Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe, the end of antiquity is often equated with the fall of Rome in 476. In China, it can also be seen as ending in the fifth century, with the growing role of mounted warriors needed to counter the ever-growing threat from the north. Ancient warfare - Overview. The difference between prehistoric and ancient warfare is less one of technology than of organization. The development of first city-states, a ...

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Ancient warfare - Overview
Ancient warfare - Chariots Ancient warfare - Infantry Ancient warfare - Cavalry Ancient warfare - Naval warfare
Ancient warfare - Tactics and weapons
Ancient warfare - Strategy Ancient warfare - Tactics Ancient warfare - Weapons Ancient warfare - Sieges
Ancient warfare - Cultures
Ancient warfare - Chinese Ancient warfare - Persian Ancient warfare - Egyptian Ancient warfare - Germanic Ancient warfare - Greek Ancient warfare - Indus Valley Ancient warfare - Japanese Ancient warfare - Roman
Ancient warfare - Important ancient wars Ancient warfare - Important ancient battles Ancient warfare - Unit types Ancient warfare - Sources

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Siege, Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare, Siege - Mongol siege warfare, Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder, Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications, Siege - New styles of fortresses employed, Siege - Marshal Vauban, Siege - Advent of mobile warfare, Siege - Modern warfare, Siege - Recent sieges, Siege - Police actions, Siege - Bibliography, Siege - Notes

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Ancient warfare - Chinese. Main article: Military history of China Ancient China during the Shang Dynasty was a Bronze Age society based on chariot armies. Archaeological study of Shang sites at Anyang have revealed extensive examples of chariots and bronze weapons. The overthrow of the Shang by the Zhou saw the creation of a feudal social order, resting militarily on a c ...

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Ancient warfare, Ancient warfare - Overview, Ancient warfare - Chariots, Ancient warfare - Infantry, Ancient warfare - Cavalry, Ancient warfare - Naval warfare, Ancient warfare - Tactics and weapons, Ancient warfare - Strategy, Ancient warfare - Tactics, Ancient warfare - Weapons, Ancient warfare - Sieges, Ancient warfare - Cultures, Ancient warfare - Chinese, Ancient warfare - Persian, Ancient warfare - Egyptian, Ancient warfare - Germanic, Ancient warfare - Greek, Ancient warfare - Indus Valley, Ancient warfare - Japanese, Ancient warfare - Roman, Ancient warfare - Important ancient wars, Ancient warfare - Important ancient battles, Ancient warfare - Unit types, Ancient warfare - Sources

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For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). For the James Mason book see Siege (book) A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that refuses to surrender and cannot be easily taken by a frontal assault. Sieges usually involve surrounding the target and blocking the provision of supplies, typically coupled with siege engines, artillery bombardment or sapping (als ...

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Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare Siege - Mongol siege warfare Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder
Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications Siege - New styles of fortresses employed Siege - Marshal Vauban Siege - Advent of mobile warfare
Siege - Modern warfare
Siege - Recent sieges
Siege - Police actions Siege - Bibliography Siege - Notes

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Mainly as a result of the increasing firepower (such as machine guns) available to defensive forces, First World War trench warfare briefly revived a form of siege warfare. Although siege warfare had moved out from an urban setting because city walls had become ineffective against modern weapons, trench warfare was nonetheless able to utilize many of the techniques of siege warfare in its prosecution (sapping, mining, barrage and, of course, attrition) but on a much larger scale and on a greatly extended front. The development of the armoured tank and improved infantry tactics at the end of World War I swung ...

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Siege, Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare, Siege - Mongol siege warfare, Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder, Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications, Siege - New styles of fortresses employed, Siege - Marshal Vauban, Siege - Advent of mobile warfare, Siege - Modern warfare, Siege - Recent sieges, Siege - Police actions, Siege - Bibliography, Siege - Notes

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Contravallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare. It is the process of the attacking army building a line of fortifications around the besieged city facing away from the city (to protect themselves from attacks by allies of the city's defenders and to enhance the blockade of the city) and also the resulting fortifications (known as 'lines of contravallation'). Lines of contravallation generally consist of earth ramparts and entrenchments that encircle the besieged city and are built para ...

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Circumvallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare. It describes the process of the attacking army building a line of fortifications around the besieged city facing towards the city (to protect itself from sorties by its defenders and to enhance the blockade). The resulting fortifications are known as 'lines of circumvallation'. Lines of circumvallation generally consist of earth ramparts and entrenchments that encircle the besieged city. The line of circumvallation can be used as a base for launching assaults against the besieged city o ...

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Circumvallation - Examples of circumvallation in military history

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The introduction of gunpowder and the use of cannons brought about a new age in siege warfare. Cannons were first used in the early 13th century, but did not become significant weapons for another 150 years or so. By the 16th century, they were an essential and regularized part of any campaigning army, or castle's defences. The greatest advantage of cannons over other siege weapons was the ability to fire a heavier projectile, further, faster and more often than previous weapons. Thus, 'old fashioned' walls—that is high and, relativ ...

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Siege, Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare, Siege - Mongol siege warfare, Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder, Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications, Siege - New styles of fortresses employed, Siege - Marshal Vauban, Siege - Advent of mobile warfare, Siege - Modern warfare, Siege - Recent sieges, Siege - Police actions, Siege - Bibliography, Siege - Notes

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Despite the overwhelming might of the modern state, siege tactics continue to be employed in police conflicts. This has been due to a number of factors, primarily risk to life, whether that of the police, the besieged, bystanders or hostages. Police make use of trained negotiators, psychologists and, if necessary, force, generally being able to rely on the support of their nation's armed forces if required. One of the complications facing police in a siege involving hostages is the Stockholm syndrome where sometimes hostages can devel ...

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Siege, Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare, Siege - Mongol siege warfare, Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder, Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications, Siege - New styles of fortresses employed, Siege - Marshal Vauban, Siege - Advent of mobile warfare, Siege - Modern warfare, Siege - Recent sieges, Siege - Police actions, Siege - Bibliography, Siege - Notes

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Medieval designs include the catapult, the ballista and the trebuchet. These machines used mechanical energy to fling large projectiles to batter down stone walls. In Europe, the catapult was invented in Greece by Dionysios in 399 AD . Also used were the battering ram and the siege tower, a wooden tower on wheels that allowed attackers to climb up and over castle walls, while protected from enemy arrow fire. A typical military confrontation in medieval times was for one side to lay siege to their opponent's castle. When properly defen ...

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Siege engine, Siege engine - Ancient siege engines, Siege engine - Medieval siege engines, Siege engine - Modern siege engines, Siege engine - Sources

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In the Middle Ages, the Mongol Empire's campaign against China by Genghis Khan and his army 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 fr ...

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Siege, Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare, Siege - Mongol siege warfare, Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder, Siege - Emerging theories on improving fortifications, Siege - New styles of fortresses employed, Siege - Marshal Vauban, Siege - Advent of mobile warfare, Siege - Modern warfare, Siege - Recent sieges, Siege - Police actions, Siege - Bibliography, Siege - Notes

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With the advent of gunpowder, firearms such as the arquebus and cannon—and eventually the mortar and artillery—were developed. These weapons proved so effective that fortifications, such as city walls, had to be low and thick, as exemplified by the designs of Vauban. The largest railway rifle ever constructed, called informally "Paris Gun", was used by the Germans in the siege of Paris during World War I. The largest and longest range cannons proposed for use in World War II were the little-known German V3 weapons, a series of fix ...

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Siege engine, Siege engine - Ancient siege engines, Siege engine - Medieval siege engines, Siege engine - Modern siege engines, Siege engine - Sources

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The earliest siege engine in Europe was the battering ram, followed by the catapult in ancient Greece. The Spartans used battering rams in the siege of Plataea in 429 BC, but it seems that the Greeks limited to use assault ladders (probably much of the machine, mēchanai, cited by Thucycides must be included in this category), though Peloponnesian forces used something resembling flamethrowers. It has recently been proposed that the Trojan Horse was not, as the legends say, a covert container for stealthy attackers ...

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Siege engine, Siege engine - Ancient siege engines, Siege engine - Medieval siege engines, Siege engine - Modern siege engines, Siege engine - Sources

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Fortification is almost as old as warfare itself; however, because of the relatively small size of the armies and the lack of range of the weapons, it was traditionally not possible to defend more than a short defensive line or an isolated strongpoint. The very long fortifications of the ancient world, such as the Great Wall of China or Hadrian's Wall, were exceptions to the general rule and were in any case not designed to completely prevent enemy crossing the border, but to act as a deterence to casual border infringement, as well as to ac ...

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Trench warfare, Trench warfare - Background, Trench warfare - Siege warfare, Trench warfare - Maori Pas, Trench warfare - Development, Trench warfare - Implementation, Trench warfare - Defensive system, Trench warfare - Trench construction, Trench warfare - Trench geography, Trench warfare - Life in the trenches, Trench warfare - Death in the trenches, Trench warfare - Weapons of trench warfare, Trench warfare - Infantry weapons, Trench warfare - Machine guns, Trench warfare - Mortars, Trench warfare - Artillery, Trench warfare - Gas, Trench warfare - Helmets, Trench warfare - Wire, Trench warfare - Aircraft, Trench warfare - Other Weapons, Trench warfare - Mining, Trench warfare - Trench battles, Trench warfare - Strategy, Trench warfare - Tactics, Trench warfare - Communications, Trench warfare - Obsolescence, Trench warfare - Recent trench warfare, Trench warfare - Sources

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Fortification is almost as old as warfare itself; however, because of the relatively small size of the armies and the lack of range of the weapons, it was traditionally not possible to defend more than a short defensive line or an isolated strongpoint. The very long fortifications of the ancient world, such as the Great Wall of China or Hadrian's Wall, were exceptions to the general rule and were in any case not designed to completely prevent enemy crossing the border, but to act as a deterence to casual border infringement, as well as to ac ...

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Trench warfare, Trench warfare - Background, Trench warfare - Siege warfare, Trench warfare - Maori Pas, Trench warfare - Development, Trench warfare - Implementation, Trench warfare - Defensive system, Trench warfare - Trench construction, Trench warfare - Trench geography, Trench warfare - Life in the trenches, Trench warfare - Death in the trenches, Trench warfare - Weapons of trench warfare, Trench warfare - Infantry weapons, Trench warfare - Machine guns, Trench warfare - Mortars, Trench warfare - Artillery, Trench warfare - Gas, Trench warfare - Helmets, Trench warfare - Wire, Trench warfare - Aircraft, Trench warfare - Other Weapons, Trench warfare - Mining, Trench warfare - Trench battles, Trench warfare - Strategy, Trench warfare - Tactics, Trench warfare - Communications, Trench warfare - Obsolescence, Trench warfare - Recent trench warfare

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In the Mediterranean, naval warfare in the medieval period resembled that of the ancient period: fleets of galleys rowed by slaves would attempt to ram each other, or come alongside for marines to fight on deck. This mode of naval warfare continued even into the early modern period, as, for example, at the Battle of Lepanto. Famous admirals included Andrea Doria, Khair ed-Din, and Don John of Austria. However, galleys were fragile and difficult to use in the cold and turbulent North Sea and northern Atlantic. Bulkier ships were develo ...

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Medieval warfare, Medieval warfare - Origins of medieval warfare, Medieval warfare - Strategy and tactics, Medieval warfare - Deployment of forces, Medieval warfare - Employment of forces, Medieval warfare - Retreat, Medieval warfare - Fortifications, Medieval warfare - Medieval siege craft, Medieval warfare - Organization, Medieval warfare - Knights, Medieval warfare - Heavy cavalry, Medieval warfare - Infantry, Medieval warfare - Recruiting or drafting soldiers, Medieval warfare - Equipment, Medieval warfare - Personal equipment for, Medieval warfare - Weaponry, Medieval warfare - Supplies and logistics, Medieval warfare - Plunder and foraging, Medieval warfare - Supply chains, Medieval warfare - Famine and disease, Medieval warfare - Naval warfare, Medieval warfare - Significant medieval battles, Medieval warfare - Medieval wars

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In ancient times, combat engineers were responsible for siege warfare and building field fortifications, temporary camps and roads. The most notable engineers of ancient times were the Romans, who constructed huge siege-machines (catapults, battering rams and siege towers) and were responsible for constructing fortified wooden camps and paved roads for their legions. Many of these Roman roads are still in use two thousand years later. In the Middle Ages combat engineers focused on siege warfare. They planned castles and fortresses. Wh ...

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Combat engineering, Combat engineering - Terminology, Combat engineering - Role, Combat engineering - Tools, Combat engineering - History, Combat engineering - Specific combat engineering corps, Combat engineering - United States, Combat engineering - Israel, Combat engineering - United Kingdom

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The difference between prehistoric and ancient warfare is less one of technology than of organization. The development of first city-states, and then empires, allowed warfare to change dramatically. Beginning in Mesopotamia, states produced sufficient agricultural surplus that full-time ruling elites and military commanders could emerge. While the bulk of military forces were still farmers, the society could support having them campaigning rather than working the land for a portion of each year. Thus, or ...

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Ancient warfare, Ancient warfare - Overview, Ancient warfare - Chariots, Ancient warfare - Infantry, Ancient warfare - Cavalry, Ancient warfare - Naval warfare, Ancient warfare - Tactics and weapons, Ancient warfare - Strategy, Ancient warfare - Tactics, Ancient warfare - Weapons, Ancient warfare - Sieges, Ancient warfare - Cultures, Ancient warfare - Chinese, Ancient warfare - Persian, Ancient warfare - Egyptian, Ancient warfare - Germanic, Ancient warfare - Greek, Ancient warfare - Indus Valley, Ancient warfare - Japanese, Ancient warfare - Roman, Ancient warfare - Important ancient wars, Ancient warfare - Important ancient battles, Ancient warfare - Unit types, Ancient warfare - Sources

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Ancient warfare - Strategy. Ancient strategy focused broadly on the twin goals of making continued war seem more costly than submitting to the enemy and of making the most gain from war as possible. Forcing the enemy to submit generally consisted of defeating their army in the field. Once the enemy force was routed, the threat of siege, civilian deaths, and the like often forced the enemy to the bargaining table. However, this goal could be accomplished by other means. Burning enemy fields would force the ...

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Ancient warfare, Ancient warfare - Overview, Ancient warfare - Chariots, Ancient warfare - Infantry, Ancient warfare - Cavalry, Ancient warfare - Naval warfare, Ancient warfare - Tactics and weapons, Ancient warfare - Strategy, Ancient warfare - Tactics, Ancient warfare - Weapons, Ancient warfare - Sieges, Ancient warfare - Cultures, Ancient warfare - Chinese, Ancient warfare - Persian, Ancient warfare - Egyptian, Ancient warfare - Germanic, Ancient warfare - Greek, Ancient warfare - Indus Valley, Ancient warfare - Japanese, Ancient warfare - Roman, Ancient warfare - Important ancient wars, Ancient warfare - Important ancient battles, Ancient warfare - Unit types, Ancient warfare - Sources

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