Abe Sagehisu sat atop his horse next to his father, peering intently at the battle as it began to unfold in the shallows of the Yahagi. It had begun as two small skirmishes. In the north, a contingent of Oda cavalry had crossed, ostensibly to harass the Matsudaira, but had been pinned by a Matsudaira yari-shu. Further west, at a bend in the river, Oda and Matsudaira ashigaru had engaged in a delicate combat with each other. Soon, however, more and more men were committed to both conflicts by both commanders and a vicious melee developed. Formations were largely abandoned, especially in the river, where sprays of water and mud added to the confusion of battle, and all the while arrows continued to rain down amidst the combatants.
Sagehisu gestured impatiently at the battle before them. "How much longer will we wait? We should attack them! We could easily push them back into the river."
His father grimaced. "Victory comes to he who has patience. Patience for the opportunity to strike. There will be more than enough heads to take, and I suspect the moment is coming soon."
"We should go now!"
"Silence, fool!" barked Sadayoshi. "Who do you think brings more honor to his familly, to his clan: the warrior who charges blindly, or the one who bides his time and brings victory time and time again?" At this, Sagehisu was silent.
Oda men surged through the river, while the less numerous Matsudaira poured down the slopes of the banks of the Yahagi, and the water was dyed red.
A gesture from Hirotada, and the Matsudaira horsemen, samurai all, broke away from the castle and forded the river. They formed up on the opposite bank.
"Men of the Matsudaira, my loyal followers," yelled Hirotada, "you are known to be brave and ferocious. Let us show these Oda dogs this ferocity!"
"HOI" came the chorused yell of approval.
Hidetada spoke again before donning his horned
kabuto, black like the rest of his armor. 'Hidenaga, you will strike the enemy in the flank. Hit them hard and break them fast. I will strike at the rear of the enemy's light horse. Sadayoshi, you will guard my flank. We attack in the Flying Goose Formation" He secured his
mempo and drew his lance. "Ride!"
The horsemen leapt forward. The horses tore through the river and surged in a wave into the rear of the embattled Oda. Matsudaira Hidenaga's contingent thundered into the Oda's flank and the line rippled in shock. Seconds after, the daimyo of the MAtsudaira and his men came crashing into the Oda rear as well, giving them no time to reform, and that was the reason for the Flying Goose: each of its components was staggered so they struck in quick succession rather than at once. While it was less immediately destructive than a full charge, it had two advantages. It maximized confusion in enemy units if executed correctly, and it allowed for more tactical flexibility. Hirotada used this first attribute to his advantage; Sadayoshi, the second.
Hirotada's charge tore through the Oda spearmen as they desperately tried to turn towards their flank - thus exposing themselves by not facing the rear - in an attempt to help their beleaguered comrades. Instead the Matsudaira rode freely over them, slaying many of the footmen and horsemen outright.
Sadayoshi, riding just behind Hirotada, saw the Oda general wheeling to counter his lord's charge, and barked "Left! We take their commander!"
The two bodies of horsemen soon collided, and the Oda samurai were taken by surprise. Now Sadayoshi lost sight of the battle. Men, horses, and
horos of friend and foe alike shut him in a surreally colorful world of elegant and brutal violence. He kicked his horse towards on Oda samurai, and it rammed its shoulder into the Oda horse. The Oda samurai, unbalanced, swung wildly at Sadayoshi with his sword, who swayed out of the way and delivered a powerful slash of his own aimed at the man's underarm. Sadayoshi's aim was true and he was rewarded by a bright spray of blood. Sadayoshi himself was soon pushed out of the heart of the melee by his retainers, and from its edge he was able to survay the battlefield, or at least part of it.
Where the Matsudaira charge had hit home the Oda were crumbling, reeling in shock, scrambling desperately over themselves - and their dead - to try to regain some form of cohesion, but the combined attack of infantry and cavalry was too much for them. They broke.
A few hundred Oda soldiers threw down their weapons and attempted to break away, but they were largely ridden down. Their retreat freed Hidenaga's men to come to the aid of Sadayoshi, which was desperately needed, for his men were faltering. The new arrivals locked the battle into a stalemate. The Matsudaira had a slight numerical advantage, but all the Oda samurai needed was to hold them off long enough for their superior infantry to grind through the defending footmen. One by one, men were cut from their mounts, neither side willing to give to the other, yet neither coming closer to victory. On the riverbanks the infantry fight continued, tactics long since abandoned.
Sadayoshi wiped sweat from his eyes. Damn! Where were Hidetada's men? A surge in the volume of the infantry battle distracted him momentarily, and when he looked up yari ashigaru were streaming from the bank towards his position. Desperately he wheeled his horse to face them, squinting through the sweat and blood that caked his face.
Thank the gods! They wore the white, black and blue of the Matsudaira!
Now the Oda lines were bending, weakening. Their men gradually falling, the samurai pulled from their horses and killed in the frothy shallows. The Oda samurai fell as they fought to preserve a lane of retreat for the rest of hte army, the archers were whittled down by the Matsudaira archers in the castle. Finally, the Oda lines could take no more and collapsed. Hundreds of Matsudaira men fell hungrily upon them, eager to bathe their yari in the blood of their foes.
Abe Nagehisu urged his horse forward, beyond the rest of his father's retinue and bowled over a group of Oda ashigaru, lashing out to either side of him with his sword. Blood spurted bright in the midday sun and a pile of bodies collected under his horse. He laughed in his glory. But a group of Oda soldiers surrounded him and though he dealt them grievous wounds an archer's wild sword stroke lamed his horse, opening Nagehisu to attacks from the other men.
Sadayoshi could only watch as his son was struck down. He grimaced and ledhis retainers in a charge. With brutal efficiany they reaped their vengeance on the Oda soldiers, and when more Matsudaira foot soldiers arrived the Oda men broke, throwing down their weapons and sprinting for the river. Few made it.