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Siege


 
 
A siege is a militaryMilitary

A military or military force has seen many different incarnations throughout time....
 blockadeBlockade

A blockade is any effort to prevent supplies, troops, information or aid from reaching an opposing force....
 of a cityCity

A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or ...
 or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition and/or assault. The term derives from the Latin word for "seat" or "sitting." A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a frontal assaultFrontal assault

The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces towards enemy forces in a large number, in an...
 and refuses to surrenderSurrender (military)

To surrender is when soldiers give up fighting and become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by thei...
. Sieges involve surrounding the target and blocking the reinforcement or escape of troops or provision of supplies (a tactic known as "investmentFacts About Investment (military)

Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape....
"), typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engineSiege engine

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare....
s, artilleryArtillery

Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war....
 bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses. Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst or disease, which can afflict both the attacker or defender.

Sieges probably predate the development of cities as large population centers.






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Timeline

215   Zhang Liao holds off Sun Quan's invasion force at the siege of Hefei.

1491   The siege of Granada, last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins.

1688   A group of 1500 Old Believers immolated themselves to avoid capture when troops of the tsar laid siege to their monastery on Lake Onega.

1832   War between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. The Egyptians, aided by Maronites, seize Acre after a seven-month siege.

1847   Mexican-American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege. April 15 - The beginning of The Lawrence school Sanawar,

1984   WPC Yvonne Fletcher is shot and killed by a secluded gunman during a siege outside the Libyan Embassy in London.

1991   Serb troops take Vukovar after a siege of 87 days.






Encyclopedia


A siege is a militaryMilitary

A military or military force has seen many different incarnations throughout time....
 blockadeBlockade

A blockade is any effort to prevent supplies, troops, information or aid from reaching an opposing force....
 of a cityCity

A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or ...
 or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition and/or assault. The term derives from the Latin word for "seat" or "sitting." A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a frontal assaultFrontal assault

The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces towards enemy forces in a large number, in an...
 and refuses to surrenderSurrender (military)

To surrender is when soldiers give up fighting and become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by thei...
. Sieges involve surrounding the target and blocking the reinforcement or escape of troops or provision of supplies (a tactic known as "investmentFacts About Investment (military)

Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape....
"), typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engineSiege engine

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare....
s, artilleryArtillery

Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war....
 bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses. Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst or disease, which can afflict both the attacker or defender.

Sieges probably predate the development of cities as large population centers. Ancient cities in the Middle EastMiddle East

The Middle East is a subcontinent for the historical and cultural subregion of Africa-Eurasia traditionally held to be count...
 show archaeological evidence of having had fortified city walls. During the Warring States era of ancient China, there is both textual and archaeological evidence of prolonged sieges and siege machinery used against the defenders of city walls. Siege machinery was also a tradition of the ancient Greco-RomanGreco-Roman

In modern Olympic and amateur wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling is a particular style and variation....
 world. During the RenaissanceRenaissance

In the traditional view, the Renaissance was understood as a historical age in Europe that followed the Middle Ages and ...
 and the Early Modern period, siege warfare dominated the conduct of war in EuropeEurope

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth....
. Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was a talented Italian Renaissance Roman Catholic polymath: architect, anatomist, sculptor,...
 gained as much of his renown from the design
of fortifications as from his artwork.

Medieval campaigns were generally designed around a succession of sieges. In the NapoleonicNapoleon I of France

Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confede...
 era, increasing use of ever more powerful cannonCannon

A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance....
 reduced the value of fortifications. In modern times, trenchesTrench warfare

Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facin...
 replaced walls, and bunkerBunker

A bunker is a defensive military fortification....
s replaced castles. In the 20th century, the significance of the classical siege declined. With the advent of mobile warfareManeuver warfare

Maneuver warfare or manoeuvre warfare is a concept of warfare that advocates attempting to defeat an adversary by inca...
, one single fortified stronghold is no longer as decisive as it once was. While sieges do still occur, they are not as common as they once were due to changes in modes of battle, principally the ease by which huge volumes of destructive power can be directed onto a static target. Sieges in present day are more commonly either smaller hostage, militant, or extreme resisting-arrest situations such as the Waco SiegeWaco Siege

On February 28 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property loca...
.

Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of low-intensity warfare (until an assault takes place) characterized in that at least one party holds a strong defense position, it is highly static situation, the element of attrition is typically strong and there are plenty of opportunities for negotiations.

Ancient era

The essential of city walls

The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples and defensive walls.

Some settlements in the Indus Valley CivilizationIndus Valley Civilization Summary

The Indus Valley Civilisation was an ancient civilisation thriving along the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River in Pak...
 were also fortified. By about 3500 B.C., hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain. Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. The stone and mud brick houses of Kot DijiKot Diji Overview

The ancient site at Kot Diji was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization....
 were clustered behind massive stone flood dikes and defensive walls, for neighboring communities quarreled constantly about the control of prime agricultural land. Mundigak (c. 2500 B.C.) in present day south-east AfghanistanAfghanistan

Afghanistan ; Persian : ?????? ?????? ?????????, Pashto: ? ????????? ?????? ???????) is a landlocked country at ...
 has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks.

City walls and fortifications were essential for the defense of the first cities in the ancient Near EastAncient Near East

The term Ancient Near East or Ancient Orient encompasses the early civilizations predating Classical Antiquity in the ...
. The walls were built by mud bricks, stone, wood or a combination of these materials depending on local availability. City walls may also have served the dual purpose of showing presumptive enemies the might of the Kingdom. The great walls surrounding the SumerSumer

Sumer...
ian city of UrukUruk

Uruk, was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of th...
 gained such a wide-spread reputation. The walls were 9.5 km / 6 miles in length, and raised up to 12 metres / 40 feet in height. Later the walls of BabylonBabylon

Babylon was an ancient city in Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, Iraq, about 50 mi...
, reinforced by towers and moats, gained a similar reputation. In AnatoliaAnatolia

Anatolia is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asiatic portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European...
, the HittitesFacts About Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in n...
 built massive stone walls around their cities, taking advantage of the hillsides. In Shang DynastyShang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty is the first confirmed historic Chinese Dynasty and ruled in the northeastern regi...
 ChinaChina

China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia....
, at the site of Ao, large walls were erected in the 15th century BC that had dimensions of 20 meters / 65 feet in width at the base and enclosed an area of some squared. In similar dimensions, the ancient ChineseFacts About China

China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia....
 capital for the State of ZhaoZhao (state)

Zhao was a Chinese state during the Warring States Period....
, HandanHandan Overview

See also Handan Sultan.Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China....
 (founded in 386 BC), had walls that were again 20 meters / 65 feet wide at the base, a height of 15 meters / 50 feet tall, with two separate sides of its rectangular enclosure measured at a length of . The cities of the Indus Valley civilizationIndus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilisation was an ancient civilisation thriving along the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River in Pak...
 showed less effort in constructing defenses, and likewise the Minoan civilizationMinoan civilization

The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, flourishing from approximately 2600 to 1...
 on CreteCrete

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea....
. These civilizations probably relied more on the defense of their outer borders or sea shores. Unlike the ancient Minoan civilization, the MycenaeanMycenaean Greece

Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and mu...
 Greeks emphasized need for fortifications alongside natural defenses of mountainous terrain, such as the massive 'Cyclopean' walls built at MycenaeMycenae

Mycenae , is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese....
 during the last half of the 2nd millennium BC.

Archaeological evidence

Although there are depictions of sieges from the ancient Near East in the historical sources and in ancient Near Eastern art, there are very few examples of siege systems that have been found archaeologically. Of the few examples, several are noteworthy:

1) The late 9th cent. BCE siege system surrounding Tell es-SafiTell es-Safi

Tell es-Safi or Tel Zafit is usually identified as Gath, one of the ancient Canaanite and Philistine five cities, an i...
/GathGath

Gath can refer to:* Gath, the biblical city, home of Goliath...
, IsraelIsrael Summary

Israel , officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Se...
. This system, which is comprised of a 2.5 km long siege trench, towers and other elements, the earliest evidence of a circumvallationCircumvallation

Circumvallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare....
 system known in the world, was apparently built by HazaelHazael

Hazael was a court official and later an Aramean king who appeared in the Bible....
 of AramAram

The term Aram can refer to:* Aram, the fifth semite grandson of Noah, in the Book of Genesis....
 DamascusDamascus

Damascus is the largest city and capital of Syria....
, as part of his siege and conquest of Philistine GathGath

Gath can refer to:* Gath, the biblical city, home of Goliath...
 in the late 9th cent. BCE (mentioned in II Kings 12:18).

2) The late 8th cent. BCE siege system surrounding the site of LachishLachish

Lachish was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia....
 (Tell el-Duweir) in IsraelIsrael

Israel , officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Se...
. This system, which was built by SennacheribSennacherib

Sennacherib was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria ....
 of AssyriaAssyria Overview

Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the anc...
 in 701 BCE, is not only evident in the archaeological remains, but is described in the AssyrianAssyrian

Assyrian may refer to:*Anything from Assyria, an ancient empire in Mesopotamia...
 and biblical sources and in the reliefs of SennacheribSennacherib

Sennacherib was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria ....
's palace in NinevehNineveh

Nineveh was an important city in ancient Assyria....
.

3) The siege of Alt-PaphosFacts About Paphos

Paphos, and New Paphos[2006]] the second Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships were held in Paphos. ...
, CyprusCyprus

...
 catapultCatapult Summary

Catapults are siege engines using an arm to hurl a projectile a great distance....
s, eight foot high ballistaBallista

The ballista was a powerful ancient crossbow....
s, a wheeled siege ramp with grappling hooks known as the Cloud Bridge (the protractable, folded ramp slinging forward by means of a counterweight with rope and pulley), and wheeled 'hook-carts' used to latch large iron hooks onto the tops of walls to pull and tear them down. When enemies attempted to dig tunnels under walls for mining or entry into the city, the defenders used large bellowsBellows

A bellows is a device for delivering pressured air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location....
 (the type the Chinese commonly used in heating up the blast furnaceBlast furnace Summary

A blast furnace is a type of furnace for smelting iron ore....
 for smelting cast ironCast iron

Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron-based alloys containing more than 2% carbon....
) to pump smoke into the tunnels in order to suffocate the intruders.

The universal method for defending against siege is the use of fortifications, principally walls and ditchDitch

* For use of the ditch as obstacles for horses, see ditch...
es to supplement natural features. A sufficient supply of food and water is also important to defeat the simplest method of siege warfare: starvationStarvation

Symptoms Starved individuals lose substantial fat and muscle mass as the body breaks down these tissues for energy....
. During a siege, a surrounding army would build earthworksEarthworks (engineering)

In civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed ...
 (a line of circumvallationCircumvallation Overview

Circumvallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare....
) to completely encircle their target, preventing food and water supplies from reaching the besieged city. If sufficiently desperate as the siege progressed, defenders and civilians might have been reduced to eating anything vaguely edible—horses, family pets, the leather from shoes, and even each otherCannibalism

Cannibalism , also called anthropophagy is the act or practice of humans eating other humans....
. On occasion, the defenders would drive 'surplus' civilians out to reduce the demands on stored food and water.

DiseaseDisease

Contagious redirects here. For the Isley Brothers song of that name, see Contagious ....
 was another effective siege weapon, although the attackers were often as vulnerable as the defenders. In some instances, catapults or like weapons would fling diseased animals over city walls in an early example of biological warfareBiological warfare

Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of w...
.

To end a siege more rapidly various methods were developed in ancient and medieval times to counter fortifications, and a large variety of siege engineSiege engine

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare....
s were developed for use by besieging armies. LadderLadder

A ladder is a vertical set of steps....
s could be used to escaladeEscalade

Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders, and was a prominent feature of siege war...
 over the defenses. Battering ramBattering ram

A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times to break open fortification walls or doors....
s and siege hookSiege hook

A siege hook is a weapon used to pull stones from a wall during a siege....
s could be used to force through gates or walls, while catapultCatapult

Catapults are siege engines using an arm to hurl a projectile a great distance....
s, ballistaBallista

The ballista was a powerful ancient crossbow....
e, trebuchetTrebuchet

[image:Trebuchet1.png|thumb|right|Three-quarter view of a trebuchet]]...
s, mangonelMangonel

A mangonel was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle's walls....
s, and onagersFacts About Onager (siege weapon)

The onager was a post-classical Roman siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine, similar t...
 could be used to launch projectiles in order to break down a city's fortifications and kill its defenders. A siege towerSiege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive w...
 could also be used: a substantial structure built as high, or higher than the walls, it allowed the attackers to fire down upon the defenders and also advance troops to the wall with less danger than using ladders.

In addition to launching projectiles at the fortifications or defenders, it was also quite common to attempt to undermine the fortifications, causing them to collapse. This could be accomplished by digging a tunnel beneath the foundationsFoundation (architecture)

A foundation is a structure that transmits loads from a building or road to the underlying ground....
 of the walls, and then deliberately collapsing or exploding the tunnel. This process is known as mining. The defenders could dig counter-tunnels to cut into the attackers' works and collapse them prematurely.

Fire was often used as a weapon when dealing with wooden fortifications. The Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the...
 used Greek fireGreek fire

Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Empire, typically in naval battles to great effect as it could ...
, which contained additives that made it hard to put out. Combined with a primitive flamethrowerFlamethrower

A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long, controllable stream of fire, hence the metaphor "to throw ...
, it proved an effective offensive and defensive weapon.

If all else failed, a besieger could claim the booty of his conquest undamaged, and retain his men and equipment intact, for the price of a well-placed bribe to a disgruntled gate-keeper.

Advances in the prosecution of sieges in ancient and medieval times naturally encouraged the development of a variety of defensive counter-measures. In particular, medieval fortificationMedieval fortification

Medieval fortification is the military aspect of Medieval technology that covers the development of fortification constructi...
s became progressively stronger—for example, the advent of the concentric castleConcentric castle

A concentric castle is a castle within a castle, with two or more concentric rings of curtain walls and no central keep....
 from the period of the CrusadesCrusades

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns waged in the name of Christendom This term refers to a particular political...
—and more dangerous to attackers—witness the increasing use of machicolationMachicolation

A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones could be dropped on ...
s and murder-holeMurder-hole

A murder-hole is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders can fire, t...
s, as well the preparation of hot or incendiary substances. Arrow slitArrow slit

An arrow slit is a thin vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows largely free from per...
s (also called arrow loops or loopholes), sally portSally port

The primary modern meaning for Sally port, derived from the old French saillie, from saillir to surge forward, from Latin sa...
s (airlock like doors) for sallies, and deep water wells were also integral means of resisting siege at this time. Particular attention would be paid to defending entrances, with gates protected by drawbridgeDrawbridge

A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is often used to d...
s, portcullisFacts About Portcullis

A portcullis is a grille or gate made of wood, metal or a combination of the two....
es and barbicanBarbican

Barbican - a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defence to a city or castle and any tower situated over a gate o...
s. MoatMoat

A moat is a manmade body of water that surrounds an area or building of significance, and almost always exist for the purpos...
s and other water defenses, whether natural or augmented, were also vital to defenders.

In the European Middle AgesMiddle Ages

The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the clas...
, virtually all large cities had city walls—DubrovnikDubrovnik

Dubrovnik| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |...
 in DalmatiaDalmatia

Dalmatia is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in t...
 is an impressive and well-preserved example—and more important cities had citadelCitadel

A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes with a castle in its middle....
s, forts or castleCastle Overview

A castle is a structure that is fortified for defence against an enemy and generally serves as a military headquarters domi...
s. Great effort was expended to ensure a good water supply inside the city in case of siege. In some cases, long tunnels were constructed to carry water into the city. Complex systems of underground tunnels were used for storage and communications in medieval cities like TáborTábor

Tbor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region....
 in BohemiaBohemia Summary

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic....
 (similar to those used much later in VietnamVietnam

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia....
 during the Vietnam WarVietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies fought against the Republic of Vi...
).

Until the invention of gunpowderFacts About Gunpowder

Gunpowder, whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance that burns very rapidly, releasing gases tha...
-based weapons (and the resulting higher-velocity projectiles), the balance of power and logistics definitely favored the defender. With the invention of gunpowder, cannonCannon

A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance....
 and (in modern times) mortarMortar (weapon)

A mortar is a muzzle-loading artillery piece that fires indirect shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing bal...
s and howitzerHowitzer Summary

howitzer is a type of field artillery....
s, the traditional methods of defense became less and less effective against a determined siege.

Siege accounts

Although there are numerous ancient accounts of cities being sacked, few contain any clues to how this was achieved. Some popular tales existed on how the cunning heroes succeeded in their sieges. The best-known is the Trojan HorseTrojan Horse

The Trojan Horse is part of the myth of the Trojan War, as told in Virgil's Latin epic poem The Aeneid....
 of the Trojan WarTrojan War

The Trojan War was a war waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor , by the armies of the Achaeans,...
, and a similar story tells how the CanaanCanaan

Canaan .Canaan is an ancient term for a region approximating present-day Israel and Palestine plus adjoining coastal lands ...
ite city of JoppaJaffa

Jaffa, is an ancient port city located in Israel on the Mediterranean Sea....
 was conquered by the Egyptians in the 15th century BC. The Biblical Book of JoshuaBook of Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible....
 contains the story of the miraculous Battle of JerichoBattle of Jericho

The Battle of Jericho also known as the Siege of Jericho is an event concerning Jericho which is described by the Book...
. A better detailed historical account from the 8th century BC, called the Piankhi stelaPiye

Piye, whose name was once transliterated as Piy....
, records how the NubiansKush

Kush or Cush was a civilization centered in the North African region of Nubia, located in what is today northern Sudan...
 laid siege to and conquered several Egyptian cities using battering rams, archersArchery

Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows....
, slingers and building causeways across moats.

Greco-Roman era

Alexander the GreatAlexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon , was one of the most successful military commander...
's MacedonMacedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the ki...
ian army successfully besieged many powerful cities during his astounding conquests. Two of his most impressive achievements in siegecraft took place at Siege of TyreSiege of Tyre

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great set out to conquer Tyre, a strategic coastal base in the war between the Greeks and the Persians....
 and the Sogdian RockSogdian Rock

Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress in Sogdiana, was captured by the forces of Alexander the Great in 327 BC...
. Most conquerors before him had found Tyre, a PhoeniciaPhoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centred in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of...
n island-city about 1 km from the mainland, impregnable. The Macedonians built a moleMole (architecture)

A mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or junction between places separated by water....
, a raised spit of earth across the water, by piling stones up on a natural land bridge that extended underwater out to the island. Alexander's engineers built a causewayCauseway

In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated by a bank, usually across a broad body of water or wetland....
 that was originally 60 m (200 ft) wide, that reached the range of his torsion-powered artillery. Alexander's soldiers pushed siege towers housing stone throwers and light catapults to bombard the city walls. Though the Tyrians rallied by sending a fire-bombed ship to destroy the towers, and captured the mole in a swarming frenzy, the city eventually fell to the Macedonians after a seven month siege. In complete contrast to Tyre, Sogdian Rock was captured by stealthy attack. Alexander used commando-like tactics to scale the cliffs and capture the high ground. The demoralized defenders surrendered.

The importance of siege warfare in the ancient period should not be underestimated. One of the contributing causes of Hannibal's inability to defeat Rome was his lack of siege train; thus, while he was able to defeat Roman armies in the field, he was unable to capture Rome itself.

The legionary armies of the Roman RepublicRoman Republic

The Roman Republic was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government....
 and EmpireRoman Empire

The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government....
 are noted as being particularly skilled and determined in siege warfare. An astonishing number and variety of sieges, for example, formed the core of Julius Caesar'sJulius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar , July 12 or July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader and one ...
 mid-1st century BCE conquest of GaulGaul

Gaul was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, B...
 (modern France). In his Gallic WarsGallic Wars Overview

The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns by several invading Roman legions under the command of Julius Caesar int...
, Caesar describes how at the Battle of AlesiaBattle of Alesia

The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major...
 the Roman legionRoman legion

The Roman legion was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army....
s created two huge fortified walls around the city. The inner circumvallationCircumvallation

Circumvallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare....
, , held in VercingetorixVercingetorix

Vercingetorix , chieftain of the Arverni, led the great Gallic war against Roman imperialism in 53–52 BC....
's forces, while the outer contravallationContravallation

Contravallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare....
 kept relief from reaching them. The Romans held the ground in between the two walls. The besieged Gauls, facing starvation, eventually surrendered after their relief force met defeat against Caesar's auxiliary cavalry.

The SicariiSicarii

Sicarii is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, to the Jewish Zealot...
 Zealots who defended MasadaMasada

Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eas...
 in 73 CE were defeated by the Roman Legions who built a ramp 100 meters high up to the fortress's west wall.

Chinese and Mongols

In the Middle Ages, the Mongol EmpireMongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in world history, covering over 36 million kmat its peak, with an estima...
's campaign against ChinaChina

China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia....
 (then comprised of the Western Xia Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Southern Song Dynasty) by Genghis KhanGenghis Khan

Genghis Khan, , was a Mongol political and military leader or Khan who united the Mongol tribes and founded the Mongol Emp...
 until Kublai KhanKublai Khan

Kublai Khan, Khubilai Khan or "the last of the Great Khans", was a Mongol military leader....
 with their armies was extremely effective, allowing the Mongols to sweep through large areas. Even if they could not enter some of the more well-fortified cities, they used innovative battle tactics to grab hold of the land and the people:

"By concentrating on the field armies, the strongholds had to wait. Of course, smaller fortresses, or ones easily surprised, were taken as they came along. This had two effects. First, it cut off the principal city from communicating with other cities where they might expect aid. Secondly, refugees from these smaller cities would flee to the last stronghold. The reports from these cities and the streaming hordes of refugees not only reduced the morale of the inhabitants and garrison of the principal city, it also strained their resources. Food and water reserves were taxed by the sudden influx of refugees. Soon, what was once a formidable undertaking became easy. The Mongols were then free to lay siege without interference of the field army as it had been destroyed... At the siege of AleppoAleppo

Aleppo is a city and province in northern Syria....
, HuleguHulagu Khan

Hulagu Khan was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia....
 used twenty catapults against the Bab al-Iraq (Gate of Iraq) alone. In Jûzjânî, there are several episodes in which the Mongols constructed hundreds of siege machines in order to surpass the number which the defending city possessed. While Jûzjânî surely exaggerated, the improbably high numbers which he used for both the Mongols and the defenders do give one a sense of the large numbers of machines used at a single siege."


Another Mongol tactic was to use catapults to launch corpses of plagueBubonic plague

Bubonic plague is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease plague, which is caused by the enterobacteri...
 victims into besieged cities. The disease-carrying fleaFlea

Flea is the common name for any of the small wingless insects of the order Siphonaptera....
s from the person's body would then infest the city, and the plague would spread allowing the city to be easily captured, although this transmission mechanismVector (biology)

This article is about biologic vectors....
 was not known at the time.

On the first night while laying siege to a city, the leader of the Mongol forces would lead from a white tentTent

A tent is a shelter, consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles and/or rop...
: if the city surrendered, all would be spared. On the second day, he would use a red tent: if the city surrendered, the men would all be killed, but the rest would be spared. On the third day, he would use a black tent: no quarter would be given.

However, the Chinese weren't completely defenseless, and from 1234 until 1279 AD the Southern Song Chinese held out against the enormous barrage of Mongol attacks. Much of this success in defense lay in the world's first use of gunpowderGunpowder

Gunpowder, whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance that burns very rapidly, releasing gases tha...
 (ie. with early flamethrowerFlamethrower

A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long, controllable stream of fire, hence the metaphor "to throw ...
s, grenades, firearmFirearm

A firearm is a weapon that fires either single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced thro...
s, cannonCannon

A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance....
s, and land mineLand mine

A land mine is a type of self-contained explosive device which is placed onto or into the ground, exploding when triggered b...
s) to fight back against the Khitans, the Tanguts, the JurchensJurchens

The Jurchens were a Tungus people who inhabited parts of Manchuria and northern Korea until the 17th century, when they beca...
, and then the Mongols. The Chinese of the Song period also discovered the explosive potential of packing hollowed cannonball shells with gunpowder. Written later around 1350 in the Huo Long JingJiao Yu

Jiao Yu was a Chinese military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty ....
, this manuscript of Jiao YuJiao Yu Overview

Jiao Yu was a Chinese military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty ....
 recorded an earlier Song-era cast-iron cannon known as the 'flying-cloud thunderclap eruptor' (fei yun pi-li pao). The manuscript stated that:


The shells (phao) are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of 'magic' gunpowder (shen huo). They are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor (mu phao); and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the whole place will be set ablaze...


During the Ming DynastyMing Dynasty

The Mng Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644....
 (1368–1644 AD), the Chinese were very concerned with city planning in regards to gunpowder warfare. The site for constructing the walls and the thickness of the walls in BeijingFacts About Beijing

Beijing , barrageArtillery

Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war....
 and, of course, attritionAttrition warfare

This article is about the military strategy....
) but on a much larger scale and on a greatly extended front.

More traditional sieges of fortifications took place in addition to trench sieges. The Siege of Tsingtao was one of the first major sieges of the war, but the inability for significant resupply of the German garrison made it a relatively one sided battle. The Germans and the crew of an Austro-Hungarian protected cruiserProtected cruiser

Protected cruisers were a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century....
 put up a hopeless defense and after holding out for more than a week surrendered to the Japanese, forcing the German East Asia SquadronGerman East Asia Squadron

The German East Asia Squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocea...
 to steam towards South America for a new coal source.

The other major siege outside Europe during the First World War was in Mesopotamia, at the Siege of KutSiege of Kut

The Siege of Kut-al-Amara was part of the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I....
. After a failed attempt to move on Baghdad, stopped by the Ottomans at the bloody Battle of CtesiphonBattle of Ctesiphon

The Battle of Ctesiphon can be a reference to:...
, the British and their large contingent of Indian sepoyFacts About Sepoy

A sepoy was a native of India employed as a soldier in the service of a European power, usually of the United Kingdom....
 soldiers were forced to retreat to Kut, where the Ottomans under German General Baron Colmar von der GoltzColmar Freiherr von der Goltz

Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm, Freiherr von der Goltz also known as Pasha Goltz....
 laid siege. The British attempts to resupply the force via the Tigris river failed, and rationing was complicated by the refusal of many Indian troops to eat cattle products. By the time the garrison fell on 29 April 1916, starvation was rampant. Conditions did not improve greatly under Turkish imprisonment. Along with the Battle of TangaBattle of Tanga

The Battle of Tanga was the blundered attempt by the British Indian Army to capture German East Africa during World War I....
, the Battle of Sandfontein, the Battle of GallipoliBattle of Gallipoli

The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli from April 1915 to January 1916 during the First Wo...
 and the Battle of Namakura, it would be one of Britain's numerous embarrassing colonial defeats of the war.

The largest sieges of the war, however, took place in Europe. The initial German advance into Belgium produced four major sieges, the Battle of LiegeBattle of Liège

The Battle of Lige was the opening battle of the German invasion into Belgium, and the first battle of World War I....
, the Battle of Namur, the Siege of MaubeugeFacts About Siege of Maubeuge

The Siege of Maubeuge took place between August 24 and September 7, 1914 when the French garrison of the Maubeuge Fortress f...
 and the Siege of AntwerpSiege of Antwerp

The Siege of Antwerp was an engagement of the Germans and the Belgians during World War I....
. All three would prove crushing German victories, at Liege and Namur against the Belgians, at Maubeuge against the French and at Antwerp against a combined Anglo-Belgian force. The weapon that made these victories possible were the German Big BerthaBig Bertha Summary

Big Bertha may refer to:*Big Bertha - world's largest bass drum...
s and the Skoda 305 mm Model 1911Skoda 305 mm Model 1911

Škoda 305 mm Model 1911 was siege mortar produced by Škoda Works and used by the Austrians during World War I....
 siege mortars on loan from Austria-Hungary. These huge guns were the decisive weapon of siege warfare in the 20th century, taking part at Przemysl, the Belgian sieges, on the Italian Front and Serbian Front, and even being reused in World War II.

At the second Siege of PrzemyslSiege of Przemysl

The Siege of Przemysl was one of the greatest sieges of the First World War, and a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungary....
 the Austro-Hungarian garrison showed an excellent knowledge of siege warfare, not only waiting for relief, but sending sorties into Russian lines and employing an active defense that resulted in the capture of the Russian General Kornilov. Despite its excellent performance, the garrison's food supply had been requisitioned for earlier offensives, a relief expedition was stalled by the weather, ethnic rivalries flared up between the defending soldiers and a breakout attempt failed. When the commander of the garrison Hermann Kusmanek finally surrendered, his troops were eating their horses and the first attempt of large scale air supply had failed. It was one of the few great victories obtained by either side during the war, 110,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners were marched back to Russia. Use of aircraft for siege running, bringing supplies to areas under siege, would nevertheless prove useful in many sieges to come.

The largest siege of the war, and the arguably the roughest, most gruesome battle in history, was the Battle of VerdunBattle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun, fought from 21 February to 19 December 1916 around the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northeast France, w...
. Whether the battle can be considered true siege warfare is debatable. Under the theories of Erich von FalkenhaynErich von Falkenhayn

Erich von Falkenhayn was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I....
 it is more distinguishable as purely attrition with a coincidental presence of fortifications on the battlefield. When considering the plans of Crown Prince Wilhelm, purely concerned with taking the citadel and not with French casualty figures, it can be considered a true siege. The main fortifications were Fort DouaumontDouaumont

Douaumont is a village and a commune in the Meuse dpartement in France, near Verdun....
, Fort VauxFort Vaux

Fort Vaux, located in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse, France, became the second Fort to fall in the Battle of Verdun....
 and the fortified city of Verdun itself. The Germans, through the use of a huge artillery bombardments, flamethrowers and infiltration tactics were able to capture both Vaux and Douaumont, but were never able to take the city, and eventually lost most of their gains. It was a battle that, despite the French ability to fend off the Germans, neither side won. The German losses were not worth the potential capture of the city and the French casualties were not worth holding the symbol of her defense.

The development of the armoured tankTank

A tank is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle, designed to engage enemy forces by the use of direct fire....
 and improved infantryInfantry

Infantry is a term for soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units....
 tacticsMilitary tactics

Military tactics is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy in battle....
 at the end of World War I swung the pendulum back in favour of maneuver, and with the advent of Blitzkrieg in 1939, the end of siege warfare was near its end. The Maginot LineMaginot Line Overview

The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France c...
 would be the prime example of the failure of immobile fortifications post World War One. Although sieges would continue, it would be in a totally different style and on a reduced scale.

The BlitzkriegBlitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg is a popular name for an offensive operational-level military doctrine which involves an initial bombardmen...
 of the Second World WarWorld War II

World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers ,...
 truly showed that fixed fortifications are easily defeated by maneuver instead of frontal assault or long sieges. The great Maginot LineMaginot Line

The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France c...
 was bypassed and battles that would have taken weeks of siege could now be avoided with the careful application of air power (such as the German paratrooperParatrooper

Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force....
 capture of Fort Eben-EmaelFort Eben-Emael

Eben-Emael was a Belgian fortress in between Lige and Maastricht, near the Albert Canal, defending the Belgian-German border...
, Belgium, early in World War II).

The most important siege was the Siege of LeningradSiege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad was the German siege of Leningrad during World War II and one of the most lethal battles in world his...
, that lasted over 29 months, about half of the duration of the entire Second World War. Along with the Battle of StalingradBattle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War II and is considered the bloodiest battle in human history, with m...
, the Siege of Leningrad on the Eastern FrontEastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1...
 was the deadliest siege of a city in history. In the west apart from the Battle of the Atlantic the sieges were not on the same scale as those on the European Eastern front; however, there were several notable or critical sieges: the island of MaltaMalta

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is a small and densely populated island nation consisting of an archipelago o...
 for which the population won the George CrossGeorge Cross Summary

The George Cross is the highest Commonwealth decoration awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry not in the face of the ene...
, TobrukSiege of Tobruk Summary

The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis and Allied forces, mostly Australian, in the North African Camp...
 and Monte CassinoBattle of Monte Cassino Overview

The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles in World War II, fought by the Allies with the intention of...
. In the South-East Asian TheatreSouth-East Asian theatre of World War II

The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in India, Burma, T...
 there was the siege of SingaporeSingapore

Singapore, formally the Republic of Singapore , is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia....
 and in the Burma CampaignBurma Campaign

The Burma Campaign was a campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II....
 sieges of MyitkyinaMyitkyina

Myitkyina is a city, and the capital of Kachin State in Myanmar, located 919 miles from Yangon, or 487 miles from Mandalay....
, the Admin BoxBattle of the Admin Box

The Battle of the Admin Box took place on the Southern Front of the Burma Campaign from February 5 to February 23 1944 in th...
 and the Battle of the Tennis CourtBattle of the Tennis Court

The Battle of the Tennis Court was the turning point in the Battle of Kohima in North East India from April 4 June 22 1944....
 which was the high water mark for the Japanese advance into India.

The airbridgeAirbridge (logistics) Overview

An airbridge is the route and means of delivering material from one place to another by an airlift....
 methods which were developed and used extensively in the Burma Campaign for supplying the ChinditsChindits

The Chindits were a British Indian Army "Special Force" that served in Burma and India from 1942 until 1945 during the Burma...
 and other units, including those in sieges such as ImphalBattle of Imphal

The Battle of Imphal took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in North-East I...
, as well as flying the HumpThe Hump

The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over ...
 into China, allowed the western powers to develop air lift expertise which would prove vital during the Cold WarCold War

The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between dem...
 Berlin BlockadeBerlin Blockade

The Berlin Blockade became one of the first major crises of the new Cold War, when the Soviet Union blocked railroad and str...
.

During the Vietnam WarVietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies fought against the Republic of Vi...
 the battles of Dien Bien PhuBattle of Dien Bien Phu

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the final battle in the First Indochina War between the military forces of France and Vietn...
 (1954) and Khe SanhBattle of Khe Sanh

The Battle of Khe Sanh was a Vietnam War battle between the United States Marine Corps and the People's Army of Vietnam at K...
 (1968) possessed siege-like characteristics. In both cases, the Vietminh and NLFNational Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam

The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, also known as the Vi?t C?ng, VC, or the National Liberation...
 were able to cut off the opposing army by capturing the surrounding rugged terrain. At Dien Bien Phu, the French were unable to use air power to overcome the siege and were defeated. However, at Khe Sanh a mere 14 years later, advances in air power allowed the United StatesUnited States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is...
 to withstand the siege. The resistance of US forces was assisted by the PAVN and PLAFNational Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam

The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, also known as the Vi?t C?ng, VC, or the National Liberation...
 forces' decision to use the Khe Sanh siege as strategic distraction to allow their mobile warfare offensive, the first Tet offensive to unfold securely. The Siege of Khe Sanh displays typical features of modern sieges, as the defender has greater capacity to withstand siege, the attacker's main aim is to bottle operational forces, or create a strategic distraction, rather than take a siege to conclusion.

Recent sieges

  • From 1980 to 11 April 1991 During the Soviet war in AfghanistanSoviet war in Afghanistan

    The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year war between the Soviet forces and the anti-government Mujahideen insurgents th...
    , and subsequent Afghan Civil WarAfghan Civil War

    The Afghan Civil War is a civil war that began in 1978 and has continued since, though it has included several distinct phas...
    , the city of KhostKhost

    Khost, sometimes spelt Khowst, is a town in Afghanistan....
     was under siegeSiege of Khost

    The Siege of Khost: during the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the town of Khost was besieged for more tha...
     for more than 11 years. It is considered the longest siege in modern history.


  • From 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 the Siege of SarajevoSiege of Sarajevo

    The siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare....
     took place, where SarajevoSarajevo

    Sarajevo is the capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an estimated population of 308,558 ....
    , then controlled by the BosnianBosnia and Herzegovina

    Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkan peninsula of southern Europe with an area of 51,129 km , and an estim...
     government, was besieged by the Serb paramilitary.


  • In 2004, United StatesUnited States

    The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is...
     forces laid siege to the Iraqi city of FallujahFallujah

    Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly 69km west of Baghdad on the Euphrates....
    .


  • The Siege of SanginSiege of Sangin

    The Siege of Sangin lasted between June 2006 and April 2007, during which time Taliban insurgents besieged the district cent...
    , that lasted between June 2006 and April 2007, during which time Taliban insurgentsFacts About Taliban insurgency

    The Taliban insurgency started shortly after their fall from power after the 2001 war in Afghanistan....
     attempted to besiege the district centre of Sangin DistrictSangin District

    Sangin is a district in the east of Helmand Province, Afghanistan....
     in Helmand ProvinceHelmand Province

    Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan....
    , AfghanistanAfghanistan

    Afghanistan ; Persian : ?????? ?????? ?????????, Pashto: ? ????????? ?????? ???????) is a landlocked country at ...
    , occupied by BritishUnited Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country and sovereign state that lies off the northwest coast...
     ISAFInternational Security Assistance Force Summary

    The International Security Assistance Force is an international stabilization force in Kabul, Afghanistan consisting of abou...
     soldiers.

Police actions

Despite the overwhelming might of the modern state, siege tactics continue to be employed in policePolice

Police forces are government organizations charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order , and protecting the ...
 conflicts. This has been due to a number of factors, primarily risk to life, whether that of the police, the besieged, bystanders or hostageHostage