Naval Battle of Hakodate | |||||||
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Part of Boshin War | |||||||
The naval battle of Hakodate Bay, May 1869; in the foreground, Kasuga and Kōtetsu of the Imperial Japanese Navy |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Masuda Toranosuke | Arai Ikunosuke | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
8 steam warships | 5 steam warships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 ship sunk | 2 ships sunk, 3 captured |
The Naval Battle of Hakodate (函館湾海戦 Hakodatewan Kaisen?) was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of Hakodate during the Boshin War, and occurred near Hakodate in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō.
The naval forces of the Ezo Republic were grouped around the warship Kaiten. The fleet originally consisted of eight steamships: Kaiten, Banryū, Japanese gunboat Chiyoda,Chōgei, Kaiyō Maru, Kanrin Maru, Mikaho and Shinsoku.