The Battle of Lake Biwa was a battle of the Boshin War which was fought in July 1867 between the pro-Imperial Choshu and Tottori Domains and the pro-Shogunate Nagaoka Domain on the southern shore of Lake Biwa in Omi Province. A Nagaoka army was destroyed by the combined might of two Imperial armies after becoming trapped between the Tottori-held city of Otsu and the lake.
Background[]
During the summer of 1867, the Tokugawa Shogunate's vanguard, the Nagaoka Domain, launched an offensive in the Chubu region of central Honshu, hoping to push back the pro-Imperial cause's advances. Takaoka Tsunekage's Nagaoka army captured Inokuchi in Mino Province from the Tottori Domain in April 1867 before advancing further north, aiming to reinforce the Kanazawa Domain. Meanwhile, the Nagaoka Domain's daimyo Ikeda Nagateru and his general Sanada Tadato led a large army into Omi Province, capturing its capital of Otsu before turning south to invade Tottori-held Iga Province.
The Choshu Domain counterattacked in June 1867, capturing Inokuchi and restoring the independence of the pro-Imperial Gujohachiman Domain. Meanwhile, the Tottori Domain recaptured Otsu and the rest of Omi Province. This development led Tsunekage and his army to turn back south and march on Otsu, encamping along the southern shore of Lake Biwa. Unfortunately for Tsunekage, Mori Takachika had been pursuing him with his army with the objective of destroying his army in a decisive battle, and the 1,403-strong Choshu army and the 1,755-strong Tottori army of Hiraga Nagahira marched out of Otsu to attack Tsunekage's resting army of 790 troops (a third of whom were spear-wielding peasants) near Moriyama.
Battle[]
The Tottori cavalry charging at Lake Biwa
The Choshu army positioned itself in a thick forest, planning to ambush the Nagaoka army as the Tottori army marched onto the battlefield to reinforce the Choshu army. However, the Tottori showed a brazen display of samurai bravery when a troop of their yari kii horsemen charged far ahead of the main body of their army and assaulted the rifle-wielding Nagaoka soldiers. The Nagaoka army marched to react to this cavalry charge, and, upon coming within range of the hidden Choshu soldiers, they came under withering fire from the forest. The Nagaoka cavalry charged the Choshu soldiers as more Tottori cavalry joined the fray on the Nagaoka army's right flank, and the Choshu repelled the Nagaoka cavalry attacks and counterattacked against the overwhelmed Nagaoka army. The Tottori cavalry helped to send the Nagaoka infantry into a frenzy, and the combined might of the Imperial armies annihilated the Nagaoka force.
Aftermath[]
The destruction of Tsunekage's army was a major blow to the Nagaoka Domain's offensive into Kansai. Ikeda Nagateru was wounded in an assassination attempt by Choshu shinobi Sukeomi shortly after the battle, and his army recaptured Otsu while withdrawing to the north and outmaneuvering Takachika's pursuing army. While Takachika's army recaptured Otsu, the Nagaoka army continued to retreat north, temporarily evading destruction and ending the Nagaoka offensive.