Siege of Kanegasaki (1570)

The 1570 Siege of Kanegasaki (金ヶ崎の戦い) occurred in 16th century Japan, during Oda Nobunaga's struggle against the Asakura clan in Echizen province, which was allied with Azai Nagamasa.

Asakura Yoshikage, head of the Asakura clan and the regent of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, refused an invitation to a court banquet in Kyōto, an act Nobunaga declared disloyal to both the shogun and the emperor. Nobunaga raised an army and marched on Echizen.

Several reports from Mikawa Monogatari, Nobunaga Koki, Tokugawa Jikki, and a supplement from Ietada Nikki recorded that Ieyasu and his forces also participated in this punitive campaign when they fought at Mount Tenzutsu castle. On April 25th, the Oda-Tokugawa forces captured the castle, killing 1,370 enemies.

Nobunaga's forces continued the next day to besiege Kanegasaki castle, which was held by Maeba Yoshitsugu. Hashiba Hideyoshi, one of Nobunaga's chief generals, led the attack on the fortress of Kanegasaki. Sassa Narimasa led a contingent of horse guards and worked to support Hideyoshi using a firearms troop. Azai Nagamasa, who had been Asakura's longtime ally, led an army to relieve the besieged Kanagasaki castle with the help of the Rokkaku clan and Ikkō-ikki.

Later, Nobunaga found himself surrounded by Azai-Asakura, Rokkaku and Ikkō-ikki forces. When defeat looked certain, Nobunaga retreated from Kanegasaki castle. Ikeda Katsumasa led 3,000 soldiers and helped Nobunaga escape. Akechi Mitsuhide joined Hideyoshi to serve as the rear-guard for the departing forces. This act was the first mark of Nagamasa's betrayal of the Oda clan.

Nobunaga retreated without contacting Ieyasu. After dawn, Ieyasu was guided by Kinoshita Tokichi (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi), an Oda vassal, to withdraw from the battle.

Aftermath
The fighting retreat at Kanegasaki enabled Nobunaga to once more cheat death. He later amassed an army which would be victorious against the Azai-Asakura army at the Battle of Anegawa. Hideyoshi's rear defense for his lord's escape is one of his fabled accomplishments under Nobunaga.