The Battle of Okehazama is a battle that took place on June 12, 1560 between the forces of Imagawa Yoshimoto and the selective detachments of Oda Nobunaga. Defeated Nobunaga, who got the head of the enemy commander. This battle caused the decline of the Imagava family and the growth of the authority and military power of Oda Nobunaga.
The family of Imagawa, who owned the provinces of Suruga and Totomi, wanted to expand their possessions to the west. In the 1550s, he managed to conquer the small samurai genus of Matsudaira, who controlled the province of Mikawa and constantly waged war with the western neighbor – Oda, owners of the Owari province. Under the pretext of protecting the weak Matsudaira, the Imagawa family declared war on their enemies. After a series of local battles, it was decided to finally end Oda. To this end, on June 5, 1560, the 9th head of the clan Imagava, Imagawa Yoshimoto, went with the 25-thousand army to the west.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Oda family, Oda Nobunaga, only recently was able to smash the internal opposition and unite the scattered lands of the province of Owari. Because of the long-lasting civil strife, he lost a lot of manpower, therefore, in this war with Imagawa, he could have only 3,000 soldiers. The forces of the opponents were unequal, because the warlords of the Oda clan were preparing to repel the aggressors under the walls of their own castles.
