A defense network had been established around…

A defense network had been established around Hakodate during the winter of 1868–1869 in anticipation of the attack by the troops of the new Imperial government.

The defenses around the southern peninsula of Hakodate have been enhanced, with the star fortress of Goryōkaku at the center.

The Ezo Republic troops are structured under a hybrid Franco-Japanese leadership, with Commander in chief Otori Keisuke seconded by Jules Brunet, and each of the four brigades commanded by a French officer (Fortant, Marlin, Cazeneuve, Bouffier), seconded by eight half-brigade Japanese commanders.

Two ex-French Navy officers, Eugène Collache and Henri Nicol, have further joined the rebels, and Collache has been put in charge of building fortified defenses along the volcanic mountains around Hakodate, while Nicol is in charge of reorganizing the Navy.