Siege - Marshal Vauban

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 ...

Including:

• 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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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

Read more here: » Siege: Encyclopedia II - Siege - Sieges in the age of gunpowder

Ancient sources contain many stories of siege, such as the siege of Jericho in the Old Testament or the Siege of Troy described by Homer in the Iliad. Alexander the Great's Macedonian army was involved in many sieges. There are two which are of particular note: Tyre and Sogdian Rock. Tyre was a Phoenician island-city about 1km from the mainland, and thought to be impregnable. The Macedonians built a mole (causeway) out to the island. It is said to have been at least 60m (200ft) wide. When the causeway was within artillery range ...

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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

Read more here: » Siege: Encyclopedia II - Siege - Ancient and medieval siege warfare

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

Read more here: » Siege: Encyclopedia II - Siege - Police actions

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

Read more here: » Siege: Encyclopedia II - Siege - Modern warfare

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

Read more here: » Siege: Encyclopedia II - Siege - Mongol siege warfare