Battle of Anegawa

Battle of Anegawa
Battle Information
Date	August, 1570
Location	Ane River, Ōmi Province
Result	Oda - Tokugawa Victory
Forces
Oda - Tokugawa	Azai - Asakura
Commanders
Oda Nobunaga Tokugawa Ieyasu Inaba Ittetsu	Azai Nagamasa Asakura Yoshikage
Notable Officers
Honda Tadakatsu Hattori Hanzō Ōkubo Tadayo Mori Yoshinari Maeda Toshiie Toyotomi Hideyoshi Ikeda Nobuteru Niwa Nagahide Sassa Narimasa Sakuma Nobumori Ikoma Ienaga Yamauchi Kazutoyo Hachisuka Koroku Takenaka Shigeharu Takenaka Shigenori Sakai Tadatsugu Sakakibara Yasumasa Takigawa Kazumasu Kawajiri Hidetaka	Asakura Kagetake Atsuji Sadayuki Isono Kazumasa Miyabe Keijun Endō Naotsune † Shinjo Naoyori Makara Naotaka † Makara Naomoto † Maeba Shinpachi †

The Battle of Anegawa began in August 9th, 1570. It was fought between the allied armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu and the allied armies of Azai Nagamasa and Asakura Yoshikage.

Background

The Oda troops had advanced against the Azai's Odani castle and faced the allied forces across Anegawa, while some of his force laid siege to Yokoyama castle. The battle was effectively a huge hand to hand melee in the middle of the shallow river, fought in blazing sun. Across this river, the Allied Forces 29,000 of the Oda and Tokugawa forces stood face to face against on the south side, and the Allied Forces 18,000 of the Azai and Asakura forces stood face to face against on the north side. The Oda vanguard was led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, while Sassa Narimasa commanded the rear guard, supported by the forces of Ikoma Ienaga, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, and Hachisuka Koroku. The Tokugawa division was commanded by Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa.

Battle

At the outset of the engagement, it appeared as though two distinct battles were unfolding simultaneously with the Tokugawa forces confronting the Asakura, and the Oda army engaging the Azai. During the opening stages of the battle, a dispute arose between the Oda and Tokugawa forces regarding which contingent should lead the initial assault. To resolve the issue, Oda Nobunaga assigned command of the first wave to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who advanced together with Ikeda Nobuteru and Niwa Nagahide.

The fighting displayed the typical characteristics of a classical samurai encounter, featuring sustained close-quarters combat and extensive use of swords in hand-to-hand engagements. A notable example of the ferocity and tactical complexity of the battle was a flanking maneuver executed by Honda Tadakatsu of the Tokugawa army. His attack proved highly effective, resulting in the complete encirclement of Asakura Kagetake amid the intense fighting.

During the Asakura retreat, Makara Naotaka served as rear-guard while mounted, wielding an Ōdachi with a blade approximately five feet in length. He was accompanied by his son, Makara Naomoto, and both faced repeated attacks by Tokugawa forces until they were killed. Their sacrifice enabled the army to regroup, although the pursuing forces continued to harry them for a considerable distance.

The Tokugawa made better progress, but a samurai of the Azai, Endō Naotsune had resolved to take Nobunaga's head, and was cut down by a samurai of the Oda, Takenaka Shigenori, when he was very close to his target. Seeing the Oda's army in dire straits, the Tokugawa army, who were now relieved of the pressure from the Asakura, attacked the Azai's right flank. Inaba Ittetsu, who up until then had held in reserve, fell on to there left. Even the besiegers of Yokoyama castle left their lines to join in.

Aftermath

The engagement concluded with a decisive victory for the Oda–Tokugawa coalition, resulting in the taking of 3,170 heads, the majority of which were claimed by Tokugawa troops.