My grandfather is a retired Lt. Colonel and he is very into militarism and various world leaders.
I'm well versed in the late sengoku era and military detailings of it. But that's over many sessions with a book in hand.
Does anyone know a single book that would be able to detail a good amount of strategy and undergoing of a daily life in the period.
I'm most specifically looking for a book on Nobunaga and Ieyasu.
Thanks!
One book that you might like is
It's one of the major sources for Oda Nobunaga's career and military activity. It gives a lot of detail on his strategy and day-to-day activity that isn't found elsewhere (the Chronicle proper is over 400 pages long; the book also includes about 50 pages of introductory material).
As an example of the kind of detail of strategy, from pg 71:
Around that time, the Suruga forces stationed in Okazaki attacked and seized the stronghold of Yamaoka [Dengorō] in Shigiwara. They brought up reinforcements from Okazaki and turned Shigiwara into a base for operations directed against the castle of Mizuno Kingo [Nobumoto] at Ogawa. Next, the Suruga forces built a stronghold at a place called Muraki and entrenched themselves there. The defenders of nearby Teramoto Castle presented hostages and declared themselves loyal to Suruga. Their defection meant that Nobunaga’s access routes to Ogawa had been cut.
Oda Kazusa no Suke Nobunaga intended to take the field, strike at the enemy’s rear, and relieve Ogawa, but he was concerned lest his enemies in Kiyosu take advantage of his absence to attack Nagoya and set fire to the townspeople’s residential quarters there. He therefore sent his father-in-law, Saitō Yamashiro Dōsan, a request to provide him with military support in the form of a temporary garrison.
Primary sources like this can be difficult at times, and can be strongly propagandistic rather than historical in intent, but they can also be interesting and enlightening. They are often the only insight into strategy and planning we have other than hindsight and guesswork aimed at reconstructing a plausible plan and strategy.