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The naval Battle of Hakodate was fought from 4-10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Shogun's 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 Hokkaido.
Ezo Republic forces
The naval forces of the Ezo Republic were grouped around the warship Kaiten. The fleet originally consisted of eight steamships: Kaiten, Banryū, Chiyodagata, Chōgei, Kaiyō Maru, Kanrin Maru, Mikaho and Shinsoku.
However Kaiyō Maru and Shinsoku had been lost in a previous engagement in front of Esashi, and Kanrin Maru had been captured by Imperial forces after suffering damage in bad weather. The loss of these two major units seriously weakened the Bakufu side.
Imperial forces
For the operation, an Imperial Japanese Navy fleet had been rapidly constituted around the French-built ironclad Kōtetsu, which had been purchased from the United States. Other Imperial ships were Kasuga, Hiryu, Teibo, Yoharu, Moshun, which had been supplied by the fiefs of Saga, Choshu and Satsuma to the newly formed government in 1868.
The nascent Imperial government started with a much weaker navy than that of the Bakufu, both in terms of vessel strength, unity (most of its ships were borrowed from Western fiefs), and training. However the loss of two major units on the Bakufu side previous to the main action (Kaiyō Maru and Kanrin Maru), and most of all, the incorporation of the revolutionary Kōtetsu since April 1868 on the Imperial side (a ship originally ordered by the Bakufu, but withheld by the United States during the main conflict (under a policy of neutrality taken by foreign nations), and finally delivered to the newly formed government), turned the tables. In addition, the Imperial government received the support of two transportation ships chartered by the United States for the transportation of its troops.
Combat
The Imperial fleet supported the deployment of troops on the island of Hokkaido, destroyed onshore fortifications and attacked the rebel ships. On May 4th, Chiyodagata was captured by Imperial forces after having been abandoned in a grounding, and on the 7th, Kaiten was heavily hit and put out of action. The rebel's Banryū managed to sink the Imperial forces' Chōyō, but she later sank in turn because of heavy damage.
The Imperial Japanese Navy won the engagement, ultimately leading to the surrender of the Shogun forces at the end of May 1869.
Ships of foreign navies — the British HMS Pearl and the French Coetlogon — were standing by neutrally during the conflict. The French captain Jules Brunet who had trained the rebels and helped organize their defenses, surrendered on Coetlogon on June 8 1869.
The future Admiral of the fleet Heihachiro Togo participated in the battle on the Imperial side as a young third-class officer, onboard Kasuga.
External links
"Naval Battle of Hakodate"