Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 03 - Conclusion of the Decisive Battle

On September 16, 1600, around 12:30 in the afternoon, Ieyasu Tokugawa, the supreme commander of the Eastern Army, made the decision to withdraw completely from the battlefield of Sekigahara before his own army collapsed entirely. The Eastern Army began its withdrawal while trying to maintain a minimum level of order on the front lines.

However, they were already in a situation where they were partially surrounded by the enemy, making their retreat extremely difficult as they came under attack and pursuit. Furthermore, the Western Army was in the midst of a full-scale attack fueled by their momentum of victory.

Even though the decision to retreat was made, it was not an overstatement to say that the entire situation was already in a state of collapse at that point. The difficulty of the withdrawal could be compared to Nobunaga Oda's forces, which were betrayed by Nagamasa Azai in the past.

Moreover, their own forces in the Tōkaidō and Tōsandō directions had already collapsed, with nearly half of the enemy's large forces swarming there. Advancing in that direction would mean being completely surrounded, and it would have been a suicide mission in any consideration. In other words, there was only one retreat route via the Ise Highway, and if they were to pass through there, they had to go near Ōgaki Castle, which meant abandoning about 10.000 of their own troops left in areas like Akasaka and Okayama. Additionally, retreating to Gifu Castle in the direction of Tōsandō was also difficult, and it meant that merging with the main Eastern Army led by Hidetada Tokugawa, who was still advancing westward, would also be challenging.

. . .

Even when they chose the only retreat route, the withdrawal became extremely challenging. After all, they were fighting in the midst of a total of 100.000 troops crowded together, and the Eastern Army, as the side retreating from a semi-encircled position, faced a very high level of difficulty in their withdrawal.

Furthermore, the Western Army in the direction of Mount Nangū had accelerated their movements in response to the Eastern Army, and it was only a matter of time before the encirclement would be complete. Considering the psychological state of the Eastern Army's commanders and soldiers, being pursued by a 100.000-strong enemy, there was also a significant risk of the entire army collapsing.

It was said to be a situation where Mitsunari Ishida, the supreme commander of the Western Army, left the words that this pursuit battle of 100.000 was the first he had ever witnessed.

And then came the final blow.

There were reports of flags of reinforcements from the Western Army being seen in the direction of the Hokkoku Highway. This report spread throughout the Eastern Army in an instant, and commanders and soldiers began to flee in a desperate attempt to get away before anyone else.

At this point, control over many of the Eastern Army's units was lost, and naturally, many soldiers were killed in the chaos as they fled without order.

Moreover, it was even more difficult for the daimyōs who were part of the vanguard units, effectively acting as the rear guard, and they had to escape. Many of them were engaged in direct combat with the enemy on the front lines, and turning their backs meant certain death. On the way back, there were not just one or two daimyōs whose forces were completely disrupted, and some daimyōs were even killed because they couldn't escape in time.

However, as the Eastern Army's retreat was funneled into the Ise Highway, whether they liked it or not, a concentration of forces was achieved, and troops continued to escape from areas that were not yet surrounded.

As a result, in both organized and individual retreats that temporarily abandoned order, Kiyosu Castle, which had a large defensive setup, was chosen as the rendezvous point within a day or two, and the Eastern Army commanders including Ieyasu conducted a harrowing retreat.