Siege Engine: Unleashing Tactical Dominance in Modern Warfare

By Fouad Sabry

Discover the Power of Medieval Warfare in "Siege Engine"!

Unlock the Secrets of Ancient Siege Warfare

"Siege Engine" takes you on a thrilling journey into the heart of medieval warfare, revealing the fascinating technology and strategic genius behind the devices that shaped historical battles. This comprehensive guide offers an in-depth look at the powerful machines designed to breach the mightiest fortifications and alter the course of history.

What You’ll Learn

Delve into the world of siege engines with expert insights and detailed explanations covering:

- Chapter 1: Siege Engine – Understand the basic mechanics and evolution of these formidable machines.

- Chapter 2: Catapult – Explore the design and impact of one of the most iconic siege weapons.

- Chapter 3: Medieval Warfare – Gain a broader perspective on the context and tactics of ancient battles.

- Chapter 4: Siege – Learn about the strategic art of besieging and defending fortified positions.

- Chapter 5: Siege Tower – Discover how these towering structures enabled armies to scale walls and breach defenses.

- Chapter 6: Battering Ram – See how these powerful tools smashed gates and walls with relentless force.

- Chapter 7: Ballista – Uncover the precision and power of this ancient ranged weapon.

- Chapter 8: Trebuchet – Dive into the engineering marvels behind these massive projectile launchers.

- Chapter 9: Battle of Xiangyang – Analyze one of the most famous sieges in history and the innovative tactics used.

- Chapter 10: Military Engineering – Appreciate the ingenuity and craftsmanship that went into creating these machines.

Why Read "Siege Engine"?

This book is perfect for:

- History Enthusiasts – Discover the dramatic stories behind the weapons that changed the course of history.

- Students and Scholars – Gain valuable knowledge for academic pursuits in history, engineering, and military studies.

- Professionals – Enhance your expertise with detailed analysis and historical context.

- Hobbyists – Fuel your passion for medieval warfare and ancient technology.

Answering Your Questions

"Siege Engine" also addresses the most frequently asked questions about siege warfare, providing clarity and depth to your understanding.

Get Your Copy Today!

Whether you're a professional, student, or hobbyist, "Siege Engine" offers a treasure trove of knowledge and insights. Unlock the secrets of the past and see how these incredible machines shaped the world. Order your copy now and embark on an epic journey through the annals of history!

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 18, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Siege engine

In siege warfare, a siege engine is a mechanism meant to breach or circumvent strong castle doors, thick city walls, and other defences. Some are stationary, designed to strike enemy fortifications from a distance, while others are equipped with wheels for close-quarters assault. There are numerous sorts, including siege towers that allow foot soldiers to mount walls and attack defenders, battering rams that break walls or gates, and massive ranged weapons (such as ballistae, catapults/trebuchets, and other similar buildings) that throw projectiles from a distance. Combinations of these sorts constituted some complicated siege engines.

The size of siege engines ranges from that of a tiny dwelling to that of a massive structure. From antiquity until the invention of gunpowder, they were primarily built of wood, bound with rope or leather, and occasionally with a few metal parts at important stress areas. They could launch basic projectiles utilizing natural materials to generate force by tension, torsion, or, in the case of trebuchets, human power or counterweights in combination with mechanical advantage. As a result of the invention of gunpowder and advancements in metallurgy, bombards and later heavy artillery became the major siege engines.

A siege train consists of siege engines or artillery together with the requisite personnel, sappers, ammunition, and transport vehicles to undertake a siege.

As represented during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, the earliest siege engines appear to have been basic mobile roofed towers used for cover to advance to the defenders' walls in conjunction with scaling ladders. The Assyrians employed sophisticated siege machines, such as battering rams, before ancient Greece invented the catapult. In Kushite siege warfare, such as the siege of Ashmunein in 715 B.C., siege towers and battering rams were utilized in Kush beginning in the eighth century B.C. The Spartans used battering rams during the Siege of Plataea in 429 BC, although it appears that the Greeks only employed assault ladders and something resembling flamethrowers.

Carthaginians utilized siege towers and battering rams against Greek colonies in Sicily as the first people in the Mediterranean to employ sophisticated siege equipment. These engines prompted Dionysius I, king of Syracuse, to create a catapult in 399 BC.

Philip II of Macedonia and Alexander the Great were the first two rulers to utilize siege engines extensively.

Their massive engines promoted the evolution of formidable machines, 304 B.C. Demetrius Poliorcetes' Helepolis (or Taker of Cities) was iron-clad and nine stories tall, It measured 40 meters in height and 21 meters in width, weighs 180 tons (400,000 lb).

The most common engines were straightforward battering rams, or tortoises, several clever methods of propulsion allowed attackers to reach the walls or ditches with a degree of safety.

For naval sieges or combat, seesaw-like machines (sambykē or sambuca) were used.

These were enormous ladders, Utilized for the transfer of marines onto the sea walls of coastal towns; hinged and mounted to a base mechanism.

They were normally mounted on two or more ships tied together and some sambykē included shields at the top to protect the climbers from arrows.

Other hinged engines were utilized to capture hostile equipment or even opposing soldiers with opposable appendages that were likely forebears of the Roman corvus.

Other weapons dropped weighty objects on opposing troops.

As in the early siege of the Samnite city of Silvium, the Romans favored creating mud ramps (agger) or simply scaling the walls to attack opposing fortifications (306 BC). The soldiers working on the ramps were shielded by vineae shelters placed to form a continuous hallway. Convex wicker shields served as a screen (plutei or plute in English)

The gastraphetes (belly-bow), a type of enormous crossbow, was the first ancient siege engine piece that has been documented in Europe. These were framed with wooden supports. Larger machines necessitated the development of a pulley system for loading projectiles, which had expanded to include stones. Later siege engines based on sinew springs incorporated torsion. The onager was the most significant Roman field innovation.

The earliest documented occurrence of ancient siege-artillery pieces in China was the levered principled traction catapult and an 8 ft (2.4 m) high siege crossbow from the Mozi (Mo Jing), a Mohist text written during the late Spring and Autumn period and the early Warring States period by followers of Mozi who founded the Mohist school of thought. From the Mo Jing's Books 14 and 15 (Chapters 52 to 71) on Siege Warfare, we learn the most of what we know about the period's siege technology. Much of the text recorded and kept on bamboo strips is now badly corrupted. Mohist's diligence and attention to detail, which distinguished Mo Jing from other works, ensured that highly descriptive details of the workings of mechanical devices such as Cloud Ladders, Rotating Arcuballistas, and Levered Catapults, as well as records of siege techniques and use of siege weaponry, can still be found today.

Kingdoms and empires of India, Sri Lanka, China, and Southeast Asia utilized war elephants as battering rams.

Catapults such as the mangonel, onager, ballista, traction trebuchet (developed in China in the third century B.C. and introduced to Europe in the fourth century A.D.), and counterweight trebuchet are examples of medieval designs (first described by Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi in the 12th century, though of unknown origin). These machines used mechanical energy to launch enormous projectiles against stone walls in order to breach them. In addition, the battering ram and the siege tower, a wooden tower on wheels that allowed attackers to scale castle walls while being somewhat shielded from opposing arrows, were employed.

During the Middle Ages, it was usual for one side to lay siege to the fortress of the enemy. When well guarded, they had the option of attacking the castle directly, starving the inhabitants out by preventing food delivery, or employing war machines intended to evade castle defenses. Trebuchets and catapults were also utilized by defenders as a defensive advantage.

Other strategies included lighting fire to castle walls in an effort to breakdown the mortar holding the individual stones together so they could be easily overthrown. Another indirect method was the practice of mining, in which tunnels were constructed beneath the walls to weaken and destroy their foundations. Catapulting diseased animals or human corpses over the walls to spread disease and force the defenders to surrender, an early type of biological warfare, was the third strategy.

With the invention of gunpowder, firearms such as the arquebus and cannon were created, followed by the petard, mortar, and artillery. These weapons were so efficient that city walls and other defences, such as those designed by Vauban, had to be low and thick.

During World Wars I and II, the evolution of siege artillery, separate from field artillery, reached its pinnacle. During the First World War, massive siege weapons such as Big Bertha were created for use against the fortifications of the time. The German Schwerer Gustav cannon, a monstrous 800 mm (31 in) caliber railway gun constructed at the beginning of World War II, was the pinnacle of siege weaponry. Schwerer Gustav was planned to be used for breaking the French Maginot Line of fortifications, but it was not completed in time, and (as a sign of the times) the Maginot Line was evaded by quick mechanized forces rather than breached in a direct assault. The length of time required to deploy and relocate contemporary siege weapons left them vulnerable to aerial attack and unsuitable for the quick unit movements of modern warfare.

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Catapult

Catapults are ballistic devices that are used to launch a projectile over a vast distance without the assistance of gunpowder or other propellants. Catapults are most known for the many different types of siege engines that were utilized in ancient and medieval times. In order to propel its payload, a catapult makes use of the abrupt release of potential energy that has been stored. The majority of them convert tension or torsion energy that was gradually and manually built up within the device before it was released. This energy can be converted using springs, bows, twisted rope, elastic, or any of a wide variety of other materials and systems.

The catapult, which has been in use since ancient times, has distinguished itself as one of the mechanisms that has proven to be the most consistently effective in battle. It is possible to use this phrase to refer to a wide variety of devices in the modern era, ranging from a straightforward hand-held implement (also known as a slingshot) to a mechanism that is used to launch airplanes from a ship.

The first known catapults date back to at least the seventh century B.C., when King Uzziah of Judah is said to have installed engines that fired great stones on the walls of Jerusalem.