Battle of Broken Hooves

The Battle of Broken Hooves happened in the fourth century, a defeat of the Ujik invaders near Kyūden Ikoma, which halted the invasion led by a leader known only as the Lord of Grass. Fields of Victory, pp. 30-31
== Preambles ==
The Lord of Grass was a particularly charismatic leader who had risen to prominence among the Ujik. In the year 376 a comet appeared in the eastern skies, its tail was said to “wipe away half of the stars in the sky.” The Lord of Grass interpreted the comet as a sign from the Lords of Death that he should strike east on a campaign of conquest, launching an offensive into the western border of Rokugan. Fields of Victory, p. 30
== Furious Invasion ==
The Ujik crossed the Great Wall of the North mountains, entering the Empire through the pass now known as the Ki-Rin's Path. Crossing the Snow Plain, then passing south of Dragon's Heart Forest, they finally encountered the westernmost outposts of the Empire, an array of small strongholds defended by the Lion Clan. The first skirmishes were won by the Ujik, using their mounted archers to gallop into range of the Lion ranks, loose their arrows, and then wheel away again before the Lion could engage them. A final, massive mounted charge overrun the battered lines, swept the survivors from the field, to decisively finish the battle. The Lord of Grass pressed on, leading his enormous army deeper into the Empire. The Lion Clan Champion Akodo Kimiko began to trade space for time, withdrawing her forces eastward ahead of the advancing Ujik and avoiding a decisive engagement. She concentrated her forces and bolstered them with hastily formed levies of peasant troops and studied how to develop ways to counter the Ujik's stunning mobility. 
== Battle ==
As the Ujik closed in on Kyūden Ikoma, Kimiko arrayed her army to meet them on the plains north of the palace, a flat, open terrain appeared to favor the use of cavalry while providing little advantage for the defenders. Despite having marshaled the largest army she could, Kimiko and her forces were still badly outnumbered. When the Battle of Broken Hooves was joined, sodden rice paddies on her army's right flank stymied the Ujik, limiting their maneuvers to her front and left. The Lion also employed portable shields of wicker and wood which sheltered the ranks of samurai from the worst of their attackers' archery. Finally, most of the Lion warriors armed themselves with overlong spears and adopted square formations with soldiers facing outward in every direction, with archers enclosed in the middle. The Ujik hurled themselves at the Lion again and again. Many of the peasants, who previously had been only shield bearers, picked up the spears of fallen Lion warriors and took their places in the line of battle, and the Ujik attackers suffered the more egregious casualties. After a long, bloody day of fighting, the Lord of Grass pulled the remaining Ujik, raised a single, echoing shout—apparently a salute to their Lion opponents—then turned and thundered off westward, leaving the Empire. Fields of Victory, pp. 30-31
== Aftermath ==
The Battle of Broken Hooves marked the first major battle to see the employment of large peasant levies. Since this battle, ashigaru became an increasingly important, often pivotal, part of Rokugani military forces. The battle also showed the importance of innovations in thinking, such as trading space for time, choosing decisive times and places for battles, and incorporating flexibility in formations and weaponry. Fields of Victory, p. 31
Kyūden Ikoma