Meaning of Siege

It is called a siege to the act and the consequence of besieging. This verb, for its part, refers to insistent pressure or to encircle or surround a certain place to harm in any way those who are in it.

Siege is the name given to military action that consists of blocking a fortress or city for an extended period and then proceeding with its assault. The siege prevents the supply, causing wear on people.

Suppose a military force X aims to conquer a city Y. The enemy side takes refuge in this town, ready to resist the advance. The military force X, in this way, makes a siege to the city Y: it locates its troops, tanks and other vehicles in its surroundings, preventing people from entering or leaving. Days later, in the city And food, medicine and other essential goods are scarce. The military force X, seeing its enemy weakened, proceeds to carry out the assault.

It is said that the military siege can generate four situations. When the attackers manage to enter the city and capture or eliminate the defenders, the siege falls. If the attackers enter but the defenders flee, the city is evacuated. In the event that the defenders manage to resist the siege without outside help, the city retains its position. Finally, when defenders succeed with outside support, they manage to lift the siege.

This measure by an army arises as a result of failing to get the opposing side to surrender. When such a situation is combined, which often results in a waste of time and resources, with the difficulty of taking the fortress or the city through a frontal assault, the siege seems to be the most effective decision.

To achieve the weakening of the enemy through this tactic, it is usually necessary to surround the terrain and use the so-called siege weapons to block the supply lines.

The weapons of siege, also known by the name of siege machinery, are those which in ancient times served to overcome or tear down walls, fortresses, forts and castles effectively in the context of a siege. Its use not only resulted in time savings, but also increased the probability of success. His creation aimed to overcome every obstacle that stood between the attacking and attacked army.

The list of siege weapons is extensive, and the oldest on the European continent is the battering ram, thanks to which it was possible to destroy fortified walls and gates. Its most rudimentary form is a simple trunk of great size and weight, which had to be carried by many people and pushed against the target. However, throughout history, designs of varying complexity appeared that included wheels and a roof to protect the battering ram from fire attacks.

In ancient Greece the catapult appeared, another of the siege weapons that have transcended and today are part of an endless number of works of fiction. Thanks to its design, the catapult was used to launch large and heavy objects against the enemy’s buildings. The Carthaginians and the Romans brought numerous improvements, and it was widely used during the Middle Ages.

Regarding the siege, in Europe it was one of the fundamental resources of the war throughout the Renaissance and the Modern Age. In fact, Leonardo da Vinci himself designed many fortifications that earned him much of his recognition.

“El siege”, finally, is the title of a novel written by the Spanish Arturo Pérez- Reverte. The book was published in 2010.