The Battle of Nara was a major battle of the Boshin War which occurred in September 1866 when the army of the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain decisively defeated a field army of the pro-Shogunate Nagoya Domain in a battle for control of the city of Nara in Yamato Province. The Battle of Nara marked the first time that both the pro-Imperial and pro-Shogunate armies were composed mostly of modern units, as the Nagoya Domain's army had - like the Choshu Domain's army since the end of 1864 - included both line infantry and sabre cavalry.
Background[]
Following the July 1866 Battle of Neyagawa, the pro-Shogunate Nagoya Domain's offensive into the central Kansai region was blunted, allowing for the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain to prepare its own counteroffensive against the Nagoya Domain's remaining provinces in the southern parts of the region. After suppressing the Sayama Rebellion in Kawachi Province in August 1866, Choshu daimyo Mori Takachika led a modernized army of 1,848 troops south to invade Yamato Province (now Nara Prefecture), having already made peace with the pro-Shogunate Wakayama Domain. He found that the city of Nara itself was garrisoned by a 1,500-strong army led by Inspector General Okubo Tsugunobu and Comptroller Tsugaru Yukitsugu. While the Choshu Domain had long boasted a modernized military force, the Nagoya Domain had taken the time to establish Western-taught cadet schools to drill and equip its soldiers in the European fashion. The army garrisoning Nara included both line infantry and sabre cavalry, the hallmarks of the modern Choshu army. In early September 1866, the Choshu army laid siege to Nara, giving the Nagoya Domain a chance to test its new army's mettle.
Battle[]
The Choshu firing on the Nagoya troops in the killzone
The Nagoya army positioned itself in a thicket, while the Choshu army arrayed itself on a plain. The Choshu army advanced closer to the thicket and formed a broad "U" position, creating a killzone with the intent of luring the Nagoya army into a suicidal advance. Sure enough, the Nagoya infantry - with state-of-the-art uniforms, weaponry, and training - were rushed into the killzone to form a line of battle, only to come under heavy fire. The Nagoya sabre cavalry also attempted a futile charge against the Choshu line, with very few of them making it to their objective, and most of them being gunned down or forced to flee the field. The Nagoya army collapsed as its regiments came under withering fire, and the Choshu sabre cavalry ruthlessly pursued the fleeing Nagoya soldiers and slew scores more of them.
Aftermath[]
The Nagoya army lost 1,382 men in the failed sortie, while the Choshu army lost just 318 men. In late September, Takachika led his 1,530-strong army to assault Nara, annihilating Tsugunobu's 74-strong garrison with just 3 losses. Rather than be tied down on garrison duty, and planning to create a buffer with the Wakayama Domain, Takachika installed Uemura Yasutomi as daimyo of the Takatori Domain, handing over administrative responsibilities to him. The victory at Nara allowed for Takachika's army to round the Kii Peninsula and move to finish his conquest of Kansai by advancing on the last Nagoya strongholds.
Gallery[]
