Fleet imbalance and the Hokkaido landings

The opposing forces were small collections of purchased warships and converted transports rather than mature national fleets. Ezo had already lost two of its stronger Dutch-built vessels, while the imperial coalition brought more ships and the decisive ironclad Kotetsu. Imperial vessels supported the deployment of troops to Hokkaido, attacked shore defenses, and pressured rebel ships as the land campaign restricted their operating space. The fighting unfolded as a grinding sequence of grounding, capture, gunfire damage, weather loss, and scuttling rather than one clean fleet action. Ezo's Banryu managed to sink the imperial Choyo before later succumbing after damage in heavy seas. British and French warships monitored neutrality, and a French vessel extracted the military advisers who had organized Ezo defenses before the republic surrendered.