Stories of the Japanese 00773 [Late Kamakura Period] The Battle of Chihaya Castle: Shogunate Army Retreats

Troubled by the unexpected damage caused by the straw doll ruse, the Shogunate army received a stern order from the Shogunate on March 4, Genko 3/Jokei 2 (1333):
"What is the meaning of just passing time without fighting? Capture the castle immediately."
They were ordered to launch a full-scale attack and take the castle quickly, rather than starving it out. As will be discussed later, by this time, fighting against rebel forces had also broken out at Rokuhara in Kyoto, so it seems they could no longer afford to spend time on Chihaya Castle.
Therefore, the Shogunate army devised a plan to build a bridge from a nearby mountain to the castle walls and storm it all at once. Utilizing their vast wealth, 500 carpenters were gathered from Kyoto, and they collected timber to build a massive bridge 4.8 meters wide and 66 meters long. Once the bridge was completed, thousands of ropes were tied to it, and using pulleys, they raised the bridge and dropped it onto the castle cliff to create a crossing, allowing five or six thousand soldiers to rush toward the castle.
However, Masashige was one step ahead. The Kusunoki army lit torches they had prepared in advance, threw them like stacking firewood, and fired water guns filled with oil to douse the bridge. In an instant, the bridge was engulfed in flames.
The soldiers who were trying to cross the bridge to reach the castle panicked and tried to retreat, but new soldiers kept coming from behind. Furthermore, even if they tried to jump off, the bridge was at a very high elevation, and falling meant certain death. As they hesitated, the fire was fanned by the valley winds and grew even more intense, until finally, the bridge snapped in the middle, and thousands of people fell. There were thousands of casualties, including those who died from the fall and those who burned to death.
While this episode recorded in the 'Taiheiki' might be fiction, the fact that a place name called 'Kakehashi' (Suspension Bridge) remains in the vicinity of Chihaya Castle suggests it is possible that this operation was actually carried out.
In the meantime, April arrived, and then May.
As will be detailed later, a major battle surrounding the Rokuhara Tandai unfolded in May. The Shogunate army surrounding Chihaya Castle needed to return to Rokuhara in a hurry, so they decided to withdraw from Chihaya Castle on May 8.
Early on the morning of May 10, the Shogunate army retreated in vain without having captured Chihaya Castle. The fact that Chihaya Castle held out for three months likely had a significant impact on the battles at Rokuhara and Kamakura.
From the next installment onward, we will look at Ashikaga Takauji's battle at Rokuhara and Nitta Yoshisada's battle at Kamakura, but please understand that these occurred in parallel with the Battle of Chihaya Castle.