Author Topic: Fortifications and Siege. (11 pts)  (Read 8209 times)

Longmane

  • Noble Lord
  • ***
  • Posts: 237
  • Longmane Family.
    • View Profile
pt2

To attack a large city was an enormous undertaking, involving strong and able command, special equipment and personnel, persistence and, above all, organization to sustain forces. These qualities were not commonly combined in medieval armies, although they were demonstrated by the First Crusade at Antioch, to a remarkable degree.

Baldwin I of Jerusalem maintained the siege of Tyre from November 1111 to April 1112 using earthwork fortifications to protect his army from relief forces, and constructing formidable siege-towers. In the end, he failed because the citizens put up a stubborn and intelligent defence, could count on supply by sea and knew that a relief army was imminent. In 1124, the same disciplined effort – this time supported by a Venetian fleet – was successful. The siege of Ascalon, from 1153 to 1154, was a triumph of organization and determination over adversity. The siege of Lisbon in 1147–8 enjoyed remarkable success, but there was tension between the Portugese, the Anglo-Normans, the Germans and the Flemings over booty. During the Third Crusade, the siege of Acre, sustained for two years from August 1189, was badly hampered by friction between various groups, notably those of Richard I and Philip Augustus.

Frederick Barbarossa’s enormous exertions against Milan illustrate the problems of siege very well. Barbarossa wanted to reassert imperial authority in the old Lombard Kingdom, but Milan was deeply opposed. After the failure of his early efforts to come to terms, Barbarossa besieged Milan with a great army in 1158, but he was never able to isolate the city, and many of his nobles tired of the bitter conflict, forcing him to come to terms at Roncaglia in September 1158. This settlement broke down, chiefly because Barbarossa needed the support of the imperialist cities; amongst them was Cremona, which wanted to weaken Milan by destroying Crema and the fortifications of Piacenza.

The siege of Crema, from 2 July 1159 until 27 January 1160, was an immense effort by Barbarossa. Although relatively small, the city was well fortified and required an all-out effort, with the use of complex siege machinery. After its fall, Frederick’s army melted away, leaving the initiative to Milan, which tried to seize imperial Lodi and to cut Frederick’s communications by isolating Como: armed confrontations resulted, with a pitched battle at Carcano on 9 August 1160 in which Barbarossa was defeated. Only in May 1161 was Milan besieged, and by late August the bitter fighting prompted some of the German nobles to seek a settlement with Milan; Rainald of Dassel prevented this by ambushing their envoys. It was not until March 1162 that Milan capitulated.

The attack on Milan strained even Barbarossa’s resources. To sustain a war with so radical an objective – the destruction of an enemy city – was a major achievement in a world in which military activity was normally fitful. But a military solution in the Lombard plain was impossible, for the cities were too numerous and their political connections were too ramified, and Barbarossa failed to create a political solution after the fall of Milan. When Verona rebelled in 1164, much of eastern Lombardy followed – the emperor found himself with few Germans and “the Lombards were reluctant to come to his assistance”.

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.  "Albert Einstein"