This is a very readable and well-illustrated review of siege warfare during the late Middle Ages. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages and the battles and sieges of the Hundred Years War between France and England – Most Recommended
NAME: Siege Warfare During the Hundred Years War, Once More unto the Breach FILE: R2751 AUTHOR: Peter Hoskins PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 234 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Middle Ages, European warfare, Medieval Period, castles, city walls, f ixed defences, 100 Years War, Hundred Years War, France, England, knights, engineers, men-at-arms, civil population, breaching walls
ISBN: 1-47383-432-5
IMAGE: B2751.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yagxfb52 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is a very readable and well-illustrated review of siege warfare during the late Middle Ages. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages and the battles and sieges of the Hundred Years War between France and England - Most Recommended By the late Middle Ages, the castle and the walled town had reached the apex of their development. To win victory, an army had to do more than defeat the enemy army. The wealth of a nation and its political force was located conveniently in the towns and at castles commanding strategic points. Built to protect defenders, these fixed fortifications usually became traps for their occupants. From simple hill forts, they had developed complex technology to destroy enemy troops as they fought through the defensive layers. However, the critical weakness, that still applies to fixed defences, is that the defenders have a finite supply of food and water. An attacker who was not impatient could simply surround a castle or walled city and wait until starvation, thirst, and sickness had reduced the defenders to the point where it was more attractive to throw themselves on the mercy of the attackers rather than suffer any longer. Attackers usually preferred not to wait for the inevitable end and they employed a variety of techniques and technologies to speed the surrender of the besieged location. Walls were undermined and siege artillery hurled projectiles into the target, including the use of biological weapons in the form of diseased animal and human bodies. Fire was a frequent weapon and siege towers were built to deliver shock troops to the target over the fortified walls. The author has describe compellingly the processes, the motives, the techniques and the technologies, including the early use of gunpowder, to deliver stone and metal shot to the enemy walls to create breaches through which the attackers would gain entry to the town or castle. Good insight into the strategy and tactics employed and graphic accounts of key sieges. Essential reading for all those with an interest in Medieval history, the protracted Anglo-French conflict, and the art of siege warfare. The information is also applicable to those interested in other periods and wars because it brings to a climax the warfare developed in ancient history and holds lessons for any fixed defences employed since Medieval times.