Sieges of Nagashima

First Siege of Nagashima
Part of the Sengoku period
Date May 1571 Location Nagashima fortress, Owari Province Result Ikkō-ikki victory.
Belligerents
Ikkō-ikki monks	forces of Oda Nobunaga
Commanders and leaders
Unknown/Various	Shibata Katsuie Sakuma Nobumori
Strength
At least 20,000	At least 20,000

Second Siege of Nagashima
Part of the Sengoku period
Date July 1573 Location Nagashima fortress, Owari Province Result Ikkō-ikki victory.
Belligerents
Ikkō-ikki monks	forces of Oda Nobunaga
Commanders and leaders
Unknown/Various	Oda Nobunaga Sakuma Nobumori Hashiba Hideyoshi
Strength
At least 20,000	30,000

Third Siege of Nagashima
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1574 Location Nagashima fortress, Owari Province Result Oda victory; complete destruction of Nagashima complex
Belligerents
Ikkō-ikki monks	forces of Oda Nobunaga
Commanders and leaders
Unknown/Various	Oda Nobunaga Kuki Yoshitaka
Strength
At least 20,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Entire garrison killed	Unknown

The Sieges of Nagashima (長島一向一揆, Nagashima Ikkō-ikki^?), taking place in 1571, 1573 and 1574, were part of Oda Nobunaga's campaigns against the Ikkō-ikki, arguably among his greatest enemies. Nagashima, in Owari Province along Japan's Pacific coast, was the location of a string of river island fortresses and defensive works controlled by the Ikkō-ikki, which surrounded their Ganshō-ji monastery and which included Nagashima Castle, which they had captured previously. Oda Nobunaga attacked three times over the course of four years, before finally destroying the entire Nagashima complex. These sieges were executed concurrently with Nobunaga's eleven-year siege against the Ikki's primary fortress of Ishiyama Hongan-ji.

Nobunaga's troops made camp at Tsushima, to the northeast of Nagashima, on 16 May 1571. Separated from the Ikki's fortresses by a shallow but broad river, Nobunaga's commanders, Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, planned their attack upon the nearby wajū, small island communities from which attacks on Ganshōji could be launched. These islands were defended from flooding by a complex series of dikes.

Nobunaga's forces attacked across the river, but their horses became stuck in the soft mud of the river bottom. The samurai that managed to drag themselves to shore while being fired on were further slowed by ropes stretched across stakes, which tripped up their horses further. Many were then drowned when the defenders opened a dike and flooded the area. Katsuie was injured, and many samurai were lost; this first attempt was a definite failure for Nobunaga. His men did manage to set a few villages aflame, however, as they withdrew.

Nobunaga returned to the matter of Nagashima in July 1573 with a sizable force, largely recruited from Ise Province and containing a good number of arquebusiers. His fervor had been renewed by a successful campaign against the warrior monks of Mount Hiei. His commanders Sakuma Nobumori and Hashiba Hideyoshi (later to be known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) led a diversionary force attacking from the west, while Nobunaga hoped for his own force to charge forward behind the gunners.

...
Wikipedia