The Battle of Nagashino and the Musketeers of Oda Nobunaga,In the late 16th century Oda Nobunaga was
The Battle of Nagashino and the Musketeers of Oda Nobunaga,In the late 16th century Oda Nobunaga was a powerful daimyo lord and shogun who sought to conquer and unify Japan under his rule. In 1575 the forces of Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle, one of his vassals and territories. To break the siege Nobunaga along with his one of his followers, Tokugawa Ieyasu, sent an army of 38,000 to Nagashino Castle. Of the 15,000 troops under Takeda, only 12,000 were sent to drive off Nobunaga’s men. While outnumbered, Takeda had the advantage as he sent his elite unit of heavy cavalry, a force made up of hardened veterans who could easily ride down any army like grass. Nobunaga, however, had a brilliant plan.Among Nobunaga’s forces were a unit of 3,000 infantry armed with matchlock muskets. Firearms had been introduced to Japan by Portuguese and Dutch traders earlier in the century, and the Japanese warlords quickly incorporated them into their army. Nobunaga devised a special tactic for his musketeers. Nobunaga ordered the construction of a wooden stockade that stretched over the battlefield. 50 meters in front of the stockade ran a small river. Furthermore Nobunaga trained his men to volley fire, with his musketeers divided into three ranks. As one rank fired a volley, they would retreat to the rear and reload as another rank would take up positions and fire. In case Takeda’s forces made it too close, pikemen were also stationed at the stockade to keep the cavalry at a distance.Takeda’s forces emerged 400 meters from the stockade and charged. The river forced them to slow or even halt 50 meters from the stockade, which was most unfortunate because 50 meters is around the optimum range for a matchlock musket. Nobunaga’s musketeers poured volley after volley into the forces of Takeda, mowing them down with wave after wave of unrelenting musket fire. Eventually Takeda’s army was forced to flee. Altogether Takeda lost up to 10,000 men, 54 of whom were his top generals and samurai. The Battle of Nagashino is the first documented case of volley fire in history, occurring 25 years before its use in Europe. -- source link
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