Battle of Nagakute

"If we send troops to Okazaki in Mikawa and strike the undefended province, the Tokugawa will be unable to hold Komaki." — Ikeda Tsuneoki's proposal to Hideyoshi for the raid into Mikawa (in substance, after the General Staff's Nihon Senshi: Komaki-eki) Nagakute, in Owari. In the spring of Tensho 12 (1584), Hashiba Hideyoshi faced Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu at Komaki. On Ikeda Tsuneoki's advice, a detached force of twenty thousand under Ikeda Tsuneoki, Mori Nagayoshi and Hori Hidemasa, with Hideyoshi's nephew Hashiba Hidetsugu in overall command, set out for Ieyasu's weakly held home province of Mikawa. Learning of it, Ieyasu left Komaki-yama in the night, entered Obata castle and divided his forces. At 4:30 a.m. on the 9th day of the 4th month, his main body reached Irokane-yama. Soon afterwards a detachment (Sakakibara Yasumasa, Osuga Yasutaka, Mizuno Tadashige and Niwa Ujitsugu) falls on Hidetsugu's troops resting in the Hakusan wood, from behind and from the flank. In the south Ikeda Tsuneoki is besieging Iwasaki castle, with Mori Nagayoshi waiting to his north. Hori Hidemasa is ahead of Hidetsugu, north of Hinokigane. [How the Tokugawa win] Thirteen units may be activated each turn. The Tokugawa begin holding Irokane-yama (10 points) and Iwasaki castle (20, held by Niwa Ujishige); taking the Hashiba positions at the Hakusan wood (10) and Hinokigane (10), and Nagakute (20, held by neither side), widens the margin. Ikeda Tsuneoki is a sudden-death unit: destroying him wins the game for the Tokugawa at once. The victory line is +30. If the margin from the Tokugawa side exceeds +30, they have done better than history. [How the Hashiba win] Twelve units may be activated each turn. The four bodies are still strung out on the march, Ikeda and Mori ahead in the south, Hidetsugu behind in the north. Where will they turn back and meet Ieyasu's main body? Hori Hidemasa can throw back the detachment at Hinokigane. [Commanders] Tokugawa and Oda Nobukatsu: Tokugawa Ieyasu; Ii Naomasa and his red guard; Oda Nobukatsu; Nagai Naokatsu, who killed Tsuneoki, and Ando Naotsugu, who killed Motosuke; the detachment under Sakakibara Yasumasa, Osuga Yasutaka, Mizuno Tadashige, Niwa Ujitsugu, Mizuno Katsunari and Okabe Nagamori; Niwa Ujishige in Iwasaki castle. Hashiba: Hashiba Hidetsugu with his overseers Kinoshita Sukehisa and Kinoshita Toshimasa, Tanaka Yoshimasa, Kani Yoshinaga, Ikeda Norimasa and Shirae Narisada; Hori Hidemasa and Hasegawa Hidekazu; Ikeda Tsuneoki, his sons Ikeda Motosuke and Ikeda Terumasa, Iki Tadatsugu and Seki Narimasa; and Mori Nagayoshi, called "Oni Musashi". [Decisions this board poses] - (Tokugawa) After breaking Hidetsugu's troops in the Hakusan wood, pursue with the detachment? Pursue too far and Hori Hidemasa will throw you back at Hinokigane. - (Tokugawa) Bring the main body forward from Irokane-yama and cut between Ikeda and Mori and Hori? - (Hashiba) Take Iwasaki castle before turning back, or return north at once? [Outcome] At 4:35 Hidetsugu's troops, attacked from behind and from the flank in the Hakusan wood, broke; Hidetsugu lost his horse and escaped, and the brothers Kinoshita Sukehisa and Toshimasa fell holding his line of retreat. About two hours later the news reached Hori Hidemasa, who turned back at Hinokigane and threw back the Tokugawa detachment that had come on in pursuit; but when he saw Ieyasu's golden-fan standard on Irokane-yama, he withdrew without answering Ikeda's and Mori's call for help. At Iwasaki castle Niwa Ujishige fought for about three hours and fell with the castle. Having taken it, Ikeda Tsuneoki and Mori Nagayoshi turned back north, and around 10 a.m. they met the main body of Ieyasu, Ii Naomasa and Oda Nobukatsu at Nagakute. The fighting lasted more than two hours. When Mori Nagayoshi, fighting in the front line, was shot and killed, the left of the Ikeda and Mori force gave way; Tsuneoki fell to Nagai Naokatsu's spear and his heir Motosuke to Ando Naotsugu. The Hashiba side is said to have lost more than 2,500 dead and the Tokugawa about 590. Hideyoshi hurried up with a large army, but by nightfall Ieyasu had already returned to Komaki-yama. Before dawn the troops resting in the wood broke The force that turned back threw the enemy back at Hinokigane On the hill, a golden fan was seen The force that took the castle went back north At ten, at Nagakute, they met head on Oni Musashi was shot, and father and son fell The organisation, strengths and times follow the General Staff's Nihon Senshi: Komaki-eki (1908); the positions follow the historic sites of the battlefield in Nagakute. Books differ on the total of the Hashiba detached force (twenty thousand or sixteen thousand). 1 hex = 300 m, 1 turn = 40 minutes, 1 CS = about 300 men. Turn 1 = 4:30 a.m. on the 9th day of the 4th month; Turn 9 = 9:50 a.m.; Turn 13 = 12:30 p.m.