In the early 16th century, the most formidable samurai cavalry army was the Takeda. At that time, it was a mighty military force that always won victory on the battlefield. At the head was Takeda Shingen, who had two sons. It was the sons who continued his work after the death of their father. The main task was to capture Mikawa, which belonged to Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, everything did not go according to plan. The power and strength of the Takeda army, which everyone feared, changed dramatically in the second half of the 16th century.
Brave Warrior Tori
In early May 1575, an army of 15,000 soldiers led by Takeda Katsuyori entered Tokugawa territory. The first thing the warriors did was to surround Yoshida Castle. However, the castle became the first obstacle to the conquest, as the soldiers could not destroy it. Then they began to move north, with the goal of encircling Nagashino Castle. And at this stage, the Takeda army was also expected to be defeated. This moment went down in history as the Battle of Nagashino.
Torii Suniemon managed to escape from the castle. This is a brave ashigaru who was able to break out of the castle and call for reinforcements from the Tokugawa. His story of escaping from the castle is unique. The brave warrior left the castle, swam across the fast river, bypassing the nets that were placed by the enemy, and then ran 35 km to Okazaki. Requesting reinforcements from the allies, Tori returned to Nagashino. However, while trying to get back to the castle, he was captured by the enemy.
Tory was tied to a wooden cross and put on display across the river from the castle. The enemy ordered Tori to tell the men that the castle had been surrendered and there would be no reinforcements. However, the brave warrior did not follow the order. From a height, he examined his samurai, who were located on the observation towers, and shouted loudly: "People of Nagashino castles do not give up, reinforcements are on their way, wait a bit." For this, the Takeda soldier stuck a spear in Tori's stomach.
One of the Takeda detachments was so surprised by the courage and devotion of Torii that an order was given to design a battle flag with the image of the crucified. The posthumously glorious warrior was promoted to the rank of full hereditary samurai. His efforts led to the most famous samurai battle, the Battle of Nagashino.
A week later, reinforcements arrived at the site of the main battle. These were the Tokugawa forces and allied Oda. The total number of soldiers numbered 38 thousand.
Combat equipment of the samurai Oda
The combat equipment of the Oda samurai also deserves special attention. They carried not only a tool, armor, but also a long thin wooden log. In this case, from these wooden logs, the Oda warriors managed to build almost 2 km of a wooden palisade on the western side at the foot of the hilly area.
The Battle of Nagashino between the armies took place on May 21, 1575. Takeda's army was the first to attack. In front were the horsemen, and behind them were the infantry. However, their movement was not as fast as it should have been. At first the army was slowed down by the soft, muddy rice paddies, then much time was spent crossing the Rengo River. After that, the Takeda army had to go through several more rice fields before reaching the log fence that was built by the Oda samurai.
Behind the fence, 3,000 Oda soldiers were waiting for them. Each soldier was armed with a matchlock gun. It is worth noting that a gun of this type was brought to Japan only 30 years ago before the start of a big battle. The arrows of Oda very quickly killed the opponent with a powerful shot.
After the first line of attack was destroyed, Katsuyori quickly sent out a second wave of samurai. However, just a few seconds later they were also killed by heavy rifle fire. The commander was greatly shocked, but did not give up his positions. He tried again to line up the lines of the troops, but they were also completely slanted.
Thus, in this great battle, the power of firearms won. In this battle, the correct tactics chosen by General Nobunaga also played. He became a true innovator. First of all, he was well aware of the shortcomings of throwing weapons and, taking advantage of this, managed to properly line up his shooters. To do this, he placed them in small groups of 3 around the barricades. After the first shot, the second line took aim and fired. By this time, the first line had time to reload and was ready to continue the battle. Thus, a volley of fire constantly occurred.
The second blow was delivered by ashigaru foot soldiers. As soon as the Takeda samurai approached the palisade, he was immediately stopped by the ashigaru foot soldiers. They had long spears.
In this big battle, Takeda continued to actively attack, and Oda continued to shoot and fight. The battle lasted over 8 hours. The result of a massive battle: 10 thousand dead Takeda samurai and 6 thousand soldiers of the allied forces. The Takeda clan, which was very formidable, was destroyed. And 7 years after this battle, an inglorious end awaited him.
See also
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The Third Siege of Takatenjin Castle
The history of the castle prior to the conflict between the Tokugawa and Takeda clans is rather unclear. According to one version, the castle was built in 1416, when Imagawa Sadayoshi (1325–1420) was governor of Suruga Province and half of Totomi Province. Allegedly, it was he who ordered Imagawa Norimasa (1364–1433) to build this fortification. However, no reliable evidence has been found to support this. Another version is considered more plausible, according to which the castle was built during the conquest of Totomi Province at the end of the 15th century by Imagawa Ujitsuna (1473–1526) and his general Ise Shinkuro (Hojo Soon). In this case, another of Ujitsuna's generals, Kusima Masashige (1492–1521), is considered responsible for the construction.
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Battle of Mimigawa
In 1556, the Shimazu clan launched a campaign aimed at systematically conquering the island of Kyushu. In the same year, the province of Osumi was annexed and a war began with the Ito clan for control of the province of Hyuga. In 1577, Ito Yoshisuke was defeated and fled north, where he sought help from Otomo Sorin, the Christian daimyo of Bungo Province.
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The Siege of Kozuki Castle
The battle for Kozuki Castle was a consequence of Oda Nobunaga's expansion in the Chugoku region. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was appointed to lead the campaign, which aimed to weaken the influence of the Mori clan in these lands. Under his command were famous samurai: Kuroda Kanbei, Takenaka Shigeharu, and Hachisuka Koroku. Amago Katsuhisa, who cherished the hope of one day restoring the Amago clan's lost dominance in western Japan, also joined Oda's army.
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The Siege of Nagashino Castle
Despite his reputation as a failure, created by 20th-century popular culture, especially cinema, Takeda Katsuyori (1546–1582) was in fact a brave warrior and talented commander. However, he always remained in the shadow of his great father, the legendary Takeda Shingen. After Shingen's death, Katsuyori sought to at least equal him, if not surpass him. Therefore, his actions were not always determined by pragmatic calculation. This character trait greatly influenced the subsequent events that led to the demise of the Takeda clan.
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Siege of Nagashima Fortifications
The Buddhist peasant movement Ikko-Ikki, which emerged in the 15th century, had grown considerably stronger and larger by the middle of the following century. It had effectively turned into a large feudal army used for territorial conquests. The Ikko-ikki fought fiercely not only against other branches of Buddhism, but also against the provincial daimyo and the central government.
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The Second Battle of Konodai
Hojo Ujiasu (1515–1571), one of the greatest representatives of the Hojo clan, spent almost his entire life at war. His possessions were in a difficult position: they were surrounded on all sides by aggressive neighbors ready to attack at any moment. In implementing his plans to expand the Hojo clan's influence in the Kanto region, Ujiasu was forced to confront well-known and powerful opponents—the Uesugi and Takeda clans. In the east, his main rival was the Satomi clan.
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The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima
The Kawanakajima Plain is located at the confluence of the Saigawa and Tikumagawa rivers in the Japanese Alps. Between 1553 and 1564, five battles took place on this plain between the forces of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen.
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Battle of Tonamoto (Nagahama)
At the beginning of the Sengoku Jidai period, the Teshokabe clan was one of the smaller clans in Tosa Province. Its neighbors were constantly at war with each other, engaging in endless skirmishes. Among them, Yosokabe Kunitika stood out as a military strategist of extraordinary talent. It was thanks to these abilities that he managed to defeat the neighboring clans step by step by the middle of the 16th century, expanding the influence of his clan. At that time, the clan's headquarters was Oko Castle.
