How did armies traditionally lay siege to a town?
Traditionally, armies laid siege to a town by surrounding it with a defensive blockade in order to cut off the town's supply lines and isolate its population from the outside world. The following steps were typically involved in a siege:
1. Surrounding the town: The attacking army would encircle the town with lines of trenches, walls, or palisades to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. This encirclement was known as the "siege line" or "circumvallation."
2. Cut off supply lines: The attackers aimed to cut off the town from essential resources such as food, water, and military reinforcements. They would block the roads, bridges, and rivers that connected the town with neighboring areas to prevent the flow of supplies.
3. Blockading ports and water sources: If the town had access to a river or coastline, the attackers would deploy naval forces to blockade these routes, preventing any ships from bringing supplies or escaping the town.
4. Building siege weapons: The besieging army would construct various siege weapons such as catapults, trebuchets, battering rams, and siege towers. These weapons were used to breach the town's defensive walls or gates.
5. Constant bombardment: The attackers would rain projectiles, including rocks, stones, flaming arrows, and later cannonballs, on the town to weaken its defenses and demoralize its inhabitants.
6. Undermine or breach defensive walls: Siege engineers would dig tunnels or mines beneath the town's walls, attempting to collapse them or create breaches. Battering rams or siege towers were also used to assault specific entry points.
7. Siege towers and ladders: To climb over the walls, the attackers employed siege towers, which were tall wooden structures with multiple levels of platforms. Ladders were also used to scale the walls. This allowed the besieging army to gain entry and launch a direct attack on the town.
8. Starvation and disease: In prolonged sieges, the attackers relied on the strategic advantage of time. By cutting off the town's supplies, they hoped to starve the inhabitants into surrender or weaken their resistance. Additionally, disease often spread rapidly in besieged towns due to overcrowding and lack of sanitation.
9. Negotiation or surrender: If the defenders were struggle to hold out against the siege, negotiation or surrender might ensue. Terms could be negotiated, but if the defenders refused to surrender, the attackers might resort to storming the town, which involved a direct, brutal assault to overpower the defenders.
10. Pillaging and looting: If a town was captured by storming or surrender, there was often a period of pillaging and looting by the victorious army. This was sometimes permitted as part of the spoils of war, further motivating the attackers.
It is important to note that sieges could last for weeks, months, or even years, and their effectiveness depended on numerous factors, including the strength of the town's defenses, availability of resources, and political will of both the besieging and defending forces.