The Second Battle of Koriyama was fought in late July 1864 when the pro-Shogunate armies of the Tsuwano Domain and Fukuyama Domain attacked the Hiroshima Domain's stronghold of Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in Aki Province during the leadup to the Boshin War. The Shogunate forces succeeded in capturing the castle after the Choshu Domain's relief army failed to reach the castle in time; Asano Norikatsu and his son and heir Asano Tamotsu were killed early in the battle, and, although the Tsuwano army suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Choshu, the Fukuyama army was able to conquer the city for the Tsuwano Domain. While the Shogunate succeeded in once again destroying the Hiroshima Domain, the Choshu Domain's army would return in full force in late August and conquer the province for the Imperial cause, although, this time, the Choshu Domain decided to incorporate Aki into its own realm.
Background[]
By the late summer of 1864, the Choshu Domain of Nagato Province had become a major military power in western Honshu, becoming the main bastion of the pro-Imperial cause in the region. After the conquest of Suo Province from the pro-Shogunate Iwakuni Domain, the Choshu Domain forged an alliance with the Hiroshima Domain of Aki Province to the east. However, this new alliance resulted in Choshu making new enemies, as the Fukuyama Domain invaded Aki in March 1864 and overwhelmed its capital of Koriyama (within the present-day city of Akitakata). The Choshu Domain responded by declaring war on the Fukuyama and capturing Koriyama in late April 1864. The Choshu daimyo Mori Takachika decided to restore the independence of the Hiroshima Domain, now ruled by Asano Norikatsu. However, the Tsuwano Domain's declaration of war on Hiroshima dragged Choshu into another war, with Choshu breaking its trade agreement with Tsuwano to come to its ally's aid.
In July 1864, the armies of the Tsuwano and Fukuyama Domain joined forces outside of Koriyama, planning on facing off against the Hiroshima Domain and Choshu Domain in a final showdown for control of Chugoku. The combined pro-Shogunate armies had a strength of 1,568 troops, with the Tsuwano Domain leading the assault on Koriyama. Koriyama itself was defended by Hiroshima's small army, but was reinforced by Takasugi Shinsaku's much larger Choshu army; the combined pro-Imperial armies totalled 1,648 troops.
Battle[]
The besiegers attacking the castle
The besiegers decided to divide their army into four units, with the Tsuwano army being divided between a cavalry force commanded by the Tsuwano generals and a rifle regiment which advanced on the castle from another angle; the Fukuyama forces advanced on the castle from the other two angles. As the Hiroshima soldiers were faced with a much larger foe, they remained within the castle walls, forcing Takasugi to rush to the castle to rescue the defenders. As his army marched onto the battlefield and emerged from a small grove, Takasugi realized that he had caught the attention of Kamei Korekata and his bodyguards. Takasugi had his riflemen line up and unleash volleys of bullets at the cavalry, and his spearmen then charged forward and massacred the cavalry bodyguards.
The Choshu relief force entering the main battle
With Korekata's cavalry massacred and the daimyo almost killed, the Choshu army advanced further, dividing into three units; the main body, consisting of the majority of the Choshu army's riflemen, advanced to battle the Fukuyama besiegers; two regiments of riflemen were sent to deal with the lone Tsuwano rifle regiment attacking the castle from the other side, and the two regiments of spearmen were sent to scale the castle walls and fight to reclaim the castle. The Tsuwano regiment was shot to pieces, while the Choshu riflemen facing the Fukuyama army formed an angle and fired on the Fukuyama soldiers from two sides. By then, however, the Hiroshima lords had been killed and the castle overrun, and, while the Choshu forces inflicted heavy losses on the besiegers, they were forced to withdraw upon receiving the news that the castle had fallen to the attackers.
Aftermath[]
The Shogunate forces crushed the Hiroshima Domain, and the Tsuwano Domain occupied Aki Province. The Choshu Domain withdrew its army into Suo Province and replenished its ranks, and Takasugi returned to Aki in August 1864. The 958-strong Choshu army of Takasugi crushed Kamei's 284-strong troops in the woods northwest of Koriyama, and the Choshu army proceeded to attack Koriyama later that month and overwhelmed Sakai Michiyori's 300-strong garrison with just 13 losses. The Choshu reconquest of Aki Province, paired with Mori Takachika's simultaneous conquest of the Tsuwano homeland of Iwami Province (taking Hamada from its small garrison), dealt a serious blow to the Shogunate faction in Chugoku, as the Tsuwano Domain was destroyed and the Fukuyama Domain was forced on the defensive.
Gallery[]
