Military and Defence Systems: Made by EthanL 8X

Siege Tactics

Is a part of medieval warfare

Used when castles were more widespread

Castle and City Defences

Surrounded by a ditch or moat (Can contain water)

Archers and crossbowmen who could fire missiles through narrow window slits

Whenever defenders ran out, resorted to burning oil, flaming logs, spikes and rocks

Opening attack

Sieges were expensive; the best result was defenders to surrender immediately

If defenders remained resolute; warning messages were sent by the attackers, allowing non-combat residents to flee the scene

Different ways in case this happened such as Tunnels, having their own food supply

Simple way: Encircle a target, cutting off supply until thirst and starvation to surrender

France and Britain adopted ‘Motte and bailey castle’

Walled courtyard (bailey)

Wooden tower on a mound(motte)

Weapons

Battering Rams

Made of a large log wood with a sharpened metal cover at one end

Destroying a part of the defensive wall

Artillery

Strategies

Protect structures from fire by covering the in non-combustible material

Had been used since anquity (4500 BCE – 450 CE)

Gunpowder used first in 1326CE

Blending designs from Rome and Greece

1 Strategy: Pound wall with huge boulders fired by catapults

Creative strategies: Kite used to float incendiaries over the which were shot down

Undermining

Alternative of bashing fortification walls if they were thick and imposing was to attack them from below

Breaks the underground support for fortifications

Siege Towers

Enemy may be softened up by the use of artillery but hand-to-hand combat was inevitable.

Towers were made to go higher than the defenders wall to infiltrate

Assault on a section of wall

Subterfuge

Used to deceit the enemy by sending letters or having spies to make the enemy surrender

Aftermath

After a castle or city fell: Sack, pillage, burn, rape, and murder

Often if castle was in strategiecally important position, the new owners would maintain and defend; reusing and repairing

Wars

Norman Knights

Armour: Expensive

Castle Keeps

Strongpoints in early castles

Also known as great towers

Concentric Castles

1250 Dover Castle had both inner and outer circuits of towered walls ‘Concentric’ fortress

Emphasis on multi-towered enclosing walls

Two Wars

England and France war known as the ‘Hundred Years War’

Not changed much

Crossbows and Longbows

Mounted knight's support was generally provided by spearmen and crossbowmen

Crossbows powerful, but shot slowly

Longbows was the most decisive weapon which was made out of a single bough of yew which could shoot over 200 metres

Longbows were first recorded towards the end of the 12th Century

Bows had been used since prehistoric times

Used substantial wooden saddles, well-designed stirrups

Bitter Fighting

Bitter hand-to-hand fighting was done by ‘men-at-arms’

These were nobles and gentry

Cannon and Castles

Cannons were unwidely and difficult to transport

Useful in static positions within castles

Cannons had begun to play an important part in sieges

Gunports became standard additions to 15th century castles and even manor houses

Main Methods of attacking

Ladders

Catapults

Battering Rams

Mining

Fire

Siege

Best way to attack the early Motte and Baily castle since made out of wood

Might be started by a bonfire on the fence or archers shooting fire-arrows into the castle

Was used against Stone Keep castles

Several men behind it

Seriously weakens and possibly destroys doors or walls

Disadvantage: leaving the man climbing the ladder subject to attack

Because of the disadvantage Siege/Belfry Tower was developed

Used to climb over the walls and fight the castle inhabitants

Belfry was a large structure on wheels that could be pushed up to castle walls

Works by twisting rope as tightly as possible so that it acts like elastic when the arm is released

Used to fire stones, fireballs, dead sheep, cattle, or plague victims

Once made the tunnel; set a charge and make an explosion which would make the walls crumble and collapse

Advantage: Could not be seen from the castle

Attackers would dig a tunnel underground up to the castle walls (under the gatehouse if possible)

For attacking stone castles

Attackers would surround a castle with men and catapults so that no one could enter or leave the castle

Could last for months: until inhabitants of the castle ran out of food and were starving

All women, children, old, weak, and sick were sent out of the castle