Battle of Hakodate
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Battle of Hakodate | |||||||
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Part of the Boshin War | |||||||
Battle of Hakodate, William Henry Webster | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Japan | Ezo Republic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Emperor Meiji Kuroda Kiyotaka Masuda Toranosuke Shimizudani Kinko Yamada Akiyoshi |
Enomoto Takeaki Ōtori Keisuke Hijikata Toshizō † Arai Ikunosuke | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
7,000 1 steam ironclad 9 steam warships |
3,000 11 steam warships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
770 killed and wounded 1 steam warship sunk 1 steam warship destroyed |
1,700 killed and wounded 1,300 captured 2 steam warships sunk 3 steam warships destroyed 3 steam warships captured | ||||||
The Battle of Hakodate (箱館戦争, Hakodate Sensō) was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the
According to the Japanese calendar, the Battle of Hakodate was fought from
Background
The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favorable to the restoration of political authority to the Emperor and the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Meiji government defeated the forces of the Shōgun at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi and subsequently occupied the Shōgun's capital at Edo.
On August 21, the fleet encountered a typhoon off Chōshi, in which Mikaho was lost and Kanrin Maru, heavily damaged, forced to turn back, where she was captured at Shimizu.
The rest of the fleet reached
Imperial troops continued to progress north, taking the castle of
Battle
Occupation of southern Hokkaidō
The rebels, numbering around 3,000 and traveling by ship with Enomoto Takeaki reached Hokkaidō in October 1868. They landed on Washinoki Bay, behind Hakodate on October 20. Hijikata Toshizo and Otori Keisuke each led a column in the direction of Hakodate. They eliminated local resistance by forces of
Various expeditions were organized to take full control of the southern peninsula of Hokkaidō. On November 5, Hijikata, commanding 800 troops and supported by the warships Kaiten and Banryo occupied the castle of Matsumae. On November 14, Hijikata and Matsudaira converged on the city of
After eliminating all local resistance, on December 25, the rebels founded the
A defense network was established around Hakodate in anticipation of the attack by the troops of the new Imperial government. The Ezo Republic troops were structured under a hybrid Franco-Japanese leadership, with
In the meantime, an Imperial fleet had been rapidly constituted around the
, which had been supplied by the fiefs of Saga, Chōshū and Satsuma to the newly formed government in 1868. The fleet left Tokyo on March 9, 1869, and headed north.Miyako Bay
The Imperial navy reached the harbor of Miyako on March 20. Anticipating the arrival of the Imperial fleet, the rebels organized a daring plan to seize the powerful new warship Kōtetsu.
Three warships were dispatched for a surprise attack, in what is known as the
Landing of Imperial forces
The Imperial troops, numbering 7,000, finally landed on Hokkaidō on April 9, 1869. They progressively took over various defensive positions, until the final stand occurred around the fortress of Goryōkaku and Benten Daiba around the city of Hakodate.
Japan's first major naval engagement between two modern navies, the
Before the final surrender, in June 1869, the Ezo Republic French military advisors escaped to a French Navy warship stationed in Hakodate Bay, the Coëtlogon, from where they returned to Yokohama and thence to France.
After having lost close to half their numbers and most of their ships, the military of Ezo Republic surrendered to the
Aftermath
The battle marked the end of the old feudal regime in Japan, and the end of armed resistance to the
The new Imperial government, finally secure, established numerous new institutions soon after the end of the conflict. The Imperial Japanese Navy in particular was formally established in July 1869, and incorporated many of the combatants and ships which had participated in the Battle of Hakodate.
The future admiral
Later depictions of the battle
Although the Battle of Hakodate involved some of the most modern armament of the era (steam warships, and even an
Significance
Modernization
Although the modernization of Japan is generally explained as starting with the
French involvement
A group of French military advisors, members of the
The Battle of Hakodate also reveals a period of Japanese history when France was strongly involved with Japanese affairs. Similarly, the interests and actions of other Western powers in Japan were quite significant, but to a lesser extent than with the French. This French involvement is part of the broader, and often disastrous, foreign activity of the French Empire under
See also
References and notes
- ^ Lesser preceding actions were the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits (1863) and Battle of Awa (1868).
- Hillsborough, Romulus (2005). Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3627-2.