Siege facts for kids

Picture of the siege of Rancagua during the Chilean War of Independence

A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from Latin: sedere, lit. 'to sit'. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static, defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity for negotiation between combatants is not uncommon, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy. The art of conducting and resisting sieges is called siege warfare, siegecraft, or poliorcetics.

A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a quick assault, and which refuses to surrender. Sieges involve surrounding the target to block the provision of supplies and the reinforcement or escape of troops (a tactic known as "investment"). This is typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engines, artillery bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses.

Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst, or disease, which can afflict either the attacker or defender. This form of siege, though, can take many months or even years, depending upon the size of the stores of food the fortified position holds.

The attacking force can circumvallate the besieged place, which is to build a line of earth-works, consisting of a rampart and trench, surrounding it. During the process of circumvallation, the attacking force can be set upon by another force, an ally of the besieged place, due to the lengthy amount of time required to force it to capitulate. A defensive ring of forts outside the ring of circumvallated forts, called contravallation, is also sometimes used to defend the attackers from outside.

Ancient cities in the Middle East show archaeological evidence of having had fortified city walls. During the Warring States era of ancient China, there is both textual and archaeological evidence of prolonged sieges and siege machinery used against the defenders of city walls. Siege machinery was also a tradition of the ancient Greco-Roman world. During the Renaissance and the early modern period, siege warfare dominated the conduct of war in Europe. Leonardo da Vinci gained as much of his renown from the design of fortifications as from his artwork.

Medieval campaigns were generally designed around a succession of sieges. In the Napoleonic era, increasing use of ever more powerful cannons reduced the value of fortifications. In the 20th century, the significance of the classical siege declined. With the advent of mobile warfare, a single fortified stronghold is no longer as decisive as it once was. While traditional sieges do still occur, they are not as common as they once were due to changes in modes of battle, principally the ease by which huge volumes of destructive power can be directed onto a static target. Modern sieges are more commonly the result of smaller hostage, militant, or extreme resisting arrest situations.

Images for kids

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  Depiction of the siege of Lisbon, 1147

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  Assyrians using siege ladders in a relief of attack on an enemy town during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III 720–738 BCE from his palace at Kalhu (Nimrud)

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  The Egyptian siege of Dapur in the 13th century BC, from Ramesseum, Thebes

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  Depiction of various siege machines in the mid-16th century

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  Medieval trebuchets could sling about two projectiles per hour at enemy positions.

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  Cahir Castle in Ireland was besieged and captured three times: in 1599 by the Earl of Essex, in 1647 by Lord Inchiquin, and in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell.

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  Roman siege machines

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  Chinese and Korean troops assault the Japanese forces of Hideyoshi in the siege of Ulsan Castle during the Imjin War (1592–1598).

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  Late 16th-century illustration of cannon with gabions

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  The siege of Candia, regarded as one of the longest sieges in history (1648–1669)

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  Vauban's star-shaped fortified city of Neuf-Brisach

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  The Battle of Vienna took place in 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months.

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  Storming of Redoubt#10 during the siege of Yorktown

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  British infantry attempt to scale the walls of Badajoz, Peninsular War, 1812

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  French Engineer Corps during the siege of Antwerp, 1832

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  The Skoda 305 mm Model 1911

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  Siege of Przemyśl

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  Map showing Axis encirclement during the siege of Leningrad (1942–1943)

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  French troops seeking cover in trenches, Dien Bien Phu, 1954

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  Sarajevo residents collecting firewood, winter of 1992–1993

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  Map of destroyed infrastructure following the Siege of Marawi, 2017

See also

In Spanish: Asedio para niños