Battle of Komaki and Nagakute (2/2)Toyotomi Hideyoshi vs Tokugawa Ieyasu

Upon receiving this, Ieyasu entered Komakiyama Castle, which was built on Mt. Komaki, south of Inuyama Castle and overlooking the Nobi Plains, on March 15. From then on, Komakiyama Castle became Ieyasu's headquarters.

Meanwhile, as for the movements of Hideyoshi's army, on March 16th, Nagayoshi Mori led 3,000 soldiers and took up camp at Haguro Pass south of Inuyama Castle, preparing to attack Komakiyama Castle.

However, Ieyasu's army immediately noticed the movement. Late at night on March 17th, 5,000 soldiers from Ieyasu's army, including Ietada Matsudaira and Tadatsugu Sakai, secretly set out for battle, and at dawn they set fire to the surrounding woods and attacked Nagaka's camp by surprise. The panicked Nagaka army fled.

Hideyoshi, who received the news of Nagaka's defeat, departed from Osaka Castle with 30,000 soldiers on March 21st and arrived at Inuyama Castle on March 27th. Will the battle finally begin? However, both Ieyasu and Hideyoshi's camps had strengthened their armies by building forts and earthworks, so although there were skirmishes, it was difficult for a full-scale battle to begin. We end up in a complete stalemate.

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute ③ Hideyoshi's army plans to attack Mikawa with a detached force

Meanwhile, there are movements in Hideyoshi's army. Tsuneoki Ikeda proposed a plan to secretly send out a detachment and attack Okazaki Castle in Mikawa, Ieyasu's stronghold. The idea was probably that if Mikawa caught fire, Ieyasu might rush to abandon Komakiyama Castle. Hideyoshi once put the plan on hold, but eventually accepted it. When Hideyoshi departed from Osaka, the Negoro clan of Ieyasu's side were attacking, and he may have been impatient after seeing such movements.

Thus, in the middle of the night on April 6, four armies, totaling approximately 20,000 soldiers, headed by Hideyoshi's nephew Hidetsugu Toyotomi as their commander-in-chief, Tsuneoki Ikeda, Nagayoshi Mori, and Hidemasa Hori, departed for Mikawa. On April 9th, Tsuneoki's army captured Iwasaki Castle, which was defended by Ujishige Niwa of the Tokugawa side.

Ieyasu is in a pinch! However, this strategy was actually discovered by Ieyasu on April 7th. Ieyasu was well informed by the shinobi and neighboring farmers. This kind of careful preparation is typical of Ieyasu.

Ieyasu immediately sent Tanba Ujitsugu, Mizuno Tadashige, Sakakibara Yasumasa and others south to Obata Castle to check on the situation. As for myself, I led about 9,300 soldiers with Nobuo and entered Obata Castle on April 8th. Afterwards, they held a military council and decided to split into two groups and defeat Hideyoshi's army individually. I will leave for the field in the early hours of the 9th.

The two armies clashed in the early morning of the 9th. First, Tadashige Mizuno, Yasumasa Sakakibara and others attacked Toyotomi Hidetsugu's army, which was resting in Hakusan Forest, and Hidetsugu's army was routed. Receiving this, Hidemasa Hori joined up with Hidetsugu's army and attacked Tadashige and Yasumasa's forces at Higinane. Ieyasu's army was routed and over 300 people died.

Meanwhile, the main body of Ieyasu's army took a large detour from Obata Castle to the east, arriving at Nagakute and setting up its headquarters on Mt. Irogane. At that time, Ieyasu received information about Hidemasa Hori's detachment, and he moved his army to separate Hidemasa's army from the forces of Tsuneoki Ikeda and Nagayoshi Mori. Tsuneoki and Nagakashi's army was taking a break at Iwasaki Castle, but when they received word that Ieyasu's army was attacking, they moved to Nagakute. Seeing Ieyasu's movements, Hidemasa withdrew his army, ignoring the request for reinforcements from Tsuneoki and Nagakashi's army.

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute ④ Direct confrontation in Nagakute

The Battle of Nagakute begins around 10am. Since the forces were almost evenly matched: Ieyasu's army of 9,300 men and Tsuneoki Ikeda's army and Morinaga's army of 9,000 men, it was initially a chaotic battle. However, Nagayoshi Mori was shot and killed by Ieyasu's gun corps, and the war situation turned to Ieyasu's advantage. Tsuneoki tries his best to turn the tide of the war, but he is killed in battle.

The Battle of Nagakute ended with Ieyasu's victory, approximately two hours after it began. By the way, at this time, Naomasa Ii fought bravely, repeatedly making assaults with ``Ii's Red Reserve'', which had inherited the Takeda army's ``Red Reserve''. It quickly became famous as the ``Ii Red Demon.''

So, what was Hideyoshi doing at that time? In fact, on April 9, the same day as the Battle of Nagakute, they attacked Komakiyama Castle as a diversion. There, when he heard that his army had been defeated at the Battle of Nagakute, he hurriedly led an army of 20,000 men and headed for reinforcements at Nagakute. However, Honda Tadakatsu blocked Ieyasu's efforts. In the meantime, Ieyasu had set up his system at Obata Castle and quickly returned to Komakiyama Castle the next day. Hideyoshi gave up on pursuing Ieyasu due to his quick retreat. It was one step too late.

After that, both armies continued to skirmish. The military commanders who participated in Hideyoshi's siege were also engaged in battles in various places, and for example, in June, Kazumasu Takigawa, on Hideyoshi's side, along with Yoshitaka Kuki and others, defeated Ieyasu's Kanie Castle and other castles. Kanie Castle was an important base for Ieyasu. Ieyasu immediately took revenge and drove Kazumasu out of the castle within half a month.

Nobuo Oda again...! Peace talks with Hideyoshi alone

While skirmishes continued, in November, Oda Nobuo concluded a peace treaty with Hideyoshi. The cause was the battle at Ise. In fact, in Ise, the families of the three chief retainers whom Nobuo had murdered had rebelled against Nobuo. In addition, Hideyoshi's forces, including Toyotomi Hidenaga and Gamo Ujisato, invaded Ise. In September, Ieyasu's army at Togi Castle, located in present-day Tsu City, and Hideyoshi's army led by Ujisato Gamo fought, and Hideyoshi's army was victorious.

Afterwards, Hideyoshi repeatedly persuaded Nobuo to accept the peace agreement. The condition was that Iga and Ise be ceded to Hideyoshi. Perhaps fearing Hideyoshi who was closing in on him, Nobuo accepted these conditions and accepted the peace agreement. By the way, Iga's Yasuharu Wakisaka, Ise's Ujisato Gamo, etc. will get it.

Why did Hideyoshi end the invasion of Ise, which was gaining an advantage, with peace? This may have been because they wanted to quickly overthrow Hideyoshi's encirclement of the Saiga-shu, Negoro-shu, Motochika Chosokabe, and others, and pave the way for the unification of the country. Perhaps he wanted to end a long-running battle.

Ieyasu was surprised by this sudden peace agreement. I think they must have been stunned because the reason for the war had suddenly vanished. However, Ieyasu was helpless and returned to Mikawa on November 17th.

After that, Ieyasu also made peace with Hideyoshi. Ieyasu said that he wanted to reach peace as soon as possible because his territory had been plagued by natural disasters such as earthquakes and heavy rain, and in addition, the long-term dispatch of troops to the battles of Komaki and Nagakute had devastated the fields and caused famine. It seems like there was a feeling. For this reason, Ieyasu agreed with Hideyoshi and offered his second son to be adopted by Hideyoshi in return for the messenger of peace.

Furthermore, Ieyasu did not submit to Hideyoshi for a while after the battles of Komaki and Nagakute. Finally, in 1586, Hideyoshi married his younger sister, Princess Asahi, to Ieyasu and they became brothers-in-law, and he once again asked for Ieyasu's vassal status. As a result of Hideyoshi's persistent efforts, Ieyasu had an audience with Hideyoshi at Osaka Castle on October 27 of the same year and declared his vassalage.

Who won? Battle of Komaki and Nagakute

The battle between Komaki and Nagakute feels like it ended in a somewhat disappointing way. In the end, who won, Hideyoshi or Ieyasu? Ieyasu was victorious at the Battle of Nagakute, and had the advantage in subsequent battles, with the exception of Ise. However, Hideyoshi was able to persuade Nobuo Oda, who had been the main reason for the war, and succeeded in making peace alone.

If you look at the battles of Komaki and Nagakute individually, Ieyasu would have won, but if you look at them as a whole, Hideyoshi would have won. Hideyoshi unified the country after defeating Ieyasu, and Ieyasu continued to serve Hideyoshi as his vassal until his death. As you all know, after Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu established the Edo Shogunate and unified the country, but the battles of Komaki and Nagakute must have left a scar on Ieyasu.