Siege of Kanegasaki (1570)

The 1570 Siege of Kanegasaki (金ヶ崎の戦い, Kanegasaki no Tatakai) occurred during Oda Nobunaga's struggle against the Asakura clan in Echizen province, which was allied with Azai Nagamasa.

Siege of Kanegasaki (1570)
Part of the Sengoku period
Date1570
Location
Kanagasaki Castle, Tsuruga, Echizen Province
Result
  • Kanagasaki Fortress falls to Oda Nobunaga but he withdraws his forces
  • Successful Oda retreat
Belligerents
forces of Oda Nobunaga Asakura clan garrison
Azai clan forces
Rokkaku clan forces
Commanders and leaders
Oda Nobunaga
Kinoshita Hideyoshi		 Castle garrison:
Maeba Yoshitsugu
Relief forces:
Azai Nagamasa
Rokkaku Yoshikata
Strength
30,000 24,500

Asakura Yoshikage, head of the Asakura clan was the regent of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, refused to come to Kyôto and attend a certain banquet, an act Nobunaga declared Asakura clan disloyal to both the shogun and the emperor. Nobunaga raised an army and marched on Echizen.[1]

Kinoshita Hideyoshi, one of Nobunaga's chief generals, led the attack on the fortress of Kanegasaki held by Maeba Yoshitsugu. After its fall, Azai Nagamasa, who has been Asakura's longtime ally, led an army to relief the Kanagasaki castle with the help of Rokkaku clan and Ikkō-ikki. Nobunaga found himself surrounding by Azai-Asakura, Rokkaku and Ikkō-ikki forces, when defeat look certain, Nobunaga successfully retreated from Kanagasaki castle. This act is the first mark of Nagamasa's betrayal to the Oda clan.

Aftermath

The fighting retreat at Kanegasaki enabled Nobunaga to once more cheat death, and to amass an army which would be victorious against the Azai-Asakura army at the Battle of Anegawa. Hideyoshi's rear defense for his lord's escape is one of his fabled accomplishments under Nobunaga.

See also

References
  1. Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford University Press. p. 281. ISBN 0804705259.
  • Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.