See Also

Siege engine

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city wall Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification [i] used to defend a city from potential aggressors. ... 

s and other fortification Fortification

Fortifications are military [i] construction [i]s and building [i]s designed for defense [i] in ... 

s in siege warfare Siege

A siege is a military [i] blockade [i] and assault [i] of a city [i] or fortress [i] with the int ... 

.

Discussions

  Discussion Features

   Ask a question about 'Siege engine'

   Start a new discussion about 'Siege engine'

   Answer questions about 'Siege engine'

   'Siege engine' discussion forum


Encyclopedia

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city wall Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification [i] used to defend a city from potential aggressors. ... 

s and other fortification Fortification

Fortifications are military [i] construction [i]s and building [i]s designed for defense [i] in ... 

s in siege warfare Siege

A siege is a military [i] blockade [i] and assault [i] of a city [i] or fortress [i] with the int ... 

.

Ancient siege engines


The earliest siege engine in Europe was the battering ram Battering ram

A battering ram is a siege engine [i] originating in ancient times [i] to break open fortification [i] ... 

, followed by the catapult Catapult

Catapults are siege engine [i]s using an arm to hurl a projectile [i] a great distance. ... 

 in ancient Greece Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is the period in Greek history [i] which lasted for around one thousand years and ended w ... 

. The Spartans used battering rams in the siege of Plataea in 429 BC, but it seems that the Greeks limited their use of siege engines to assault ladder Ladder

A ladder is a vertical set of steps.... 

s , though Peloponnesian forces used something resembling flamethrower Flamethrower

A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long, controllable stream of fire [i], hence ... 

s. It has recently been proposed that the Trojan Horse Trojan Horse

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

 was not, as the legends say, a covert container for stealthy attackers, but rather a large battering ram resembling a horse.

The first Mediterranean people to use advanced siege machinery were the Carthaginian Carthage

The term Carthage refers both to an ancient city in North Africa [i] located in modern day Tunis [i] an ... 

s, who used siege tower Siege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine [i], constructed to protect assailants and ladders while app ... 

s and battering rams against the Greek colonies of Sicily Sicily

Sicily is an autonomous region [i] of Italy [i] and the larges ... 

. These engines influenced the ruler of Syracuse Syracuse, Italy

Syracuse is an Italian [i] city on the eastern coast of Sicily [i] and the capital of the province of Syracuse [i] ... 

, Dionysius I, who developed a large siege train.

The following Mediterranean area rulers to make use of siege engines to a large extent were Philip II of Macedonia Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon was the King of Macedon [i] from 359 BC [i] until his assassinati ... 

 and Alexander the Great Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon [i] , was one of the most succe ... 

. Their large engines spurred an evolution that led to impressive machines, like the Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I of Macedon

Demetrius I, surnamed Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus [i] and Stratonice [i], was a... 

' Helepolis of 304 BC: nine stories high and plated with iron, it stood 40 m tall and 21 m wide, weighing 180 t . The most utilized engines were simple battering rams, or tortoises, propelled in several ingenious ways that allowed the defender to reach the walls or ditches with a certain degree of safety. For sea sieges or battles seesaw-like machines were used. These were giant ladders, hinged and mounted on a base mechanism and used for transferring marines onto the sea walls of coastal towns. They were normally mounted on two or more ships tied together and some sambyke included shield at the top to protect the climbers from arrows. Other hinging engines were used to catch enemy equipment or even opposite soldiers through apposite appendices which are probably ancestors to the Roman corvus, or to drop against them heavy weights.

The Romans preferred to assault enemy walls building earthen ramps or simply scaling the walls, as in the early siege of the Samnite Samnium

Samnium was a region of the southern Apennines [i] in Italy [i] that was home to the Samnites, a g ... 

 city of Silvium . Soldiers working at the ramps were protected by shelters called vinea, that were arranged to form a long corridor. Wicker shields were used to protect the front of the corridor during its construction. Sometimes the Romans used another engine resembling the Greek ditch-filling tortoise, called a musculus . Battering rams were also widespread. Siege towers were first used by the Roman legions around 200 BC.

The first documented occurrence of ancient siege artillery pieces was the gastraphetes , a kind of non-torsion bolt-thrower. These were mounted on wooden frames. Greater machines forced the introduction of pulley system for loading the projectiles, which had extended to include stones also. Later torsion systems appeared, based on sinew springs. The onager Onager

The onager is a large mammal [i] belonging to the horse family [i] and native to the deserts of ... 

 was the main Roman invention in the field.

Medieval siege engines

Medieval Middle Ages

The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history [i] ... 

 designs include the catapult Catapult

Catapults are siege engine [i]s using an arm to hurl a projectile [i] a great distance. ... 

 , the ballista Ballista

The ballista was a powerful ancient crossbow [i]. ... 

 and the trebuchet Trebuchet

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

. These machines used mechanical energy to fling large projectiles to batter down stone walls. In Europe, the catapult was invented in Greece by Dionysius in 399 BC. Also used were the battering ram and the siege tower Siege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine [i], constructed to protect assailants and ladders while app ... 

, a wooden tower on wheels that allowed attackers to climb up and over castle walls, while protected from enemy arrow fire.

A typical military Military

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

 confrontation in medieval Middle Ages

The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history [i] ... 

 times was for one side to lay siege to their opponent's castle Castle

A castle is a structure that is fortified for defence against an enemy and generally serves as a milita... 

. When properly defended, they had the choice whether to lay siege to the castle or to starve the people out by blocking food deliveries, or more proactively to employ war machines specifically designed to destroy or circumvent castle defenses.

Other tactics included setting fires against castle walls in an effort to decompose the cement that held together the individual stones so they could be readily knocked over, another indirect means was the practice of sapping, whereby tunnels were dug under the walls to weaken the foundations and destroy them and also catapulting diseased animals or people over the walls in order to promote disease which would encourage the defenders to surrender.

Modern siege engines

With the advent of gunpowder Gunpowder

Gunpowder, whether black powder [i] or smokeless powder [i], is a substance that burns [i] ... 

, firearm Firearm

A firearm is a weapon [i] that fires either single or multiple projectile [i]s propelled at high velocit ... 

s such as the arquebus Arquebus

[i]
[i]
... 

 and cannon Cannon

A cannon is any large tubular firearm [i] designed to fire a heavy projectile [i] over a considerable di ... 

—and eventually the mortar and artillery Artillery

Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectile [i]s during war [i] ... 

—were developed. These weapons proved so effective that fortification Fortification

Fortifications are military [i] construction [i]s and building [i]s designed for defense [i] in ... 

s, such as city wall Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification [i] used to defend a city from potential aggressors. ... 

s, had to be low and thick, as exemplified by the designs of Vauban Vauban

Sbastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as V... 

.

The largest railway rifle ever constructed, called informally "Paris Gun Paris Gun

The Paris Gun was the name of an artillery [i] piece with which the Germans bombarded Paris [i] during World War I [i] ... 

", was used by the Germans Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country [i] in central Europe [i]. ... 

 in the siege of Paris Paris

native_name = Ville de Paris
|common_name = Paris
... 

 during World War I World War I

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All War... 

. The largest and longest range cannons proposed for use in World War II World War II

World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide [i] conflict [i] fought betwe ... 

 were the little-known German V3 weapons, a series of fixed barrels bored into tunnels and intended to fire a shell of over a metre Metre

The metre, or meter , is a measure of length [i]. ... 

 in diameter, constructed on the coast of France France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

 and intended to completely destroy London London

London is the capital [i] city of England [i] and of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

. Their construction was halted after bombing by allied forces, using earth-penetrating bombs. The remnants of this weapon may still be viewed today.

Prior to the First Gulf War Gulf War

The Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq [i] and a coalition [i] force of approximately 20 nations led b... 

 it was believed that Iraqi Iraq

The Republic of Iraq, is a Middle East [i]ern country [i] in southwestern Asia [i] encomp ... 

 armed forces were developing a "supergun" to attack Israel Israel

Israel , officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia [i] on the so ... 

, under the leadership of a Canadian Canada

Canada is the world's second-largest [i] country by total area, occupying most ... 

 engineer named Gerald Bull. It is believed that this engineer was assassinated Assassination

Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other stra... 

 by the Israeli security forces . This was fictionalized in the 1994 film Doomsday Gun.

Siege weapons are now considered obsolete owing to the effectiveness of aircraft-delivered munitions and cruise missiles Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided [i] missile [i] which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet [i] ... 

, which have made defensive area fortifications obsolete. The only cost effective static defensive structures are now deep bunkers used for military command and control. Even these fixed assets are of questionable value as it appears that the most survivable command and control of mobile defensive forces is through decentralized command and the use of mobile command centers.

Sources

  • Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC - AD 363, Duncan B. Campbell, Osprey Publishing, 2003

See also

  • Fortification Fortification

    Fortifications are military [i] construction [i]s and building [i]s designed for defense [i] in ... 

  • Military history Military history

    Military history is composed of the events in the history of humanity [i] that fall within ... 

  • Military engineer Military engineer

    A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive and... 

  • Medieval warfare Medieval warfare

    Medieval warfare is the warfare [i] of the Europe [i]an Middle Ages [i].

... 


External links

  • , working Siege Engine Kits