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In the mind of Flavius Vegtius Renatus, the offensive and defensive system of siege warfare played a very important role in warfare, or in the tactical system of the army. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

If this were not the case, the fourth volume of the "Brief Introduction to the Art of War" would not have been basically based on the corresponding description and compilation of this aspect of the argument.

In addition to the above-mentioned contents, the corresponding descriptions of offensive and defensive operations in the "Brief Introduction to the Art of War" also have some very detailed pages, and the protagonists of these pages became the corresponding Western apparatus of siege warfare at that time:

A type of combat vehicle that the ancients called the "siege vehicle", it is now called "Kawuqi" in the daily life of soldiers and barbarians. The machine is composed of light wood and is 8 feet wide, 7 feet high, and 16 feet long. Its top is made of planks and double branches. The sides are also made of tree strips. This allows you to avoid being pierced by stones and spears when attacked. The outer layer is covered with damp, freshly peeled hides or a covering nailed with rags to prevent it from being ignited by projected incendiary objects. When there were a large number of these "siege engines", they were also lined up, and under their cover, the besiegers could approach the fortifications and dig down the foundations of the walls.

The "movable shield" is an arch-like piece of equipment, also made of tree branches, covered with a Cilician goatskin blanket or animal skins in general, and is rolled in by three small wheels, one of which is in the middle and the other two in front, the so-called "nose section". With these three wheels, it can turn in any direction like a cart. The besiegers sat on it close to the wall and used it as cover to shoot arrows, throw stones or throw spears to drive the defenders off the breastwork, in order to seize the opportunity to climb the ladder to the top of the wall. Arrows and spears were projected from the walls, and earthen embankments were built with earth and wood against the walls.

16. The so-called "boat amberjack car" is a small facility. Under its cover, the warriors destroyed the pointed fortifications of the city. In addition, it was able to fill the trenches with stones, wood, and earth that had been brought in, and it could be tamped so that the movable towers could get close to the walls without hindrance.

The name of the boat is derived from the name of a marine fish. Although they are much smaller than whales, they often do their best to help them, and similarly, these carts flatten the road in front of the big watchtowers to make way for them.

XVII. The watchtower car is made of tree strips and planks.

It looks like a building from the outside. In order to prevent the enemy from setting fire to such a large facility, they were wrapped tightly in raw hides and a covering made of cloth sheets. Since the body of this car is very high, it must be made very wide. The usual width is 30 square feet, sometimes 40 square feet, or even 50 square feet. Its height not only exceeds the height of the city walls, but even exceeds the height of the stone towers on the city walls. According to the laws of mechanics, there are so many wheels under the body that such a huge device can't move forward without so many wheels rolling. If there was such a watchtower car driving towards the city wall, it would be a direct threat to the city.

There are a number of ladders placed in each watchtower, some of which can be extended into the city by various means. There is also a battering ram on the lower part of the watchtower, which can be used to destroy the city walls. In the middle there is also a bridge made of two long poles and braided wooden strips: suddenly this bridge is stretched out and placed between the watchtower and the city wall. The upper part of the watchtower hides soldiers carrying spears and bows and arrows. From the height of the watchtower, they killed and wounded the defenders with spears, javelins, and stones. If this happens, the city will undoubtedly fall quickly. When the defenders of the city put all their hopes on their high walls, and suddenly a higher enemy tower appeared in front of them, what else could they do to defend their city?

XVIII. However, there are still many ways to resist such a precarious situation.

First of all, if the defenders can be trusted, and if they do have the courage, they will carry out a surprise attack and use their strength to push the enemy back, and they can peel off the skins of the enemy's watchtower carts and set the wood of this behemoth on fire. If citizens are afraid to leave the city, they can also use large ballistas to shoot flaming arrows (burning rockets) or fiery spears (fire spears) to make them penetrate the leather wood or covering, and start a fire inside the building.

Rockets are the kind of arrows that can burrow into the body of a car and ignite a fire, because they are already on fire in flight. The spear resembles a spear in that its head is fitted with a sturdy iron cap, which is wrapped in sulfur, asphalt, resin, and oiled flax between the barrel and the shaft. When fired from the ballista, the fire spear pierced through the protective layer and penetrated the wood with the fire, so the tower-shaped cart was set on fire.

Sometimes, when the enemy was asleep, people would take tinder and hang them from the walls with ropes, set the carts on fire, and climb back to the city.

19. Secondly, the defending troops can also increase the height of the section of the wall where the enemy tries to bring the watchtower carts close.

You can use a mixture of earth and stones, or even ordinary clay, bricks, or wooden planks as a last resort. In short, do not let the enemy condescendingly attack the people guarding the city walls from this watchtower cart. If the height of the watchtower car is lower than the city wall, then it is useless.

In order to prevent this from happening, the siege troops often come up with ideas to deal with it. For example, they first built a watchtower cart that appeared to be lower than the perforations in the city wall, and then quietly hid another small wooden watchtower in the watchtower. When the car body was pressed against the city wall, they suddenly used ropes and pulleys to lift the small watchtower from the middle to the top. At this time, the heavily armed siege troops jumped up from the small watchtower. Since the towers were higher than the city walls, they were able to climb to the top of the city and occupy the city.

20. Sometimes, in order to deal with the movable watchtower car, the city garrison force pushes out a long square log covered with iron sheet, which is used to push the opponent's watchtower car and prevent it from approaching the city wall.

I remember one time when the enemy surrounded a city of the Rhodians, and brought in a cart with a large watchtower, which was taller than the walls of the city and all the towers at the head of the city. One mechanic had a particularly good brain, and he came up with a solution: at night, he dug a tunnel at the foot of the city wall to the place where the watchtower car was going to stop the next day. Then he unwittingly hollowed out the soil beneath the place and carried it away, leaving only a thin layer of surface. When the wheels of this behemoth rumbled to the hollowed out place under the piece, the big thing sank down at once, and it was obvious that this loose layer of earth could not bear such a heavy watchtower car. In this way, it will not be able to get close to the city wall at all, and it will not even be able to move. So the city was saved, and the enemy had to abandon the car.

21. When the watchtowers approached, the slingers used stones, the casters used javelins, and the rest of the men fired arrows with various bows and crossbows, and the spearmen threw lead balls and missilia (javelins) to drive them away from the city. Those who attempt to climb ladders to reach the city do so at great risk, as in the case of Capanei, who was the first to invent the siege of the city with ladders, and he was slain by the Fivans, and the blow was so powerful that it was said that he appeared to have been struck by lightning.

The besiegers ascended the enemy's walls with the help of ladders, diagonal bridges, and levers.

The ladder resembles a harp, hence the name. There are strings on the harp, and a cable is tied to the beam next to the watchtower, and the ladder can be lowered with the help of pulleys.

As soon as this ladder reached the top of the city, the soldiers immediately jumped out of the watchtower cart, followed the ladder, climbed to the top of the city, and attacked the city.

The diagonal bridge is the bridge I mentioned above, because it suddenly protrudes from the middle of the watchtower car to the diagonal thorn to set up the city wall, hence the name.

The lever is a device in which a very tall pillar is buried in the ground, and a longer piece of wood is fixed horizontally at the upper end of the pillar, which happens to be fixed in the center in order to maintain balance. In this case, when one end is pressed downward, the other end can be lifted upwards: at one end of the wood hangs a basket made of tree strips or planks, in which several armed men can be held. When the other end is held by the rope and pressed down, the person sitting in the basket at that end will be able to rise up and climb up to the top of the city.

22. The defending troops usually used various ballistas, scorpion crossbows, crossbows, stick throwers (kept by archers), and slings to deal with this siege method.

There is a type of ballista that is taut by strings made of animal tendons, and the longer the distance between its ends, that is, the longer the cannon body, the longer the range. As long as the ballista is made in accordance with the principles of mechanics, and the shooter is experienced and understands the mysteries, he can hit every shot.

Another type of ballista is used to shoot stones, the weight of which is proportional to the thickness and length of the rope, and the thicker and longer the rope, the greater and more powerful the stone is thrown, and it flies as fast as lightning.

No projectile weapon is more powerful than the two.

Scorpion crossbows are now called hand crossbows, and they are called scorpion crossbows because the arrows shot with them are small and thin, but they can kill people.

I don't think I need to say much about stick throwers, crossbows, and slings, because they are still in use today.

The large rocks fired by the ballista can not only kill and wound people and horses, but also smash the enemy's equipment.

XXIII. There are many ways to deal with battering rams and falces. Pieces of covering and culcita were hung with ropes and lowered to the point where the battering ram was to strike, so that it would first come into contact with some soft and crumbling material, and by the time it hit the wall, it had lost most of its strength.

Others first tried to latch the battering ram from the wall, and then gathered a large number of men to tilt it over, and even turned it around with the turtle cart.

Others tied iron tongs or forfex, which they called "lupus", with ropes, to clamp the battering ram: either to turn it around, or to tilt its head upwards, in short, so that it could not be struck.

Sometimes, the defenders would shake heavy objects such as pillar bases and stone pillars back and forth on the city walls, taking advantage of the situation to throw them down, allowing the big guys to smash the battering rams to pieces.

But if the battering ram is so powerful that it knocks a hole through the wall, which is not unusual, and even if it collapses, there is still a glimmer of hope for salvation: to destroy the nearest house in the city would be to raise another wall, and if the enemy dared to pass through the gap, they would inevitably die between the two walls.

24. Another method of siege is the concealed underground siege method. This method is also known as the burrowing method, and it is also known as rabbit burrowing. Rabbits dig multiple burrows in the ground and hide inside.

If the enemy besieges the city with a large number of people, they will invest a lot of manpower in digging tunnels underground, just like poor people who dig pits when they are looking for gold and silver ore veins by hand for gold and silver. After the enemy dug the tunnel, it was equivalent to building a funeral road for the people in the city.

There are two ways in which the enemy can achieve this covert siege. They either sneaked into the city through the tunnels at night and attacked the unsuspecting citizens, opened the gates, let their troops into the city, and slaughtered opponents who had not yet figured out what was going on, or they went out to the base of the wall, dug out a large piece of the wall, put some dry square logs down, and temporarily supported the wall that would soon collapse, and then piled dead branches and other materials that could easily ignite on it. In this way, after they had made all the preparations of the troops, they set them on fire. When these wooden supports and branches are about to burn out, the walls will suddenly collapse, and the passage for the siege will be opened.

25. There are innumerable examples of how enemies who break into a city are often wiped out. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that the city's military and civilians still controlled the walls and towers, occupying higher positions in the city. At this time, people of all ages and genders would throw stones and other throwing equipment at the enemy from windows and from the roofs of buildings. To avoid such a situation, the besieging forces usually deliberately loosened the siege of some of the gates, so that the soldiers and civilians of the city had the opportunity to flee and stop resisting. Despair often forges some kind of inevitability of courage*** If this is the case, there is only one life left for the citizens (whether the enemy breaks into the city at night or during the day) - to take control of the walls and towers, to occupy higher points, to attack the enemy everywhere, in the streets and alleys, and to fight them to the end.

26. Sometimes, the besieging side will come up with some schemes, such as pretending that the siege is fruitless and leaving far away. As soon as the soldiers and civilians of the city began to relax after being frightened, and even became free, and no longer stood guard on the walls, the enemy took advantage of the darkness of the night to secretly carry the siege ladder back and ascend to the top of the city. Accordingly, when the enemy withdraws, they should be extremely vigilant, and small guard posts should continue to be set up on the city walls and towers, so that the guards can take shelter from the wind and rain and the cold in winter, and will not be exposed to the scorching sun in summer.

The practice has also led to the practice of feeding in the towers a few dogs with a particularly good sense of smell, who can sense the approach of the enemy by smell and tell you the news by barking. Geese are also very sensitive birds, and they will also tell you that someone is suddenly attacking at night. Had it not been for the loud cries of a flock of Marley geese that frightened the Gauls who had ascended to the Capitoline castle, perhaps they would have worn out the Roman surname forever. Out of astonishing vigilance or some kind of chance, a flock of birds saved the fate of the people who were destined to rule the world.

XXVII. It is essential to endeavour to find out everything relating to the habits of the enemy, not only in the siege but also in all other forms of warfare, and to try to understand them in detail. For example, you should know when the enemy stops working hard during the day, and when they are more relaxed, sometimes at noon, sometimes in the evening, and more often at night, or when they are eating, when both sides need to rest or adapt to some kind of physical need.

Otherwise, if you don't know this, you won't be able to choose a favorable time for an ambush, and when this happens in the city, the cunning besiegers will often deliberately stop the engagement and prompt the other side to further relax their vigilance. When this laziness intensified, the besieging forces suddenly moved the siege machinery forward and leaned the ladder against the wall, and the city was captured.

Therefore, stones and other throwing materials should be prepared at all times at the head of the city, and in the event of such an attack, those who rushed up to the city could grab them and fight the enemy or smash them in the head.

XXVIII. If this kind of slackness had occurred among the besieging troops, they would have been similarly subjected to a similar surprise attack. While they were eating or sleeping, they were scattered out of idleness or out of necessity, the soldiers and civilians of the city might suddenly strike at them and slaughter them unprepared: the battering rams and the mechanical vehicles were burned, and the earthen embankments and all the facilities that would be used to kill the people of the city were destroyed.

In order to prevent such a situation, the besieging troops dug trenches out of the range of their bows and arrows, and reinforced them with enclosures, stakes, and even small towers on the outside, so that they could withstand a surprise attack from the city. This facility is called lorica (small breastwork).

29. Throwing equipment, whether it is a shot put, a spear, a javelin, or a spear, as long as it is thrown from a high place at a person in a low position, the force will be greater. Throwing a stone with a hand, a sling, or a stick thrower, the range and distance of the arrow are related to the height of the projectile: the higher the height of the projectile, the farther it will land.

Balistae of all kinds, if handled seriously by experienced people, are more powerful than any other weapon. Neither bravery nor any other fortification could protect the warriors from their attacks. They are as destructive as lightning, and if they are hit, they will either be destroyed or pierced by them.

30. Siege ladders and siege machinery can play a great role in capturing the city walls, but their height must exceed the height of the fortifications on the city walls. This height can be determined in two ways: first, take an arrow, tie one end of a thin linen rope that can be extended arbitrarily to the arrow, and shoot the arrow onto the head of the city, the length of the linen rope is the height of the wall, and second, when the sun is setting in the west, the towers and walls will cast their shadows on the ground, and then measure the length of this shadow without being detected by the enemy, and at the same time bury a pole 10 feet high in the ground, and measure the length of its shadow in the same way. At this point, the height of the wall can be easily determined by the shadow of the 10-foot-long pole. As we all know, the length of the shadow cast by an object depends on the height of that object.

......

Finally, Flavius Vegetius Renatus presents his conclusions for the fourth volume of A Brief Introduction to the Art of War:

I believe that it is in the public interest that I am here to describe the views of the writers of the art of war on sieges and fortifications, or those which have been confirmed by the necessary recent experience. In addition, I have repeatedly reminded you not to suffer a sudden shortage of water and food, for no such scourge can be remedied by any art of war. According to this, it is necessary to stock up on as much as possible in the city, and it is known that the duration of the siege depends on the will and ability of the besieging party. (To be continued.) )

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