Siege of Yoshida

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Siege of Yoshida
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1575
Location Yoshida castle, Mikawa province
Result
Combatants
Takeda clan Tokugawa clan
Commanders
Takeda Katsuyori Sakai Tadatsugu
Strength
Unknown 6000
Campaigns of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Kakegawa - Anegawa - Futamata - Mikata ga Hara - Yoshida - Nagashino - Temmokuzan - Komaki - Nagakute - Sekigahara

The 1575 siege of Yoshida was undertaken by Takeda Katsuyori against the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This would be one of many battles fought by the Tokugawa and Takeda samurai clans during Japan's Sengoku period (1467-1603).

The siege was part of Takeda Katsuyori's raid through Mikawa province; Yoshida castle lay on the site of what is now part of Toyohashi city in Aichi Prefecture. Sakai Tadatsugu commanded the castle's garrison in service of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though the garrison normally numbered 1,000 men, Ieyasu anticipated the attack and reinforced Sakai's forces with 5,000 more warriors.

The battle consisted almost exclusively of spear combat outside the castle walls. Takeda Katsuyori soon became frustrated, and realized that Sakai had no intention of sending the remainder of his force out of the gates for a full-blown battle. Takeda withdrew and turned towards Nagashino, which would prove to be the decisive end for him and his clan.

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