Nobufusa Baba at the Battle of Nagashino.
Nobufusa Baba (1515-1575) was a Takeda Army general and a retainer of Shingen Takeda, as well as a well-known strategist. Nobufusa was killed in the Battle of Nagashino after his advice was ignored by Katsuyori Takeda.
Biography[]
Nobufusa Baba was born in Kai Province, home to the Takeda horsemen clan. Nobufusa was recruited as a general in 1546 by Shingen Takeda, a young daimyo who was very powerful and had a respected clan. Nobufusa Baba fought in the Suruga-Sagami Conflict of 1558, and later on, the Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, leading a reserve force for the Takeda Army, and showed his skills not just as a strategist, but as a warrior samurai.
In 1573, he led another Takeda army at the Battle of Mikatagahara against the Tokugawa clan, and his cavalry unit overran the Tokugawa Ashigaru troops. When Shingen suddenly died after the battle, he became the chief strategist of Katsuyori Takeda. In 1575, at the Battle of Nagashino, his advice to wait was snubbed by Katsuyori, who wanted to charge immediately. The Oda-Tokugawa Army repelled his cavalry with Matchlock Ashigaru, and Nobufusa was mortally wounded in the battle. He died of his wounds before the battle ended.