At this stage, the former Shogunate forces were still far superior in military strength in total and were supposedly going to take the offensive in no time; Yoshinobu, however, escaped from Osaka Castle on January 30 and fled to Edo by sea, abandoning his army.
この時点での総戦力では未だに幕府軍が圧倒的に上回っており、巻き返すのも時間の問題と思われたが、慶喜は軍を捨てて大坂城を脱出（1月6日）、海路で江戸へ逃走した。