Tactical Planning for the Fight Against Jagon

Alright, first off, we have been allowed to ask one question to Jagon.

I asked whether Jagon, as a commander of soldiers, leads aggressively or defensively.

The answer was very definite. Jagon is an aggressive leader with just about no regard for the lives of his soldiers.

From this, we can gather that he will be the leader who is always on the attack. Many times, these leaders are less capable of watching their flanks, concerned only with the success of spearhead assaults, while using whatever resources are available to achieve victory.

Two comparable commanders that come to mind are:
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov

Rommel fought against the British during World War Two in the Western Desert from February 1941 until February 1943. He was, characteristically, a daring offensive commander. Everything was about mounting spearhead offensives. However, his largest weakness was easily his lack of emphasis on logistics. His chief of supply and logistics was a Major. He was not an experienced Colonel or General. To put that in perspective, a Major commands company (~80-200 men) and battalion (600-1500 men) sized units. Rommel was in charge of the Afrika Korps, a mechanized body of three crack German divisions (15,000-25,000 men each), as well as the whole of the Italians in the theater. Before reinforcements arrived in November 1942 to stem the advances of the American II Corps, the British First Army, and the units of the Free French from the west, Rommel's command comprised upward of 250,000 men.

Rommel's strengths, therefore, quite clearly were exclusively in offensive tactics, not in the monitoring of flanks and supply routes. He was not at all cautious.

Zhukov, the commander of the Red Army during World War Two, was notoriously unconcerned with the well being of his men. He was very daring and energetic, but his methods only truly worked because he had so very much personnel and matériel at his disposal. He was, to be sure, a fine commander, but to anyone of a smaller force, profligacy with one's troops is an issue.

Jagon appears to be the commander who can be expected to suffer from both weaknesses. He will likely be very much predisposed with the attack. Not only that, but he will be willing to throw troops away to win. If he can be suckered into an unfavorable situation, he may be inclined to throw troops into the fight that will cause him to suffer casualties.

So, as far as I can tell, the Order of Battle for Jagon comprises 25 elite minions of Ganon.

The Order of Battle for Impa's defenders in, as far as I can gather, 7 heroes.

This is not ideal, but I can see two solutions to this.

Ganon's minions are likely to be heavily armored, functioned more as heavy infantry. In a pitched battle, they can be deadly, but they can be expected to have the same failings as the Spartans of ancient Greece. I have read of one conflict between Athens and Sparta in which the Spartan army, as usual consisting entirely of Hoplites (heavy infantry), was advancing on an Athenian army. The Athenians were greatly outnumbered in the way of Hoplites, as the majority of the Athenian force was made up of peltasts, light infantry/skirmishers armed with light shields and swords, but focusing mainly on fighting at range with javelins.

Without engaging the Spartans, these peltasts picked off the approaching enemy forces and actually defeated the Spartans by lobbing volleys and retreating into the rugged terrain, where the slower Spartans could not catch them. Exhausted and suffering casualties, the Spartans turned back.

Another, better strategy I can suggest is to let our body of warriors be surrounded. It seems as though we do not have a majority of skirmishers among us. Though, I would suggest that we harass the Hellfire Company on its travels before it engages the proper body of our defending force.

Yes, you read that correctly. We should be surrounded. No, this is not a silly suggestion. Allow me to quote the famous Sun Tzu. This comes directly from my copy of the Art of War:

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate ground.

10. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.

14. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, fight.

23. Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength.

24. Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in the heart of a hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.

25. Thus, without waiting to be marshalled, the soldiers will be constantly on the qui vive; without waiting to be asked, they will do your will; without restrictions, they will be faithful; without giving orders, they can be trusted.

50. On hemmed-in ground, I would block any way of retreat. On desperate ground, I would proclaim to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives.

51. For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger.

58. Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.

You see, when outnumbered yet without the option of avoiding a battle, the absolute best thing to do is become completely surrounded. Only then will our heroes fight without fear of death. They will fight with more fury and blood lust than the Hellfire Company could possibly dream of.

True, which is why i say we make use of guerrilla tactics before the main fight. However, it appears guerrilla tactics will not be enough to prevent a pitched battle. We simply don't have enough men to pick them all off before they arrive.

Keep in mind, in charge of an army of 30,000, Sun Tzu beat back an army of 120,000 of his enemy's soldiers by getting surrounded, because he was forced to commit to battle.

We will also be forced to fight, otherwise Jagon will reach Impa. This tactic is meant to get the most out of your men, and quite frankly, it all makes sense.

EDIT: This all depends on how many ranged characters we can make use of, and since Jagon has a bow, he might have a few archers or skirmishers with him, meaning even if we had all seven bowmen, we'd need to be careful. Even guerrillas get killed, and we only have seven people to work with.

Regardless, open up with guerrilla maneuvers, I agree.

First we'll have to wait for information to reach us before we can analyze what kind of fight we're looking at.

Another thing, on your first strategy, that would prove problematic is the fact that being surrounded while half our group isn't specific melee units would cause a problem. Jenni and Rika, for example, and an archer and a spellcaster, neither of which do well when surrounded, as they can't hit and run.

Now, no strategy comes to my mind at the moment that would be a better alternative, but if anything comes to mind myself or Nicholas will be sure to let people know.

I suppose that is an issue...

However, if we can effectively set up our melee-strong forces plus ranged volunteers in a valley (good makings for hemmed-in ground, and therefore desperate ground) we can position bowmen and skirmishers in the surrounding hills. Once our boys are surrounded and fighting their hearts out, we start raining the arrows down. However, we would then have an issue of leaving no men to defend the skirmishers. At the same time, it would serve to divide Jagon's force.

I'm not sure how much help it is but we have two characters that can use the air. In the right weather conditions both the bombing runs of Jacob and hit and run firebreath tactics that Valldyrm can use may be pretty useful. If used in the proper weather conditions. Just something to think about.

Given Field Report 1, I would say our best bet is to commence aerial raids. Once the enemy comes closer to our bases of supply, we begin aerial and guerrilla attacks to harass them on the road to battle. Once they arrive, we hit them full force, hemming ourselves in and fighting with our full strength against a by that time tired and weakened opponent.

With the Field Report listing the ability to buy Indiviual Seeds and a Dose of Red Potion per person, has anyone else considered stocking up?

For reference, I got this:

A Pegasus Seed It increases movement and attack speed
A dose of Red Potion In case I get into a dire situation since we lack Healers
A Gale Seed I have the brilliant idea of throwing this at an enemies feet and launching them high into the air so they can fall to their death
A Guardian Acorn Halves physical damage recieved for a bit, which is super handy
A Razor Seed Increases the damage you deal, which is likewise handy for heavily armoed foes

Well me personally I have a dagger and can fight up close but that won't do me much good with 1 power. So mostly I will be using a bow(with straight shooting) and probably an ice enchanted Magic Rod. Just putting all the cards out on the table.

My issue with that is this.

No respected commander would allow his troops to focus on one side, and one side only. While the dragons may distract some of the troops, a good commander would have at least a scout posted to watch the other directions, but more likely would leave several troops to watch the far side. The commander would likely attack the dragons himself, but the rest of the camp would be far from unguarded.

If he makes the battle that easy, then he is not a worthy opponent, and the reward should be much smaller. :P


What I would suggest is NOT attacking whilst they are camped on a hill. After the rains pass, the ground will still be muddy but I believe that the attackers would press on regardless, anxious for the kill. This would leave their mounts worthless, as horses cannot carry much of a load through the mud. That would be the time to strike. Ranged units attack from the rear and sides, guerrilla style, while melee units assault head on. Hit quick, kill what you can, and run out. repeat as necessary.

If the fighting comes to Impa, I think it is already over.

UNLESS

We fortify Impa right now. Surround three sides with trenches, fill the trenches with sharpened poles. This will hamper the travel into the town itself. On the inside of said trenches, pile the dirt to form a hill, making the ascent from the trenches even more difficult. This also gives the defenders a place to hang out, away from pointy swords.

I believe that falling back to the town should be the very LAST line of defense though. We need to find a way to control form the start, and I think guerrilla warfare is the best bet for that.

As Eev and I talked about though, the rain causes visibility problems for the enemies, but our Hylians with Sense won't have a problem. So the rain is something we'd want to use.

Not 100% true Jarin, as the Sense ability or really functions in a five-foot radius, so it isn't really effective unless your in swinging range anyways.

I would not recommend attacking enemy troops while they are on a hill. Any ranged strikes should take place from higher ground, as such vantage points allow for great firing range. If you are shooting up a hill, you must come well within the enemy's umbrella of fire.

I believe that, as long as Jagon's men are established on a hilltop, the only useful method of a hit-and-run strike would be from the air. Despite fears of enemy ranges troops, keep in mind the difficulty of shooting at aerial targets with weapons not capable of firing guided projectiles.

If you think about it, firing at an airborne mount with a longbow is like shooting at a low-flying aircraft in WWII with a Browning M-2. You may hit, but it is extremely difficult.

We only have 2 air units though, do we not? By all means, attack whilst they are camped, but you cannot rely on ground support.

To respond to Jarins comment, have you ever tried to climb a muddy hill in the rain? It is not easy. I have never tried in full armour (lol), but I assume that would be much more difficult. We would be too tired to wage a proper battle even IF we reached the top alive.

Earlier, I came up with an idea, with the help of CJ.

Step 1: Fortify Impa

As I mentioned, dig a trench on the Western and Northern sides of the town. The South is covered by the Sea, and the East is on the far side from the attackers.

Fill the trench with sharpened stakes. This is simple to do, and effective, especially against mounted enemies. The stakes should be as vertical as possible.

Use all the dirt excavated while digging the trench to build a small hill-like wall on the town side of the trench. This prevents horsement from leaping over the trench, and makes it difficult for attackers to climb out of it and into the town.

The curve of the coast line ensures that, unless they walk through the Sea, the attackers will approach from the South-West side of the town, so place rows of bombs every 10 yards out from the trench, as far out as wanted, to the south and west.

Keep these bombs fairly close together, so a detonation of one can set off the others beside, but not those in the next 10 yard row.

As attackers reach each line, a marksman will trigger the explosives with a bomb arrow fired from the trench (or near it). This should cause some good damage.

Step 2: Hit and run

Since the ground will likely still be a little muddy when they reach the village, they will be moving slower than usual. Use this to our advantage as well. Firstly, Have the airbourne units dropping bombs and firing magic/ projectiles down on the NORTHERN flank of the attackers. This should influence them to move closer to the coastline, ensuring that they run into the bomb traps.

Secondly, have a unit of ranged units attacking from the north, on the northern flank as well. Run in, fire and arrow, run out. Appear somewhere else, fire another, run out. Repeat. The point is not to kill, but simply to annoy. Annoyed soldiers do not fight smart.

Also, they may move closer to the coast line in order to be as far away from the defenders as possible.

Another possibility is that they will charge the hit and run unit. In this case, they will have to run away. But this will open up the attackers to the aerial assault, and buy the town more time to prepare.

Step 3: Arm the Natives!

You heard me. Arm the villagers. Why should the farmers not be allowed to fight for their new homes? Arm them, and have them man the trenches. If all else fails, they may delay the attackers long enough for help to arrive.

Step 4: Send an Envoy.

Since we will be fighting right on the Eastern Sea, why not send a message to the landowners asking for support? Send an envoy to the Eastern Sea Zora, asking that they attack from the Sea. While this is not something to rely on, it will be worth a try.


This tactic is more for when the attackers actually reach (or get near to) Impa.

Before this point, I would suggest, as I mentioned earlier, guerrilla style attacking. Try and avoid melee combat when possible. Maybe lay some bomb traps similar, but in smaller scale, to those mentioned above. A straight, head on attack will get us killed. As will attacking them while they camp. We need to hit them on the march. Hit them hard, then get out.

Just my thoughts and stuff. xD

We're not allowed to recruit locals are NPCs... I asked...

But, if they reach Impa, don't we lose?

Yes. The way I understand it if they get too close the Hylian Army will intervene and we all get the failure reward. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.