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 erm. little help?
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AlmightyAlice Member |
posted 05-26-2002 08:02 PM
  
hi my name is Alice and i am 14. i am doing a project at school on attacking and defending medieval english castles. now 4 the problem. i need 2 work out how 2 attack a castle in step by step format |
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Merlin Senior Member |
posted 05-28-2002 05:31 AM
There are many different important steps about attacking a castle. As attacker, you would: • Build a fortified or at least strongly guarded camp in a short distance from the castle (far enough form the walls, so you can't be hit by arrows or stones). • Make sure that the castle is separated from any external source of food and water (therefore you have to control the whole area around the castle day and night with guards). • Show your artillery (catapults) to impress the enemy: In some cases, noblemen had to give up defending their castle because they knew they were not wealthy enough to pay for the rebuilding of a half-destroyed castle ... • Use the catapults to destroy the buildings inside the castle. • Try to get as near to the walls as possible. For this, you'll need special equipemnt to protect your people from the arrows and stones of the defenders (large wooden shields or moveable walls will do) and it may also be necessary to fill up a ditch or two. • Try to ram the door or to undermine the walls to bring them down. • If nothing helps, try to set the wooden structures of the castle on fire (with burning arrows) an to take the walls with ladders. But this may cost many lifes and destroy many of the goods inside the castle you otherwise could have plundered (which is very important important, so you can pay your troops – war was already expensive in medieval times). Hope this gives a first impression. |
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Llywelyn Member |
posted 05-31-2002 10:35 AM
Greetings, Often the first step that somebody would take would be to storm the castle. This would be the quickest way to take a castle but costs lives. Works best if the moral of the garrison in the castle is poor or it is poorly defended. If they are able to surprise the castle it will work as well. If storming it was out of the question and the attacking army had lots of time they would try to starve those in the castle. This ment surrounding the castle and not letting any food in. This was a very sure tactic, but it took time and if the castles friends were willing to come and help it posed a major problem for the attackers. They then had to worry about those in the castle and those coming up from behind them to help. Treachery was another way. If they could bribe somebody inside the castle to open the doors for them they could attack on one side and when the doors were opened rush in. An other way would be to make a breach in the walls. This would mean constructing catapults or trebuchets. These were effective, but the attackers would have to guard them carfuly so that those in the castle didn't sally out and destroy them. Another way was to dig a tunnel under the wall and then fill with combustables. The tunnel would colapse and so would the wall over it. This formed a breach for the attackers to go through. This topic is inexastable. It changes with each siege that took place and with the situation. If there is something more specific you would like to to comment on just let me know. Llywelyn |
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Merlin Senior Member |
posted 06-02-2002 05:45 PM
Just a small correction: Catapults were not very effective to destroy the outer walls of a castle. Throwing even big stones against a solid wall which is 2 - 3 meters or even thicker won't destroy the structure in most cases. Catapults were more effective to destroy the buildings behind the walls, were the stones could fall through the roofs and all stocks, thereby damaging the interieur and killing the people inside. |
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Llywelyn Member |
posted 06-02-2002 07:24 PM
Greetings,
So why did Edward build trebuchets to reduce castles in Scotland? I personally have seen a hole made in a castle wall with one shot of a trebuchet. They are very effective against walls. It took time sure, but they wouldn't have been built at all that time and expence if they weren't effective. Llywelyn |
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AlmightyAlice Member |
posted 06-04-2002 08:01 AM
THANK U SSSOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! i got 14/20 pretty good mark 4 me in history!!!! thank u tahnk u *kisses feet of all those who helped* lol. thanx again!!! |
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Gordon unregistered |
posted 06-04-2002 02:25 PM
Llywelyn, I can't imagine many castle owners these days permitting a trebuchet being fired at their walls, particularly if it did indeed knock a hole through it....where did you see this? ------------------ |
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Llywelyn Member |
posted 06-04-2002 06:26 PM
Greetings,
Llywelyn |
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Erik Schmidt Senior Member |
posted 06-05-2002 04:49 AM
I have to agree with Merlin that catapults were not very effective against the walls. However, I agree with Llywelyn that Trebuches were very good at destroying walls. I think the difference is in the size of the projectile thrown. The trebuche had a mechanism which allowed it to throw very large stones, and if we're talking about the same case, I also saw a stone thrown at a replica castle wall by one of two full scale replica trebuches. The stone weighed 250 pounds and hit the wall with such force it knocked the stones about 20cm into the wall, causing the stones all the way through the wall to shift, knocking loose the inside layer of stones. My estimate is the wall was about 1-1.2 meters thick, the same as the top of the castle wall after which it was copied. This is why large trebuches were so feared. Castles were know to have surrendered when the enemy had built one, without it firing a shot. Merlin, I think there are few, pre-cannon era castles which have 2-3 metre thick outer walls, certainly not far above their base. Most that I have visited are between 1 and 2 meters average thickness, and would certainly be vulnerable to trebuches. Erik |
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Llywelyn Member |
posted 06-05-2002 08:29 AM
Greetings,
I have built several trebs(actually I was getting one fixed up for the season last night). They are great fun to use. My next project would be a torsion warmachine. But they are a bit more complicated and dangerous. But we shall see. Very good discussion, |
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Merlin Senior Member |
posted 06-09-2002 07:36 AM
Eric: Just two examples of pre-canon-era, middle-sized castles near Zurich: • Dübelstein (outer walls 2.5 meters) Many castles could (because they were built on a rock on a mountainside, etc.) only be attacked from one side. Normaly, this side was protected by walls extra-thick (shield-walls) or by the main tower (sometimes the 'Bergfried', sometimes the Donjon - with very thick walls too). The shield-wall, built to protect the main buildings of castle Ramosch-Tschanüff (in the Engadin, Switzerland) is about 6 meters thick! [This message has been edited by Merlin (edited 06-10-2002).] |
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