number of Men
statistics icon in Battle mode.

Morale
Morale is a way that the Micro Miniatures system simulates
the free will of the individual warrior and his reactions to
events around him.  When a warrior is near another comrade
who dies or retreats, his morale drops.  A warrior with low
morale is less willing to engage in battle, and more likely
to retreat when faced with a powerful foe.  Likewise, each
victory on the battlefield raises the morale of the allies
around it.  Thus, you may have to find simple fights for
some of your warriors, in order to raise their spirits high
enough to take on greater foes.  This system of Morale
integrates your various warriors into an army -- one whose
success depends as much on its overall emotional state as on
each individual victory.
