Oda Nobunaga's muskets defeated Takeda, and the battle of Nagashino was decided on Japan
Before Takeda Shingen's death in 1573, he had already begun planning a crusade against Oda Nobunaga. However, his untimely death prevented this plan from being realized. Katsuyori, the fourth son of Takeda Shingen, inherited the leadership of the Takeda family.
Born in 1546, he demonstrated great leadership skills at a young age.
Katsuyori Takeda was the son of Shingen Takeda and inherited his father's legacy. He had tried to organize a siege network for Nobunaga, but failed to realize his dream, and Shingen left a last word to Katsuyori on his deathbed, not to disclose his death to the public for three years.
Under his father's guidance, Katsuyori stopped fighting foreign wars and focused on developing people's livelihood and territorial governance. However, Katsuyori failed to fully comply with his father's last words, causing daimyo such as Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu to breathe a sigh of relief, and they took the opportunity to attack the Asai family, which eventually led to the destruction of the Asakura family and the Asai family, and the Oda family's power expanded again.
What was the distribution of daimyo in Japan in 1573? Let's take a look back at the historical map of Japan at that time.
Katsuyori – a legendary figure in Japan's Sengoku history, each of his battles is full of legends. Not only did he succeed in conquering the High Heavenly God Castle that his father Shingen had not been able to capture, but he also led an army in 157550,000 men attacked Tokugawa Ieyasu's territory, Nagashinojo Castle.
In this battle, generals such as Muto Kibei and Sanada Nobutsuna also participated in the battle. However, this seemingly victorious battle eventually led to the defeat of the Takeda Army because Katsuyori did not live in harmony with the surrounding daimyo according to his father's wishes.
It has been analyzed that if Katsuyori could get along with the Oda-Tokugawa alliance, he might be able to win the battle. But in any case, every battle Katsuyori fought proved his courage and determination, and he was undoubtedly a great warrior in the history of Japan's Sengoku period.
Ieyasu has a shadow on the mighty Takeda Army, as he is remembered by the Battle of Mikatahara two years earlier. Therefore, he relied entirely on his ally Oda Nobunaga to help fight against the powerful Takeda Army.
Ieyasu, who was in Okazaki Castle, felt very anxious at this time, although his most feared opponent Shingen was dead, the powerful Takeda army was still there, and there were still many generals in the Takeda family who could fight.
At this moment, Tokugawa's retainer Sakai Tadaji came to report on the reinforcements. Ieyasu immediately asked, "How many people did Oda send to reinforce us this time?" "Thirty thousand. ”
Tadaji Sakai replied. "Oda is really interesting this time, the last time Shingen came to attack me, he only sent 3,000 men. This time it was a big deal. Ieyasu said excitedly, this time Nagashino Castle is saved, and the Tokugawa family is saved!
Ieyasu then asked, "Which general did Oda send to lead the army to reinforce us this time?" Sakai Tadaji said: "This time, the military high-ranking of the Oda family poured out. Ieyasu was surprised, "Oda Nobu-sama also came in person?" ”
When Oda conquered various parts of Japan, Ieyasu led his army to assist and stabilized Oda's flanks. Ieyasu was an unwavering ally of the Oda family. By this time, Nobunaga had stabilized the surrounding hostile forces, and the opportunity to repay his ally Ieyasu had arrived, and he decided to lead a large number of soldiers and horses to Nagashinoshi Castle to aid Ieyasu, and Nobunaga also brought with him some of his best generals, such as Shibata Katsuie, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Hashiba Hideyoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi).
On May 17, 30,000 men of the Oda Army and 8,000 men of the Tokugawa Army met at a place called Shirakuhara near Nagashinojo Castle, and the two armies totaled 380,000 people. The entire army was commanded by the Oda family, and they were encamped in Shirakuhara, ready to meet Takeda Katsuyori and his troops at any time.
Not just to deal with Tokugawa Ieyasu, but also to deal with Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga's use of troops is not much inferior to that of the old lord, so we will withdraw first and fight another day. Sanada Nobutsuna objected to this and advised Katsuyori to think twice.
However, Katsuyori was indifferent and expressed his desire for Oda Nobunaga to come so that together they could defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu and fulfill his father's unfulfilled wish to take over the world. Sanada Nobutsuna almost burst into tears, and he pleaded with Katsuyori again and again, but Katsuyori still insisted on his decision.
In the end, Sanada Nobutsuna hugged his brother Sanada Masaaki and cried: "Our Sanada family will definitely pay the price of our lives in this battle. ”
Sanada Masaki and Sanada Masayuki's brother, Sanada Masaaki, were already deeply depressed before the war began, believing that he might die in battle. Many Takeda generals also wept with their relatives.
However, at this time, their own brother Muto Kibei came to comfort them and said that if something really happened, he would go to battle in their place. Although Kibei Muto has been passed on to the Takeda family, he still cares about the affairs of the Sanada family.
Sanada patted him on the shoulder and told him they wouldn't die so easily. In the base camp of the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces in Shirakuhara, Ieyasu and his retainers were discussing with Shibata Katsuie how to fight the mighty Takeda Army.
Tadaji Sakai proposed to cut off the rear route of the Takeda army first, so that Katsuyori could only engage them. Shibata Katsuie agreed with this suggestion and left it to the Tokugawa army to carry it out.
During the Battle of Nagashino, the Tokugawa army successfully circled behind the Takeda army according to Sakai Tadaji's plan, cutting off their rear route, forcing the Takeda army to engage in a decisive battle with the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces at Shirakuhara.
Tokugawa Ieyasu said in the barracks that although the Tokugawa army had more soldiers than the Takeda army, the cavalry of the Takeda army was like a European knight, moving like thunder, which worried Ieyasu.
This concern is not unfounded. During Japan's Sengoku period, cavalry were usually wealthy samurai who would have better armor than ordinary foot warriors, and their horses were decorated with tassels and feathers, and a few would even wear defensive silk cloth or armor on their horses.
In order to identify each other in the chaos of the battlefield, many cavalrymen would plant a flag representing their belonging behind their backs. This is also the reason why the Japanese armor looks fancy.
The spacious terrain of Shirakuhara was very advantageous for the cavalry of the Takeda Army, who could make full use of the mobility and shock power of the cavalry. In contrast, the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces relied on infantry as the main combat force.
Although muskets possess some power on the battlefield, musketeers are still at a disadvantage compared to fast-moving cavalry. The loading process of muskets is cumbersome, takes a certain amount of time, and requires a cooldown time for each shot, which is especially disadvantageous on the battlefield where every second is needed.
In the face of the threat of the Takeda cavalry, the Oda and Tokugawa forces did not find favorable terrain for the battle. However, Shibata Katsuie mentions that Oda Nobunaga came up with an ingenious strategy in which they set up one defensive line after another, so that the cavalry of the Takeda Army had to dismount to pass, greatly weakening their combat effectiveness.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was glad about this, and asked Shibata Katsuie if he could fight the Takeda army directly in Shirakuhara. Through Nobunaga's wisdom and clever strategy, the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces managed to create a favorable terrain for themselves, giving them a head start in battle.
Oda Nobunaga's horse fence played an important role in the 13th-century Yuan-Japanese War, which greatly reduced the impact of the Mongol army. Similarly, Oda Nobunaga also effectively restrained the Takeda cavalry by arranging horse barriers in future battles.
This surprised Ieyasu deeply, and he said, "Then Takeda's cavalry will no longer be so terrifying." Shibata Katsuie agreed, saying, "Nobunaga also thought of a strategy against the Takeda Army. ”
Ieyasu asked, "I'd like to hear about it." Oda Nobunaga also thought of a way to compensate for the long time it took for the musket to load. His strategy was to wait for the first row of soldiers to finish shooting, and then the first row of soldiers to retreat and replace with the second row of soldiers to shoot, or after the first row of soldiers finished shooting, the latter soldiers quickly handed over the loaded muskets to the soldiers who were shooting, and so on.
This tactic greatly increased the efficiency of the use of muskets.
In those days when there were no repeating machine guns, Nobunaga's triple fire was widely used, a tactic similar to the modern line of shooting. The musketeers of the Oda Army used the fence on the battlefield as cover, and then fired accurately at the Takeda soldiers who rushed towards them.
This is the magic of the "Nobunaga Triple Strike".
Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masaki had an in-depth conversation during the Battle of Nagashino, and they discovered that the Oda army was using a tactic they had never seen before, which was specifically aimed at the Takeda cavalry.
They began to suspect that this tactic was created by Nobuharu Baba, but they believed that even Nobuharu Baba would not be able to crack this tactic. Sanada Masaki suggested to his lord Katsuyori to withdraw his troops, but Katsuyori refused.
Nobuharu Baba also persuaded Katsuyori to withdraw his troops, but Katsuyori still insisted on continuing the fight. On Katsuyori's orders, the Takeda army once again charged the Oda army.
Tokugawa Ieyasu and Honda Tadakatsu led the Takeda Army to launch a new round of fierce attacks, and the corpses of the Takeda soldiers were piled up on the battlefield, and the soldiers behind could only step on the corpses of their comrades.
In the first team, no one survived; In the second team, no one survived; In the third team, no one survived ......
In the midst of the fierce battle, a soldier who had just joined the battlefield reported to Muto Kibei in a panic: "Lord Sanada Masaaki died in battle......When Muto Kibei heard the news, he immediately clasped the soldier's shoulders, glared at him and asked loudly, "Is this really true?" ”
The soldier replied tremblingly, "It's true, I saw with my own eyes that the enemy hung the head of Sanada Masaaki on the city wall for public display!" Muto Kibei looked up to the sky and sighed bitterly: "Second brother! ”
Nobuharu Baba came over to comfort him: "The people who died in the battle of your Sanada family are all heroes. But Sanada Nobutsuna was unusually calm, and he said calmly: "The next chance to charge, let me come." ”
Hearing this, Nobuharu Baba persuaded bitterly: "Your Sanada family has already sacrificed one, you are not only the last bloodline of the Sanada family, but also our leader, you can't have anything to do......Muto Kibei pleaded: "Big brother, let me go, I want to accompany the second brother and father to fight together." ”
Sanada Nobutsuna immediately shouted: "You are no longer a member of the Sanada family!" Your duty is not to rush at the enemy, but to sit in your own camp and protect your lord! ”
The Sanada family's family crest Nobuharu patted Sanada Nobutsuna on the back and said, "Okay brother, we have to work together to destroy the enemy's obstacles!" Before leaving, Nobutsuna handed the official seal of the Sanada family to Kibei Muto and said, "The spirit of the Sanada family lives on!" ”
Kibei took the official seal and watched as Nobutsuna rode a horse and Nobuharu walked side by side into the distance until their backs disappeared. Tokugawa Ieyasu said, "We have killed many soldiers and generals of the Takeda Army. ”
Honda Tadakatsu said, "I just went to the battlefield and found that the Takeda Army still had no intention of giving up the attack. Ieyasu said, "The Takeda Army is really brave. Shibata Katsuie said, "It seems that the Takeda army is going to fight the trapped beasts, and all the generals must now personally lead the soldiers to defend against the enemy army." ”
On the battlefield, Nobuharu Baba and Nobutsuna Sanada had a brief conversation. Nobuharu said, "I'll take the lead first, and you follow me." When you see me breaking through the barrier, you immediately rush forward, enter the enemy's main formation, and take down the heads of Nobunaga or Ieyasu! ”
Shintsuna said, "Okay, Baba-sama, you also try to survive." Nobuharu Baba smiled bitterly and said, "The purpose of my coming here is to meet Shingen. ”
Nobuharu Baba, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda, was demoralized by the Takeda army, and they marched forward bravely and launched a fierce charge against the enemy. The general of the Oda Army, Takigawa Kazuyoshi, had fought with Baba Nobuharu in the Battle of Mikatahara and knew that he was powerful.
Therefore, when he found out that the leader was Nobuharu Baba, he immediately reported it to Katsuie Shibata. After hearing this, Shibata Katsuie ordered the whole army to switch to shooting with bows and arrows in an attempt to capture Baba Nobuharu alive.
Shibata Katsuie, who commanded the Oda army behind the horse fence, quickly changed the long-range attack** to a bow and arrow after receiving the order, and the arrows were fired in unison, one after another. Although the bow and arrow were far less powerful than the musket, it was enough to cause the horseback samurai of the Takeda army to fall off their horses, and even Nobuharu Baba was shot several times, but he still insisted on charging forward without falling off his horse.
Seeing this situation, Takigawa Kazuyi anxiously reported to Shibata Katsuie: "My lord, the horse farm is about to approach our horse fence!" Shibata Katsuie thought twice and decided that there was little chance of capturing the horse farm alive, so he ordered the team to switch to muskets immediately.
When Shibata Katsuie and Oda Army were fighting against the Takeda Army, Katsuya ordered the soldiers to change ** and concentrated their firepower on the attack on Baba Nobuharu. However, after being shot, Nobuharu Baba actually detonated the explosives hidden in his body, causing his body and the horse fence in front of him to be blown to pieces.
With the occurrence of the serial **, the front row of positions of the Oda army was also destroyed. Shibata Katsuie, upon learning of Nobuharu's plan in the race, ordered his soldiers to retreat immediately.
However, the Oda Army's horse fence protection was still very strong, which caught Shibata Katsuie off guard. At this time, Sanada Nobutsuna of the Takeda Army led his team to break through the horse barrier, and he decided to adopt the strategy of attacking in detachments, interspersed attacks with three people as a team.
Sanada Nobutsuna's goal was to get as close as possible to the barrier and then get the rest of the squad to gather quickly. At the same time, Shibata Katsuie also ordered the soldiers to shoot continuously.
However, Sanada Nobutsuna's target was discovered by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who immediately ordered Honda Tadakatsu to lead the samurai of the Tokugawa army to stop Sanada Nobutsuna. The two sides engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand battle, and in the end, Sanada Nobutsuna managed to break through the barrier and lead his team on.
In a fierce battle, the pikemen of the Takeda Army assassinated the Oda Army soldiers, and the Takeda Army suffered huge losses. Seeing this scene, Sanada Nobutsuna resolutely left ** and rushed to the enemy alone.
He was stabbed by the enemy's spear, but instead of falling, he used his last strength to lift the entire fence and hang the enemy soldier who stabbed him in midair. He then threw the fence and killed several enemy soldiers.
He looked at everything in front of him, closed his eyes with satisfaction, and then collapsed, never to get up again. He died in battle at the age of 39. After Nobutsuna's death, the surrounding Takeda Army soldiers poured into the enemy line like a tidal wave.
And Muto Kibei, who was in the Takeda main camp, suddenly felt a chill, his limbs were weak, and he collapsed to the ground. Although he couldn't see the situation on the battlefield clearly, he had a bad premonition.
Fighting on the front line remained fierce, and despite the heavy cost of the Takeda Army, breaking through the two lines of defense of the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces, they were still unable to get close to the enemy's main position.
Every step forward meant that there were soldiers in the Takeda army who died. At this time, although the Oda and Tokugawa coalition forces also had **, their advantages were still obvious. The Takeda Army, which was massively charged, was eventually wiped out.
As the battle progressed, the balance of victory had shifted in favor of the Oda and Tokugawa coalitions. Having accepted the defeat, Takeda Katsuyori began to regret his mistake and planned to die here.
At this time, Kibei had already learned of the death of his eldest brother Sanada Nobutsuna, and he felt extremely sad. He knew that now was not the time to grieve, and he had to help Katsuyori get out of here, hoping that he would be able to make a comeback.
In a fierce battle, Takeda's retainers persuaded him to retreat, but Katsuyori hesitated. Eventually, he was impressed by the strong demands of his retainers and withdrew from the battlefield.
During the withdrawal, many people were scattered, and according to historical records, only 20 people managed to escape with Katsuyori, including Muto Kibei. The battle ended with the victory of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Takeda Katsuyori suffered serious losses.
Not only did he lose a large number of well-trained samurai, but he also lost the core generals left over from the Shingen period. This battle caused the Takeda family to fall into a situation of withering talent, and at the same time, it also made them lose the ability to dominate the world.
The strategy of the Oda and Tokugawa clans against the Takeda clan also shifted from defense to aggression. At that time, the Japanese daimyo did not have a conclusive opinion about the combat effectiveness of the Oda Army and the Takeda Army, but after this war, the daimyo of all Japan recognized that the Takeda Army was under the Oda Army.
The battle brought the prestige of the Takeda family to a low point. Although Katsuyori was defeated by Nagashino because of his recklessness, he was not a stubborn mediocrity or a faint king.
He began to follow the policy set by his father Shingen on his deathbed, stopped foreign wars, and began to develop the livelihood of the people in the Takeda family's fiefdom. At this time, Katsuyori found that there was no one left in the Sanada family, because all the people had died on the battlefield.
Luckily, Kibei Muto is still alive. Katsuyori asked Muto Kibei to change his nationality and return to the Sanada family, and asked for his consent to change his name to Sanada Masayuki, so that the bloodline of the Sanada family could continue and not become extinct.
Katsuyori also began to reuse Sanada Masayuki, who became one of the most important retainers of the Takeda family in the later period. At this time, Masayuki's eldest son, Nobuyuki Sanada, was already nine years old, and his second son, Yukimura Sanada, was eight years old.