User blog:SPARTAN 119/Kennyo Kosa vs Hugh Dubh O'Niell

Kennyo Kosa, the Buddhist warrior monk and Ikko-ikki Rebel who challenged the rule Oda Nobunaga's rule over Japan, and held the castle of Isayama Hongan-ji for ten years of seige

VS

Hugh Dubh O'Neil, the Irish rebel who turned the seige of Clonmel into a deathtrap for 2000 of English soldiers

WHO IS DEADLIEST!?

Kennyo Kosa
Kennyo Kosa (1543-1591) was the 11th abbot of the Buddhist temple and Ikko-ikki Rebel fortress of Ishiyami Hongan-ji during the late Sengoku period. Kosa allied himself with several powerful clans, being a former ally of warlord Takeda Shingen and later his son Takeda Katsuyori, as well as the Mori clan, with their powerful navy. Kosa also constructed defenses around Ishiyama Hongan-ji, including a series of stone walls and over 50 watchtowers stationed with arquebusiers and archers, as well as a series of tripwires and clay pots intended to break the ankles of horses. Kosa also took advantage of Ishiyama's location, on top of a steep hill with its back to the ocean.

In 1570, Oda Nobunaga laid seige to Ishiyama Hongan-ji, his initial assault consisting of 30,000 men, who he sent to construct fortified staging areas around Ishiyama. These force were ambushed by 3000 Ikko-ikki arquebusiers in a midnight attack which repulsed Oda's armies and destroyed their staging areas. For the first few years, Oda focused on attacking the Ikki's allies and attempting to starve Kosa into submission. This would have probably been successful- Kosa was already considering peaceful negotiations with Oda by 1575.

This was changed, however, when ousted shogun and enemy of Oda's Ashikaga Yoshiaki convinced Mori Terumoto and the powerful Mori clan navy to supply Ishiyama by sea. In 1576, Oda sent 3000 men to attack the fortress. These forces were defeated by 15,000 Ikko-ikki defenders, including arquebusiers, defending 51 outposts around the fortress. With his failure attacking the primary fortress, Oda targeted the outposts and and army under Toyotomi Hideyoshi took one at Negoroji.

In August 1576, Oda's navy under Kuki Yoshitaka were defeated by the Mori fleet at the Battle of Kizugawaguchi. Yoshitaka, however, would return two years later armed with massive atakebune- heavy warships armored with iron plates at least around key areas, and defeated the Mori navy in 1578.

From 1578 to 1580, the Ikko-ikki attempted to break the seige repeatedly, but none of their counterattacks were successful. Kosa finally surrender in 1580 after, running low on ammunition and supplies, received a message from the Emperor of Japan (written while pressured by Nobunaga) asking him to surrender. Kosa surrendered the fortress, and Nobunaga allowed all inhabitants to leave unharmed, though the fortress of Ishiyama Hongan-ji was demolished and replaced with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka castle a few years later.

Kosa later allied himself with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with his warrior monks aiding him in defeating the forces of Toyotomi's rival, Shibata Katsuie in 1583, and sent Ikko warriors to guard Toyotomi in Satsuma province. In 1591, Kosa constructed a second temple, Nishi Hongan-ji, in 1591, but died a year later in 1592.

Hugh Dubh O'Niell
Hugh Dubh O'Niell, Earl of Tyrone, also known as "Black Hugh", was an Irish earl and soldier in during the 17th century, who is best known for fighting against Oliver Cromwell's British armies during the Irish Confederate War.

O'Niell was born in Brussels Belguium in 1611, the son of exiled Irish earl Art Og O'Niell. As a young man, Hugh served with the Spanish in the Eighty Years War against the United Provinces of the Netherlands. In 1641, Hugh's uncle Owen Roe O'Niell led a Spanish-supported invasion in support of an Irish uprising, which ended with Ireland gaining de-facto independence from England. During the war, Hugh was initially captured by Scottish Covenanter troops, but one of a number of Irish prisoner was exchanged for captured Scots in a prisoner swap. O'Niell went on to play a role in the Irish victory at the Battle of Benburb in 1646.

After Owen Roe O'Neill died in 1649, Hugh took command of the Irish armies in Ulster. When Oliver Cromwell invaded the same year, Hugh led his army against the English invaders. From April to May 1650, Hugh held the city of Clonmel against an English siege. When English artillery breached the walls of the city, Hugh had his men build a V-shaped coupure (earthwork or pallisade built behind a breach), and placed pikemen, musketeers, and cannon loaded with chain shot to defend it. During the first English assault, between 2000 and 2500 soldiers of Cromwell's New Model Army died in a single day. A second English assault by Cromwell's elite Ironsides unit was similarly repelled. After one month's siege, Clonmel finally fell, the defenders running low on supplies and ammunition.

O'Niell, however, escaped Clonmel before it fell and fought Cromwell's general Henry Ireton at the siege of Limerick, holding the city from a first siege in 1650, but surrendered after a second siege in 1651, the seige of Limerick cost the English over 2000 men including Ireton himself, who died of the bubonic plague (possibly related to unsanitary conditions at the siege) a month after the city fell.

After the siege, Hugh was captured and originally sentenced to death, but it was never carried out and he was instead imprisoned Tower of London. Hugh's imprisonment was cut short when a Spanish ambassador to England successfully argued that Hugh was a Spanish subject. Hugh was freed and sent to Spain on the condition that he never again take action against and English army.

Hugh never fought the English again, though he did serve as a Spanish artillery commander fighting against a rebellion in Catalonia. The Spanish recognized Hugh as the rightful Earl of Tyrone, and Hugh attempted to get his lands restored after Cromwell's death and the restoration of the English monarchy, however Charles II refused to grant the request and Hugh died a year later in 1661.

=Weapons=

Katana (Kosa)
The Katana is a curved, single edged sword originating from Japan, and are one of the nation's most iconic weapons. Originally used by the Samurai of Feudal Japan, the weapon has also come to be commonly known as a "Samurai Sword". The length of the blade is often somewhere between 60 to 73 centimeters in length, with an overall length of about one meter. The metal of the blade is created from Tamahagane, a hard, high carbon steel for the cutting edge and sides, and the tough, low carbon steel for the core and back, giving the blade a hard edge, while allowing it to absorb blows without shattering. The gentle curvature of the blade adds to the weapons cutting power by focusing the force of the blow on a smaller area.

Mortuary-hilt Sword (Hugh)
The mortuary sword had close ties to the English Basket-hilt and is sometimes referred to as the English half-basket. The difference is that the former has a long, but wider, double-edged straight blade for thrusting and slashing, and a wire grip for control and preventing the user's hand from slipping. The pommel was weighted for balance and use as a blunt instrument, while the grip had a partial metal "basket" to protect the user's hand. The weapon had an overall length of about one meter.

119's Edge
Both blades are deadly weapons in the right hands, however, I have to give a slight edge to Hugh's Mortuary hilt sword for its greater versatility and the hand-protection afforded by the grip.

Yari (Kosa)
The yari is straight-bladed spear with a blade on top anywhere from less than one to three feet in length. The pole can be up over six meters in length. The yari often had a crossbar under the blade. Around the time of Oda Nobunaga, yari were often used in combination of firearms, with the yari covering the gunners as they reloaded.

Pike (Hugh)
A pike is simply a long spear, up to twenty feet long. The weapon is useful for warding off cavalry when used in formation. When used in combination with archers and handgunners, the weapon brought about the end of the era of the armored knight. The weapon was, along with the matchlock musket, one of the two standard weapons of the pike and shot armies of the 17th century. The era of the pike ended with the invention of the bayonet, which effectively allowed musket to also play the role of pikemen.

119's Edge
The two weapons are very similar, however, I give a slight edge to the longer blade on Kosa's yari, giving it greater versatility and allowing for slashing attacks.

Osutsu (Kosa)
The Osutsu was a Japanese matchlock firearm with a short, wide barrel, used in Sengoku or Warring States period Japanese history in mid to late 1500s. The weapon was intended for used in a manner similar to the later European blunderbuss, as an early form of shotgun. The Osutsu could be loaded with a variety of types of ammunition, most typically metal shot or arrows.

Doglock Pistol (Hugh)
Officially referred to as an "English lock" by most collectors and historians, it represents a step forward from the snaphaunce lock of the late 16th Century because it combines the hammer (most modern shooters refer to it as the frizzen) and the pan-cover, thus simplifying the lock and at the same time increasing its reliability. However, this innovation compromised safety because the hammer could no longer be swung away from the pan to disable the piece for safe carrying. In response to this, the dog was added as a safety feature. This piece, which engages the base of the cock and prevents it from moving forward, is so named because its action is reminiscent of a dog latching onto someone's heel.

119's Edge
This is a close one. The Dog lock pistol has a more reliable ignition system, however, the Osutsu has fired multiple shot, causing greater damage and probably having slightly greater range than early pistols, or, at least, having a greater chance of hitting with the multiple projectiles. Edge: Kosa's Osutsu.

Tanegashima (Kosa)
The tanegashima is a Japanese matchlock musket based on matchlocks introduced by the Portuguese in the mid-1500s. The weapon improved on the the standard matchlock in a number of ways, most notably the addition of a front sight for easier aiming and an optional lacquered wooden box to cover the burning match in the rain, to allow firing in inclement weather. Like the earlier hand cannon, matchlocks such as the tanegashima could be deadly when used in formation with pikemen, as Oda Nobunaga proved when he defeated the elite Takeda Cavalry in Nagashino.

Matchlock (Hugh)
The matchlock musket, also known as an arquebus, is an early firearm, and the first to have a mechanism recognizable as a trigger. The weapon was fired using a mechanism that held a slow burning cord, the "match" in place until the trigger was pulled, at which point the mechanism would move the match downward, into the firing pan, igniting the powder in the pan as well as the main charge. Some variants, known as snap matchlocks used a small spring to force the match down into the pan. The matchlock musket improved on the earlier Hand Cannon, as the mechanism held the match in place, meaning it was less likely that a soldier would drop the match, for instance. However, it had many of the same drawbacks as the hand cannon. Specifically, the matchlock was a smoothbore weapon, meaning it was innaccurate at ranges of over 50-100 meters, and only truly effective when used in formation, and could only fire one shot before a length reloading process. Prior to the invention of the bayonet, musketeers had no melee weapons except for the butt on their gun or possibly as sword or dagger, which would be little use against a charging cavalryman, for instance. For that reason, matchlock muskets were used in dense "pike and shot" formations, with pikemen protecting the musketeers, preventing cavalry from closing in. When these formations, along with volley fire techniques in which multiple soldiers took turns firing and reloading, so that there was always a row of men firing, were utilized, however, matchlock firearms proved to be devastating against cavalry.

119's Edge
Kennyo Kosa' Tanegashima Musket for its superior accuracy thanks to its front and rear sights, as well as other improvements like the match cover to allow it to be used during rainstorms, increasing the gun's reliability.

Breech-Loading Swivel Gun (Kosa)
While the Japanese did not make anything near the use of artillery as their European contemporaries, they were recorded to have used some larger cannon, and, in particular, small "swivel guns"- small cannon on a swiveling mount that could be quickly aimed and fired. These were often mounted on warships, such as those used by the navy of Kosa's Mori allies. Unlike larger artillery of the period, these swivel were loaded from the rear, some models using a mug-shaped metal breech block filled with powder and shot. These breech blocks/shot containers were often fired and then replaced with another pre-filled shot containers, similar to reloading a modern artillery piece. Swivel guns could be filled with a single ball or multiple shot. Kosa will have a swivel gun in support of his forces.

Cannon with Chain Shot (Hugh)
One of the deadliest weapons Hugh Dubh O'Niel used at Clonmel were cannon loaded with chain shot. Field artillery of the period consisted of large guns firing about 5-10 pound projectiles, loaded from the muzzle and fired using a linstock, or slow burning match placed on a staff. The guns were often mounted on wheels for mobility. These weapons could fire a variety of projectiles, (and will be able to for the purposes of this match) the most common being round shot and multiple shots such as canister or larger grapeshot typically used in naval battles. Chain shot was a type of cannon projectile consisting of two roundshot chained together, typically used against naval vessels to destroy the rigging, however, when fired at infantry as Hugh did, chain shot scythed through the ranks, severing heads and limbs.

119's Edge
In spite of the faster rate of fire of the swivel gun, I must go with the greater range of the Hugh's cannon and the terrifying anti-personnel use of chain shot =X-Factors=

Explanations
In terms of training, both warriors and their armies are quite skilled, however, in the end, I give the edge to Kosa's warrior monks, many of whom trained in martial arts throughout their lives. Hugh, however, takes the edge for combat experience, having fought in multiple campaigns against first the United Provinces, and then English, and finally the Spanish rebels over more than 20 years, Kosa, on the other hand, fought for ten years in one siege, but only provided troops in support after that, returning to his previous station as a Buddhist cleric rather than a lifelong warrior. In terms of tactics, I call this even, both men proving to be tactical geniuses that caused severe casualties even against a numerically superior foe. In terms of stealth, Kosa takes the definitive edge for his use of ambush tactics and guerilla warfare in attacking Oda's staging areas prior to the siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji. He also takes a slight edge in infantry for the elite training of his troops, many of who were warrior monks and ronin, who likely also trained the rest of the rebels at least to some degree. In terms artillery, however, Hugh takes the edge of his greater use of cannon, whereas the Japanese in general used fewer large guns. Kosa wins in terms of tenacity, however, holding out against a siege for ten years. =Notes=
 * Voting will end next Monday March 16th or Tuesday, March 17th, depending on when I get back home from a short trip.