Siege of Futamata | |
| |
Battle Information | |
---|---|
Date | 1572 |
Location | Totomi province |
Result | Takeda victory, Tokugawa forces retreat |
Forces | |
Takeda Clan | Tokugawa Clan |
Commanders | |
Shingen Takeda | Ieyasu Tokugawa |
Notable Officers | |
Katsuyori Takeda | Unknown |
Before the battle
Edit
Shingen marched his army out of his capital of Kofu in October 1572, relying on the coming snows and also relying on the Ikkō-ikki to keep Kenshin Uesugi off his tail. Shingen's first objective in the Tokugawa lands was the castle of Futamata.[1]
Futamata was a Tokugawa possession in Totomi province. It was situated on a cliff above the Tenryugawa and obtained it's water supply by lowering the buckets into the river from withen the safety of a wooden tower known as the well-tower.[2]
Battle
Edit
When Katsuyori Takeda laid siege to it he lashed together large logs to make rafts and floated these down the river as unmanned missiles. After a while the force of these rafts hitting the supports of the well-tower caused it to collapse. The garrison surrendered.[3]
Aftermath
Edit
Two months later the Takeda army pressed on past Futamata, heading for Hamamatsu.[4]