Ubisoft's money is better spent on this channel than on their games.
Agreed. The AC series is nothing more then a cheap hack and slash for idiots now.
@@EthanWilliams-ru1gd what do you mean it's always been a "Press E" then slash game... 😭😭😭 It's bread and butter has always been playing the underdog in history why it has great interest.
So you're telling me....
Playing Shogun 2 on "low" unit settings is more likely to represent an actual Japanese army than playing on "ultra?"
Where's the fun in that? RP? Same for ToB, it just looks better with larger numbers
One thing about Warfare that people often forget is that People during that time can Organize and need to be flexible as there's isn't someone with a Camera flying around the battlefield sending orders.
160 men of full on Archer or Crossbow Regiments are not that common since getting them mixed with other soldier types is far more effective to deal with the change of battle which cannot be seen through a camera flying across the battlefield.
Basically if Total War were to be more accurate Velites would never be their own unit as historically the Velites imbed themself into Hastati and Principes Maniples, giving the Heavy Infantry a flexible force of Skirmishers.
This video misinterprets the samurai class. Samurai for the most part weren't nobles. You can actually visit samurai city districts and villages that were made up of samurai. The reason you don't see them in media often though is because they're protected spaces often closed to the public.
Samurai was an very mobile class that people were moving in and out of constantly. The US population with its veterans is only 2% of the US, yet we see servicemen and veterans all the time. In 1600s Japan, it was almost 5%-10%. Lower class samurai were also known to drop out of the class to become farmers or other individual pursuits.
And if anyone wants to weeb out, you can watch videos on samurai dairies on UA-cam and find this information on Britanica or other sources online.
@@ashina2146
No flying camera and gods eye view of the battlefield? Orders carried out immediately? The battles weren’t 5-20 minutes long? You don’t say…..
It’s not forgotten. If TW had accurate battles it wouldn’t be as popular. Hours for one battle, days in some cases. Not to mention months and years of sieges.
those shogun 2 icons are timeless!!
Takeda Katsuyori: NOOOOOO you can't just mow down my elite cavalry samurai which trained their entire life on warfare like that.
Oda Nobunaga: HAHAHA farmer with boom stick go bang bang bang.
technically he isn't a farmer anymore, he's a soldier in nobunaga army, Oda Nobunaga tried to implement a non-samurai but professional soldier class that removes themselves from the seasonal farming breaks, he allows farmers to just stay in farms, and hires their extra sons to join Nobunaga's army
Noo me elite soldier cannot be beaten
hehe me poor soldier just beat your soldier
This Trope is getting old after you know that most of these poorly trained soldiers are often more trained and even veterans in many ways, from the English Longbows in Agincourt who would be made up of Yeoman Freeman to the Ashigaru and Samurai Arquebusiers in Nagashino who not only out numbers the Takeda Cavalry but also recently fought against the Ikko Ikki especially the Saika Ikki who are expert gunners.
@@ashina2146 In fairness the units you mentioned are exceptional *because* they were trained and experienced. Still, they are technically actually poor compared to their lords most of the time. They may have been experienced and battle-hardened, but it's much like a farmer surviving multiple battles but still being a farmer and thus not very rich.
In any case I think you missed the point of the meme. It shows how the march of weapons technology alongside social change generally outlives traditional reliance on older forms of combat.
Actually it's said that their army comps were of the same proportions, but Nobunaga had more ammo and of better quality.
That was very, very good. It's an unusual way of doing things, from a European perspective, but it must have worked. It's also why wargames involving Japanese armies often don't feel right, especially on the tabletop, against non-Japanese opponents..
I'd love to see some wargaming match ups between Samurai and Europeans. Must be a cool contrast to experience.
I'd be happy with a game that really allowed sonae level combat at least against the Joseon or the Ming. Killer Katanas has a Imjin war supplement, but the ruleset is dated and doesn't really represent sonae and higher organization levels that well either.
@@InvictaHistory Agreed. Now I want to see a Sonoe vs one of the Compagnie d'ordonnance or a Roman Cohort. Speaking of the former, do you think you might feature them on the channel at some point?
@@InvictaHistory Ah, but the problems start when you try to simulate all those tiny little sub units of different weapons and skill levels in a 1000 man strong grouping, against something like a Spanish Tercio. I've played games matching circa 1600 Samurai vs 1630's Swedish and the differences just don't appear, because the rules were written for forces where a regiment of about 1000 strong is basically Pike, Shot, and maybe a few Swordsmen thrown in, but in massed ranks 8 deep. So... you can't really simulate that against a Sonae, unless you abstract all the differences out anyway. Whihc is a pity.
@@davidribeiro1064 Samurai warfare is really hard to do well, especially against other military systems. Black Powder and Pike and Shotte can come close, especially if you have a "regiment" for the Japanese equalling a Sonae, but with different stats or special rules to represent the mix of sub units- like giving the Takeda a charge bonus to simulate their cavalry, or the Oda a defensive bonus to represent their Ashigaru and those long spears. But then Black Powder et al abstracts a lot out anyway, so there goes the period feel.
PLEASE make a video on how a historical battle such as Kawanakajima or Sekigahara would have actually looked like with these formations.
Would be awesome.
Everyone loves samurai armor, but ashigaru troops had such a great look.
They should make a movie about a lone ashigaru kicking ass and taking names.
toyotomi hideyoshi used to be sandal bearer ashigaru (one of the lowest rank of ashigaru) for Oda Nobunaga before actually rise into a samurai rank
I would like to see a ashigaru movie and it would also be cool to see a Heideyoshi movie in the west.
A lone ashigaru can’t do anything
In masses formations though they could go toe to toe with samurai, but on their own a samurai would cut them up
That would be a story of Miyamoto Musashi then. He was an Ashigaru in his teens during the Battle of Sekigahara - for the losing army of the west that is, so no glory at that time, nothing but fleeing the battle while being chased around.
But Nah, I'd like for a Zohyo Monogatari telling the story of a sonae like Band of Brothers.
Its crazy to think the Sengoku Jidai was at the same time of the Landsknechts
Well, the Sengoku period lasted a long time so you could say many different European battle formations and tactics were practiced in that period. I'd say by 1600 the Spanish Tercio was more popular.
Remember, don’t buy Ubisoft games because they don’t think that you should own something you have bought.
One guy (the Ubisoft director of subscriptions) said that gamers "should get comfortable with the idea of not owning thier games".
Yeah, no shit this guy would say that... It's kinda his only job... But Ubisoft as a whole probably won't fully pivot to a purely subscription-based payment system any time in the near future.
That being said, don't I actually think that Ubisoft+ is a bad idea. I personally don't care about leagally owning a game because I only care about the enjoyment I have and the friends and memories I make while playing it. So at least for me, paying $8/mo or $60/yr to play most of Ubisoft's catalogue doesn't sound like a bad deal if I have enough free time to make it worthwhile.
My biggest issue is that I buy the premium versions of most games because I'm a sucker and Ubisoft+ premium is like over double the price of the basic plan.
A truly fascinating video. Very easy to forget how "modern" the Sengoku Jidae was, but this really puts that aspect into context.
The comparison to the Napoleonic Corp D'armée was particularly astute.
Watching Invicta made me realize I wanted to put out value-driven content out to the world. So I started this channel and turned 90h of strenuous work into my first animated story just the other day. Keep inspiring, Invicta!
長柄槍足軽 or pike ashigaru didn't usually "stab" at the enemies. They rather "stroke" down the enemies pushing the pikes down from above repeatedly. Many Japanese series or movies feature this unique usage of pikes.
Oh, Debussy, I love Debussy! Sometimes all I can think about is Debussy.
So samurai retainers were like a medieval lance, where every knight came to war with several archers and men at arms in tow
Although the european lance was fully mounted; this one I don't know. Also, lances did form into big cavalry units, while these ones form small combined arms subunits.
@@alessandronavone6731 while the european lance had more a lot more horses, it was not entirely mounted. Rather, between 1/3 to 2/3 of the lance would have been mounted. Charles the Bold's lances for instances included mounded one knight, one squire, and one page, and on foot one pikeman, one gunner, and one crossbowman. As well, three "archers" were mounted infantry, in other words travel mounted but fight dismounted. These would later evolve into light cavalry (though confusingly keeping the name "archer").
@@ParallelPain Kind of agree, but Charles' lance was a very particular, almost experimental type of lance, much different from the mainstream elsewhere, which also lasted for a very brief period of time. The German lance, the French lance and the Italian lance were all entirely mounted, and only the French one had a component, the "archers", that could maybe be classified as mounted infantry (but I hesitate here, because from what I remember they could also very well act as lighter cavalry). For the most part, in European late medieval and early renaissance warfare cavalry and infantry acted as separate components, and the cavalry one was very significant.
I highly recommend checking out The Shogunate and the channels that he advertises if you want to go and read up about the details of samurai and pre-modern Japan. It can really change your outlook on everything. Love the video!
I'm interested with the earlier samurai history, Kamakura and Muromachi samurais were main mounted horse archers, not much combined arms like Sengoku Jidai
@@tertmade9769shogunate covers a bit of that too. He also collabs with channels that do deep covers of early Japanese history
I will not preorder that trash game but I love that you’re getting big sponsors.
Very nice, i like these videos, well researched and ever entertaining.
Imagine hollywood using these facts to make movie. The entertainment and story telling possibly are endless without the ridiculousness of embellishment
Watch the Japanese movie 'Sekigahara'. It shows a lot of the things discussed here more realistically. 'Ten To Chi To' is another recommendation.
I would kill for a sharpe style series centred around an ashigaru.
Thank you for these most excellently crafted videos
When you see "Shi" in Japanese it's pronounced like we pronounce "she." When you see "o" it's pronounced like the name of the letter.
Bushi should be "Boo-She"
Ashigaru should be "Ah-She-garu"
The Ko in Koku should be like the Co in Coke.
You guys do a lot of work on research and present great work, but I might suggest getting some consultation on pronunciation, especially for the languages that are still spoken today.
A very interesting video and a unique approach you find rarely in documentaries.
Loving the ammount of Samurai stuff we've been getting lately.
Thank you for the really good video 👊🏻
Terrific work! I love these "True Size" videos. 🗾🏯⛩
Just incredible. Thanks for sharing
I love it. this video need a 1 million views. Keep it up! can't wait for the next video. you got a new sub.
I finished Shogun over the weekend and now this video is out. Everything is trying to get me to sit down and play Shogun 2 again.
Thank you so much for your latest video😆
Very nicely put. It is understandable, yet still detailed.
Will you make an episode on the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?
I'm not super familiar with their system at all. Any teasers on what we would be looking at? (I'd love to by the way)
@@InvictaHistorywell you could feature the polish winged hussar in the “units of history” videos. ( not the warhammer one tho)
3:23 the rise of the bussy!
@@theamorphousflatsch2699 Ikr. Then ya got shows like Blue Eyed Samurai where they just had to ruin Mizu's perfectly good bussy for the "plot", smh.
I love this video! I just so happened to have watched and read "Shogun", and I was searching for material on the army organization of the period!
You have described a small army of a single Daimyo here. We know that in the large battles of the Sengoku or early Edo period, like the decisive Battle of Sekigahara, armies were around 100,000 strong. How were these armies organised?
I think Ian from forgotten weapons have also discussed how the teppo Is meant to be braced next to the face rather than around shoulder like conventional guns, quite interesting
Me when, me when, me when no Tyranids part 3: 😢
Haha we are working on it but keep in mind it will take a few weeks to finish given how complex those episodes are
Fantastic video!! Would absolutely love to see this level of investigation applied on Xerxes' army during the 2nd Persian war. The sheer scale and variety would be amazing to see.
This was a fantastic video!!!
I've been waiting for this Chanel to talk about samurai, please do it again later
the usage of the Shogun 2 unit cards made me re-install the game
I thought it was gon be a long week, until Invicta dropped this bad boy! Yesterday!
Outstanding video - thank you 🙏.
I love these videos so much! Time to play some Shogun
Considering the relatively large proportion of reserves and command staff, how common were decisive engagements in this period as opposed to hit and runs?
i love this type of video
Excellent video. Thank you
Awesome content. Which software do you use to generate these videos? Please tell.
If i wasn't already a follower, the intro would have bought me.
Great video (as always tbh). I had no idea how complex and elaborate the structure and command system of japanese armies of this period was. I can't help but to think that it was maybe too elaborate but that's just my opinion. Either way, It must have been a spectacle to see whole armies of tens of thousands of men, fighting in this manner.
Amazing Video!
Great video
I’d like to see y’all do a tang or song dynasty army
I hope you do the Tercio at some point
Thanks !
What software do you use to show the models?
What soundtrack is at the start of the video it sounds familiar. What is it called?
I am a 12 year old kid that dreams of being a historian. Love your work Invicta. Can you guys do WWII German Africa Corps true size.
Question: can you tell me what animation software you use. Learning animations right now.
My favorite series on this channel!
Brilliant
Once we start understanding the sonae system, we can see how simple and 1 dimentional total war unit comp is.
I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for the release of your new video "True Size of a Samurai Army [c. 1600] 3D DOCUMENTARY". The topic is absolutely fascinating, and you’ve tackled it with an incredible depth of content. Your 3D approach really helps in visualizing and understanding the scale and complexity of the samurai armies of that era. Keep up the fantastic work, it's always a pleasure to watch your videos!
I love it!!
Till Weber's books on the subject are a great read and I highly recommend them to anyone interested.
Could never imagine how much carnage a full melee war would leave behind. Warfare was a different breed then.
The nuances are what I come for. There is no joke. Perhaps a pun, not intended.
amazing
I JUST started watching this video, so I'm not sure if this is answered in this video or not, BUT, does anyone know, in a bit of detail, why samurai and japanese soldiers wore a.... Balloon? On their backs?
I understand the point of banners and controlling soldiers through them, but the balloons just seem like they would REALLY get in the way, and also make a great target to shoot at.
A samurai was not a commoner but held a rank of nobility, albeit lower. For example, in 1212, Hojo Yoshitoki was appointed as the equivalent of a baron, and in 1578, Oda Nobunaga was appointed as the equivalent of a marquis by the imperial court.
Well, for a foreigner, I think you did a pretty good job researching this.
03:27
there used to be a ps2 or 3 game where you were a shogan where you picked the troops in your army and faced others if anyone knows what im talking about please tell me the name
Very informative ❤❤
Pretty good stuff, but I think an important detail is left out that the feudal armies of Japan tend to be commanded in their own mobilized groups. As in, an army consisting of troops from 10 different lords, will be commanded as 10 units if the army each under its own lord for command. Which is why feudal Japan didn't really have cavalry as a field unit. Not that they didn't know how to fight on horses -- but that you're not going to see stuff like "infantry at the center, cavalry at left and right" type of formations in Japan. Instead, in most battle maps with the OOB, you get the names of the lords, instead of which troop type.
Do you have video of true size of chinese armies?
So why do muskets have a shorter range in shogun 2 if the manuals say their range should be twice as far?
I have a few questions. Did independent factions like the Ikko Ikki and the Iga Ikki follow the military formations and composition displayed on the video or did they have an entirely different army organisation?
Did they have a cohesive military structure and if so, who did they heed to?
Did they segregate units out of social rank or did they fight in the same unit despite of their position?
And finally did these independent groups have their own social hierarchy or did they follow no such system but still holds a commanding structure?
Would love to know, to the creators and any one who is experienced with this sort of thing, thanks in advance!
Bro what a soundtrack for intro iwant know
Super interesting
i think a similar video on medieval chinese armies would be great, though i am unsure of which period would be best
what movie is this??/ please answer 0:16
Your work is amazing
Thanks! This episode was particularly tough given how complex and contradictory accounts of Japanese armies of the era could be. It's even harder if you just rely on English sources so we were lucky to be helped by a grad student in Tokyo who helped us translate the original records.
@@InvictaHistorywhich speaks volumes to the accuracy and quality of the video. Hold your head high guys (the entire team who worked on it)
This is a bookmark in Western documentary telling of the topic
Next Napoleon Army when
👏👏👏👏 👍 for the good work
Could you guys possibly cover the true scale of Alexander the Great’s army? From his start in Greece to his forces in India. It could be a very interesting video(s).
I would think they would go on to cover many ancient, medieval and fantasy army comps. But yes a Macedonian one would be near the top of my list too.
Please make the videos of napoleon army cavalry and artillery forces
I Love this narrator's voice intense yet subtle
Okay, so hold up, I had no idea documents like the one at 29:03 existed! That's incredible that such detailed formation descriptions survive.
Chances of you seeing this might be small, Invicta, but if you know of any other documents like that I'd love to hear about them.
Is Napoleons Old Guard Video finished or is a next part incoming?
0:10 still looks like total war to me
There are even more battlefield specialties that could’ve been discoursed on in this video: soldiers armed with the Nsginata, for example, If they couldn’t manage spear training, or the similar Nagamaki or other heavy weapons, if they couldn’t manage THAT. There were also, from what I understand, Ashigaru simply trained to use swords.
What is more (and as I’m sure we all suspect), the role of espionage and irregular warfare could make for a video unto itself. For despite the stylized “ninja” stereotype of black-clad secret societies, this aspect of war was actually quite broad-based, vague in description, and heavily integrated with military operations, ninjutsu-trained samurai being not only a reality, but quite common among the lower ranks.
Nice try Ubi... hope you bought something nice for this Invicta
Were pistols used to any extend in Japanese warfare? If we're talking about the 16th or 17th centuries then armoured pistol-wielding cavalry - cuirassiers - were some of the most sought-after troops in Europe. Did Japan ever do something similar?
Cuirassiers user an early form of carbine. A shortened musket, much like Dragoons. Pistols were an officer's weapon.
Ubisoft can sponsor anyone they want, im still not buying...
YES
Sort of peculiar that the units were sort of small and mixed, especially the combination of everything in relatively small units. Descriptions of (Bavarian) 30 Years War regiments had units of either pike/guns or specific cavalry regiments numbering (realistically) in the hundreds.
I hope you guys one day do the true size of the Napoleonic Armies of the 1813 German campaigns. I have a particular interest in Walmoden's Russian Prussian Army and the Danish Corps that engaged it frequently in North Germany as one of my ancestors was part of the Danish army in the time 🙂
Beautiful ❤❤❤
Soundtrack: Highasakite "Samurai Swords".....
Before anyone ask. Based on this video, you should field
- 5 unit of skirmish ashigaru ( 3 archer, 2 gunner)
- 9-11 unit of spear ashigaru
- 1 commander
- 1-3 yari samurai
- 2 yari calvary
In shogun 2
Yea. Sound valid
Based strategy
I'd replace the yari samurai to long yari ashigaru for more yarimazing
@@demasathallah Nobuhide would be pleased
that's usually what my early armies look like. They I start replacing ashigaru units with more samurai as the quality of troops improves.