1. Were ancient city sieges very tragic?
Real city sieges were very tragic, but they were not the ones we saw on TV.
First of all, there were not many urban battles. Most of the famous battles in history were field battles. The attacker will not attack the opponent's heavily defended city if it is not sure of victory. Similarly, the defender will also find ways to eliminate or expel the opponent, and will not just close the city gates and watch the opponent's troops roam across their territory. In general siege warfare, the advantages and disadvantages are often already clear. The defender is unable to fight and has low morale, while the attacker has an absolute advantage and is relatively confident.
Secondly, the attacking side will not let the soldiers die in vain when they attack the city. It is impossible to just build a wooden ladder and climb up like in the TV. If any general directed the siege like this, he would have been killed. He was hacked to death by his own men. The siege in "New Three Kingdoms" is still relatively realistic. First, before the attack, the attackers use catapults and heavy crossbows to remotely suppress the enemies on the city wall, making them afraid to show their faces. Then the heavily armored shield soldiers opened the way and covered the rear siege troops approaching the city wall. The archers suppressed the enemies on the city wall under the city wall. A large ladder truck set up on the city wall. The archers on the vehicle continued to suppress the city wall. The infantry began to attack the city wall from the ladder. Wooden ladders began to be put up on the city wall at this time, mainly to distract the enemy's attention and put pressure on the enemy to attack the city from anywhere. It is unrealistic to rely on wooden ladders to rush to the city wall first.
Of course, if the siege fails, the attackers will inevitably suffer heavy casualties, but smart generals will not just rely on one attack to wipe out all the siege troops, but will use multiple trials to consume them. Sexual attacks, multiple points and a long time to consume the opponent, and finally a one-sided massacre after rushing to the city wall.
2. What are the long sieges and sieges in Chinese history?
The long sieges and sieges in Chinese history: Suiyang Defense, Xiangfan Defense, Battle of Diaoyu City
1. The battle to defend Suiyang. The patrolling of Suiyang can be called the most outstanding and brutal city defense battle in history. There were only a few thousand defenders, while the rebels at their peak numbered more than 200,000, including 130,000 Anlushan's most elite Hu soldiers from Gui, Tan, Tongluo, Xi and others outside the Great Wall. The soldiers and civilians of Suiyang defended the isolated city for 10 months with no reinforcements outside and no food inside. During the ten-month defense battle, the soldiers and civilians of Suiyang experienced more than 400 bloody battles, killing 120,000 enemy soldiers, 300 enemy generals, and captured more than 60 rebel generals. In the end, due to the lack of food and aid, they were forced to slaughter horses, dig rats and catch birds to satisfy their hunger, but these were not enough. At the critical moment when a large number of soldiers died of hunger, in desperation, Xu Yuan killed his family slaves and Zhang Xun killed them. He gave his concubine to the soldiers to satisfy their hunger and fought to the end. At the end of the battle, there was a tragic scene of cannibalism in the whole city. More than 30,000 civilians were eaten, and only about 400 soldiers in the Suiyang defenders were left who were too hungry to crawl. The city finally fell. Zhang Xun blocked the southward movement of the Anshi rebels, allowing the prosperous Jianghuai region to be preserved and the important tax town of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, he contained a large number of rebels and bought valuable time for the Tang army to organize a strategic counterattack.
2. The Battle of Xiangfan - In September of the third year of Xianchun (1267), Kublai Khan sent troops to attack Xiangyang and Fancheng. The soldiers and people of Xiangfan put up a tenacious resistance and began a six-year war. and the Battle of Xiangfan that determined the fate of the Southern Song Dynasty. The Mongolian land and sea divisions under Xiangfan City at their peak numbered more than 200,000, and they were as majestic as dark clouds covering the sun. However, the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty were not intimidated by the Mongolian iron hoof. They tenaciously repelled the Mongolian attacks time and time again, and some people even spontaneously organized rebels. Head to the rescue. Brothers Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui, the leaders of the rebel army, led 3,000 militiamen to risk their lives to break through the Yuan army's defense line to support Xiangyang. When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw the arrival of the reinforcements, they were overjoyed and their courage doubled. However, Zhang Shun was missing. A few days later, his body was seen surfaced with four wounds in his body. The sword has six arrows, and the bow is still in hand. It turned out that Zhang Shun had died heroically in the battle, and Zhang Gui later died in the battle against the Yuan army. The tragic and moving deeds of Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui in aiding Xiang inspired the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. After the failure of the Zhang brothers, Xiangfan was completely isolated from the outside world and the situation became even more difficult. Finally, in the first month of the ninth year of Xianchun (1273), Fancheng was defeated. Fan Tianshun, the defender, refused to surrender and committed suicide after the city was destroyed.
The commander Niu Fu led more than a hundred soldiers to fight in the streets. They drank blood and continued to fight. After killing many Yuan soldiers, Niu Fu was seriously injured and committed suicide by fire. In February of that year, when Xiangyang was also running out of oil and lights, guard Lu Wenhuan decided to surrender to the Yuan army in order to avoid being massacred after the city was broken. At this point, the six-year epic battle to defend Xiangyang Fancheng came to an end.
The failure of the Xiangyang Defense War was the inevitable result of the corrupt politics of the Southern Song Dynasty and Jia Sidao's surrender policy. The reason why the Xiangfan Defense War lasted for 6 years was entirely due to the bloody fighting of Xiangfan soldiers and civilians. Once Xiangfan was lost, the door of the Southern Song Dynasty was wide open. From then on, the Yuan army could march south along the Yangtze River and destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.
3. The Battle of Diaoyu City - Yu Jie, Zhang Yu, and Wang Jian led 20,000 soldiers to defend Diaoyu City for more than 20 years. They killed the Mongolian Khan Mengge and allowed the Mongolian army to retreat from the European expedition. Planning to lead the main force to attack *** Hulagu of Egypt, the last powerful force in the world, also led the main force (the remaining partial force was defeated by the Mamluks) to retreat to Mongolia to help Kublai Khan fight for the throne, and the Mongolian aristocratic group immediately began After a long period of internal warfare, it no longer has the same expansion power as before. The Battle of Diaoyu City forever changed world history. Europeans called Diaoyu City in Hechuan "the place where God broke his whip", while the Japanese regarded Diaoyu City as the holy city that saved the Christian world and called it "the place where God broke his whip". of Mecca”. The soldiers and civilians of Diaoyu City failed to comply with the king's orders for three years, but they still risked their lives to defend eastern Sichuan. The Southern Song Dynasty had been destroyed, but the Song military flag at the head of Diaoyu City was still flying high! This loyalty and persistence to the nation and the country has impressed the world. 3. What are the long sieges and sieges in Chinese history?
The long sieges and sieges in Chinese history: Suiyang Defense, Xiangfan Defense, Diaoyu City Battle 1, Sui The defense of Suiyang was one of the most outstanding and brutal city defense battles in history.
There were only a few thousand defenders, while the rebels at their peak numbered more than 200,000, including 130,000 Anlushan's most elite Hu soldiers from Gui, Tan, Tongluo, Xi and others outside the wall. The soldiers and civilians of Suiyang defended the isolated city for 10 months with no reinforcements outside and no food inside.
In the ten-month defense battle, the soldiers and civilians of Suiyang experienced more than 400 bloody battles, killing 120,000 enemy soldiers, 300 enemy generals, and captured more than 60 rebel generals. In the end, due to the lack of food and aid, they were forced to slaughter horses, dig rats and catch birds to satisfy their hunger, but these were not enough. At the critical moment when a large number of soldiers died of hunger, in desperation, Xu Yuan killed his family slaves and Zhang Xun killed them. He gave his concubine to the soldiers to satisfy their hunger and fought to the end.
At the end of the battle, there was a tragic scene of cannibalism in the whole city. More than 30,000 civilians were eaten, and there were only about 400 Suiyang defenders left who were too hungry to crawl. soldiers, the city finally fell. Zhang Xun blocked the southward movement of the Anshi rebels, allowing the prosperous Jianghuai region to be preserved and the Tang Dynasty's important tax town. In addition, he contained a large number of rebels and bought valuable time for the Tang army to organize a strategic counterattack.
2. The Battle of Xiangfan - In September of the third year of Xianchun (1267), Kublai Khan sent troops to attack Xiangyang and Fancheng. The soldiers and people of Xiangfan put up a tenacious resistance and began a six-year war. and the Battle of Xiangfan that determined the fate of the Southern Song Dynasty. The Mongolian land and sea divisions under Xiangfan City at their peak numbered more than 200,000, and they were as majestic as dark clouds covering the sun. However, the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty were not intimidated by the Mongolian iron hoof. They tenaciously repelled the Mongolian attacks time and time again, and some people even spontaneously organized rebels. Head to the rescue.
Brothers Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui, leaders of the rebel army, led 3,000 militiamen to risk their lives to break through the Yuan army's defense line to support Xiangyang. When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw the arrival of the reinforcements, they were overjoyed and their courage doubled. However, Zhang Shun was missing. They saw him a few days later. The corpse emerged, with four swords and six arrows in his body, and he was still holding the bow and arrow. It turned out that Zhang Shun had died heroically in the battle, and Zhang Gui later died in the battle against the Yuan army.
The tragic and moving deeds of Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui in aiding Xiang inspired the army and people of the Southern Song Dynasty to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. After the failure of the Zhang brothers, Xiangfan was completely isolated from the outside world and the situation became even more difficult.
Finally, in the first month of the ninth year of Xianchun (1273), Fancheng was defeated. Fan Tianshun, the defender, refused to give in and committed suicide after the city was destroyed.
The commander Niu Fu led more than a hundred soldiers to fight in the streets. They drank blood and continued to fight. After killing many Yuan soldiers, Niu Fu was seriously injured and threw himself into the fire.
In February of that year, when Xiangyang was also running out of oil and lights, the defender Lu Wenhuan decided to surrender to the Yuan army in order to avoid being massacred after the city was broken. At this point, the six-year epic battle to defend Xiangyang Fancheng came to an end.
The failure of the Xiangyang Defense War was the inevitable result of the corrupt politics of the Southern Song Dynasty and Jia Sidao's surrender policy. The reason why the Xiangfan Defense War lasted for 6 years was entirely due to the bloody fighting of Xiangfan soldiers and civilians.
Once Xiangfan was lost, the door of the Southern Song Dynasty was wide open. From then on, the Yuan army could march south along the Yangtze River and destroy the Southern Song Dynasty. 3. The Battle of Diaoyu City - Yu Jie, Zhang Yu, and Wang Jian led 20,000 soldiers to defend Diaoyu City for more than 20 years. They killed the Mongolian Khan Mengge and made the Mongolian army that was on an expedition to Europe retreat. They originally planned to lead the main force to attack *** Hulagu of Egypt, the last great power in the world, also led the main force (the remaining partial force was defeated by the Mamluks) to retreat to Mongolia to help Kublai Khan fight for the throne. The Mongolian aristocratic group immediately began a long-term internal war. It no longer has the same expansion power as before.
The Battle of Diaoyu City forever changed world history. Europeans called Diaoyu City in Hechuan "the place where God broke his whip", while Japanese people regarded Diaoyu City as the holy place that saved the Christian world. The city is called the "Mecca of the East". The soldiers and civilians of Diaoyu City failed to comply with the king's orders for three years, but they still risked their lives to defend eastern Sichuan. Even the Southern Song Dynasty had perished, but the Song military flag at the head of Diaoyu City was still flying high! This loyalty and persistence to the nation and the country has impressed the world. 4. Which was the most tragic battle in history?
The Battle of Songhu (also known as the August 13th Battle, and known as the Second Shanghai Incident in Japan) that broke out 78 years ago was an important battle between China and Japan in the fight against Japan. The first large-scale battle in the war was also the largest and most brutal battle in the entire history of the Sino-Japanese war.
In terms of the scale and combat effectiveness of the battle force, the Chinese army dispatched about 70 army divisions, plus seven brigades and security teams from Shanghai and Jiangsu, about one battalion of light tanks, and independent field artillery. Five regiments and two battalions, totaling more than 500,000 people. The total strength of the Japanese Army is nine divisions and one brigade, plus two detachments and two infantry regiments, totaling about 220,000 people. In addition, the Japanese army has about two brigades of heavy tanks, two to three brigades of light tanks, one regiment of siege heavy artillery, two regiments of field heavy artillery, and three regiments of field artillery. (Original editor's note: The establishment of a Japanese army regiment is equivalent to a regiment of the Chinese army)
In terms of the navy, the Chinese army has ten light cruisers and destroyers, including Haiqi, Haining, Yixian, Chuyou, and Yingrui. In addition to the remaining ships, there were also Yongsui, Jiangzhen, Shunsheng and other gunboats, as well as more than 20 torpedo boats, totaling about 40 ships. In the early stage, the Japanese Navy used the first and third fleets of the Combined Fleet, including the aircraft carrier "Kaga", with more than 50 cruisers, destroyers and lower warships.
As for the Air Force, during the "July 7th Incident", the Chinese Air Force had 600 aircraft of various types. However, there are only 230 aircraft available for combat and 75 aircraft in reserve, for a total of 305 aircraft. The Air Force is organized into nine flying groups, six independent flying squadrons, as well as temporary groups composed of teachers and students from aviation schools, and an air transport team with 620 pilots. There are 10 Air Force headquarters and 110 Air Force airports. All types of aircraft equipped by the Air Force are imported, including 113 destroyers, 17 heavy bombers, 52 light bombers, 20 attack aircraft, and 103 reconnaissance aircraft. During the same period, the number of Japanese army and navy aircraft reached 2,700, making it the world's strongest air force at that time. The Japanese Air Force is divided into the Army and Navy. The Army has 1,480 aircraft, with three flying regiments and the directly affiliated Fourth and Fifth Flying Wings.
The Japanese suffered more than 90,000 casualties in this battle, and our army destroyed more than 200 aircraft and more than 20 ships. The Chinese military's spirit of sacrifice and combat capabilities have been highly praised by military observers from various countries.
The British "Times" published an editorial at the time praising: "The Chinese casualties were indeed heavy, but the heroic resistance for ten weeks was enough to give China the honor of being a military country, which is unprecedented. It is important to know that some Chinese military equipment, It is still not sufficient, but it is generally believed that the position cannot be maintained for one day, but they actually held it for ten weeks. This kind of miracle is extremely rare. The resistance in one corner of Shanghai has a great impact on the entire China." 5. Why. It is said that the Battle of Changping was the most tragic war in history
Zhao Kuo's army held on for more than forty days without food and grass inside and no reinforcements from outside. The soldiers complained endlessly and had no intention of fighting.
Zhao Kuo wanted to lead his troops to break out, but was shot to death by random arrows from the Qin army. The Zhao army surrendered one after another without a leader. Bai Qi said: "Zhao's soldiers are capricious, so it is better to kill them all to avoid future troubles."
So Bai Qi used deception to bury Zhao's 400,000 soldiers alive. So, how did Bai Qi trap and kill these 400,000 Zhao surrendered troops? You know, it was 400,000 people. If he killed them, how big a hole would he have to dig? Therefore, historians have been arguing about this matter and doubt its authenticity. sex.
But on May 12, 1995, a major discovery was made about the truth of the battle. At that time, in a place called Yonglu Village northwest of Gaoping City, Shanxi, villagers dug up a large number of bones. Experts After arriving, they determined that this was the scene where Bai Qi killed Zhao Jun more than 2,000 years ago. As the excavation work began, experts discovered that the bones of Zhao Jun were intertwined. Some of the arms and thighs had obvious signs of breakage, which should have been left after being chopped with knives. Some had poisonous arrows left in their chests, and some had only There is a torso but no head. Judging from various signs, Zhao Jun was definitely not buried alive, but killed first and then buried him.
Although more than two thousand years have passed since the Battle of Changping, the sadness and majesty of the war still echo in the Killing Valley. Bai Qi was also regarded as the God of Killing because of this battle. Perhaps because of too many killings, Bai Qi's final ending also ended in tragedy. He was jealous of the King of Qin and was sentenced to death by the King of Qin. 6. How siege warfare was fought in ancient times
From the moment mankind was born, war has always followed the footsteps of mankind.
This journey lasted for more than 5,000 years, carrying blood and tears, and visited most corners of the earth. From the small fights of barbarians in tribal societies to the global wars involving millions of people in modern civilization, it can be said that war has always promoted the development of human civilization.
Regardless of ancient times or modern times, even in the future, war is a confrontation of resources, beliefs, will and resourcefulness. Without further ado, let’s talk about the siege equipment commonly used in ancient times.
1. Bow and arrow: a long-distance, high-speed lethal instrument, equivalent to modern guns. In the history of ancient wars, battles between cities were the most brutal form of warfare in ancient times.
In order to attack cities and territories more effectively, many abnormal weapons were developed, among which the heavy crossbow was a terrifying weapon. The most representative of the heavy crossbows is my country's three-bow bed crossbow.
The three-bow bed crossbow, also known as the "Eight Ox Crossbow", uses hard wood as the shaft and iron pieces as the feathers. It is as big as a javelin and has a range of more than 1,000 meters. It is worthy of its name. In addition to being widely used in field battles, killing weapons can also be used in offensive and defensive battles between cities. This thing is quite spectacular when launched, and it can be nailed directly into the city wall at close range.
(Most of the ancient city walls were made of earth) When the volley was fired, hundreds of "javelins" were nailed into the city wall, allowing the siege soldiers to climb up. 2. A siege tower, also called "Linchong" or "Dailou", is an armored siege tower that uses the power of collision to destroy city walls and gates.
To put it bluntly, this thing is to hit the rammed earth walls and wooden city gates head-on with its own weight and acceleration. It is often used at the end of the battle. 3. A ladder, a ladder as high as a cloud, sounds very domineering. There were many ways to attack a city in ancient times, but most of them relied on quickly ascending the city as a prerequisite for victory. Therefore, the ladder that can directly cross the barrier was born.
In order to ensure the safety of people pushing ladders, starting from the Song Dynasty, the ladders learned from the improvement experience of the ladders in the late Tang Dynasty. The bottom of the ladder was designed as a vehicle with shields on all sides. The outside was reinforced with rawhide, and people pushed it in the shed. The car can effectively resist the enemies' stones, bows and arrows thrown from the city wall. Friends who have watched The Lord of the Rings will remember the scene of the siege of the city by ladders. The towering city wall was quickly lost due to several ladders, which shows the role of ladders.
4. Catapults Catapults began to be used in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they became an important weapon for attacking and defending cities. It is a type of ancient chariot.
Equipped with a mechanical pivot to eject stones. Because the sound is like thunder, it is called the Thunderbolt Chariot.
Its emergence is the progress of technology and the need of war. The structure of the original catapult was very simple. It was a huge lever with stones loaded in leather sheaths or wooden baskets at the long end. Dozens of ropes were tied to the short end. When an order was given, dozens of people pulled the ropes at the same time. Use the principle of leverage to throw the stone.
The first large-scale use of catapults in the history of Chinese wars should be when Li Xin attacked Chu. The Chu army secretly prepared a large number of catapults. When the Qin army crossed the river, they suddenly launched them at the same time, and countless sharp stones hit them like a dark cloud. The Qin army of 200,000 was completely defeated, and Li Xin himself was defeated and committed suicide. This shows the power of the catapult at that time.
5. One end of the grappling hook is connected to a rope, and it can be thrown onto the city wall, and the soldiers can climb up the city wall. However, the risk is very high. If they climb halfway, they will be discovered by the enemy, and they will cut the rope with a knife and they will fall. Go down. Grappling hooks are generally used in nighttime surprise attacks.
There are basically so many siege machines, but there are many ways to siege the city. ① Siege: surrounded by heavy troops, cut off your food and water, and starve you for three to five years, then open the door and surrender.
Being besieged by the enemy is terrible. Food is decreasing day by day, and physical strength is weakening day by day... In the history of war, there have been many incidents of cannibalism due to being besieged. ② Fire attack: Use bows, arrows, and slings to throw fire into the enemy's city, which can cause significant damage to the enemy.
③ Tunnel warfare: Tunnel warfare is not the exclusive domain of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the central Hebei Plain. In ancient times, attacking an impregnable city would cause heavy losses to one's side. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: The first step is to attack the enemy, then the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and then the third is to attack the city; the method of attacking a city is as a last resort.
Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, attacking the city head-on is the stupidest way. ④Water Attack As the name suggests, it is to use water instead of soldiers to attack the enemy.
The main forms of water attack include "building dams and flooding the city", "breaking dikes and rushing the enemy", "trapping the enemy with no water", etc. Most of the ancient city walls were made of rammed earth. Watering them with water naturally became a shortcut to siege the city. Soak them in water for two or three days. If you don't move, the city walls will fall apart and turn into mud.
⑤ Earth attack: directly fill the opponent's city with soil. I have the impression that Mongolia used this method when they attacked a certain city.
One hundred thousand cavalrymen each carry a bag of sand and throw it under the enemy's city wall. In just half a day, they can build a mountain of earth. Then the army directly follows the mountain into the city, slaughtering all the way, with great power and domineering. ⑥Plague: Use catapults to throw rotting cattle, sheep, even human corpses, and dung into enemy cities to spread diseases and plagues, leaving the enemy unable to fight back.
A very disgusting and perverted trick! ⑦Noise is also a disgusting tactic. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers will stand in front of your house, beating gongs and drums and shouting curses, making noise day and night. Two days a day is fine, but ten days and a half will definitely break your spirit. ⑧Spy infiltration. Everyone knows about the Trojan horse scheme, right? Sneaking in a group of special forces and cooperating inside and outside, it is very troublesome.
The above are all commonly used siege methods in ancient wars. Generally speaking, the siege party has an absolute advantage. If they can defeat you, they will fight. If you cannot defeat them, they will take the body back home, and they will not run out of the city to chase you.
Although a head-on confrontation will cause great losses, in general the siege party has the initiative on the battlefield, and in history, the end of the battle was often declared when the siege party broke through the enemy's city.
7. How siege warfare was fought in ancient times
From the moment mankind was born, war has always followed the footsteps of mankind.
This journey lasted for more than 5,000 years, carrying blood and tears, and visited most corners of the earth. From the small fights of barbarians in tribal societies to the global wars involving millions of people in modern civilization, it can be said that war has always promoted the development of human civilization.
Regardless of ancient times or modern times, even in the future, war is a confrontation of resources, beliefs, will and resourcefulness. Without further ado, let’s talk about the siege equipment commonly used in ancient times.
1. Bow and arrow: a long-distance, high-speed lethal instrument, equivalent to modern guns. In the history of ancient wars, battles between cities were the most brutal form of warfare in ancient times.
In order to attack cities and territories more effectively, many abnormal instruments were developed, among which the heavy crossbow was a terrifying killing weapon. The most representative of the heavy crossbows is my country's three-bow bed crossbow.
The three-bow bed crossbow, also known as the "Eight Ox Crossbow", uses hard wood as the shaft and iron pieces as the feathers. It is as big as a javelin and has a range of more than 1,000 meters. It is worthy of its name. In addition to being widely used in field battles, killing weapons can also be used in offensive and defensive battles between cities. This thing is quite spectacular when launched, and it can be nailed directly into the city wall at a close range.
(Most of the ancient city walls were made of earth) When the volley was fired, hundreds of "javelins" were nailed into the city wall, allowing the siege soldiers to climb up. 2. A siege tower, also called "Linchong" or "Duolou", is an armored siege tower that uses the power of collision to destroy city walls and gates.
To put it bluntly, this thing is to hit the rammed earth walls and wooden city gates head-on with force, relying on its own weight to accelerate. It is often used at the end of a battle. 3. A ladder, a ladder as high as a cloud, sounds very domineering. There were many ways to attack a city in ancient times, but most of them relied on quickly ascending the city as a prerequisite for victory. Therefore, the ladder that can directly cross the barrier was born.
In order to ensure the safety of people pushing ladders, starting from the Song Dynasty, the ladders learned from the improvement experience of the ladders in the late Tang Dynasty. The bottom of the ladder was designed as a vehicle with shields on all sides. The outside was reinforced with rawhide, and people pushed it in the shed. The car can effectively resist the enemies' stones, bows and arrows thrown from the city wall. Friends who have watched The Lord of the Rings will remember the scene of the siege of the city by ladders. The towering city wall was quickly lost due to several ladders, which shows the role of ladders.
4. Catapults Catapults began to be used in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they became an important weapon for attacking and defending cities. It is a type of ancient chariot.
Equipped with a mechanical pivot to eject stones. Because the sound is like thunder, it is called the Thunderbolt Chariot.
Its emergence is the progress of technology and the need of war. The structure of the original catapult was very simple. It was a huge lever with stones loaded in leather sheaths or wooden baskets at the long end. Dozens of ropes were tied to the short end. When an order was given, dozens of people pulled the ropes at the same time. Use the principle of leverage to throw the stone.
The first large-scale use of catapults in the history of Chinese wars should be when Li Xin attacked Chu. The Chu army secretly prepared a large number of catapults. When the Qin army crossed the river, they suddenly launched them at the same time, and countless sharp stones hit them like a dark cloud. The Qin army of 200,000 was completely defeated, and Li Xin himself was defeated and committed suicide. This shows the power of the catapult at that time.
5. One end of the grappling hook is connected to a rope, and it can be thrown onto the city wall, and the soldiers can climb up the city wall. However, the risk is very high. If they climb halfway, they will be discovered by the enemy, and they will cut the rope with a knife and they will fall. Go down. Grappling hooks are generally used in nighttime surprise attacks.
There are basically so many siege machines, but there are many ways to siege the city. ① Siege: surrounded by heavy troops, cut off your food and water, and starve you for three to five years, then open the door and surrender.
Being besieged by the enemy is terrible. Food is decreasing day by day, and physical strength is weakening day by day... In the history of war, there have been many incidents of cannibalism due to being besieged. ② Fire attack: Use bows, arrows, and slings to throw fire into the enemy's city, which can cause significant damage to the enemy.
③ Tunnel warfare: Tunnel warfare is not the exclusive domain of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the central Hebei Plain. In ancient times, attacking an impregnable city would cause heavy losses to one's side. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: The first step is to attack the enemy, then the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and then the third is to attack the city; the method of attacking a city is as a last resort.
Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, attacking the city head-on is the stupidest way. ④Water Attack As the name suggests, it is to use water instead of soldiers to attack the enemy.
The main forms of water attack include "building dams and flooding the city", "breaking dikes and rushing the enemy", "trapping the enemy with no water", etc. Most of the ancient city walls were made of rammed earth, so watering them with water naturally became a shortcut to siege the city. Soak it in water for two or three days. If you don't move, the city wall will fall apart and turn into mud.
⑤ Earth attack: directly fill the opponent's city with soil. The impression seems to be that Mongolia used this method when they attacked a certain city.
One hundred thousand cavalrymen each carry a bag of sand and throw it under the enemy's city wall. In just half a day, they can build a mountain of earth. Then the army directly follows the mountain of earth into the city, slaughtering all the way, with great power and domineering. ⑥Plague: Use catapults to throw rotting cattle, sheep, even human corpses, and dung into enemy cities to spread diseases and plagues, leaving the enemy unable to fight back.
A very disgusting and perverted trick! ⑦Noise is also a disgusting tactic. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers will stand in front of your house, beating gongs and drums and shouting curses, making noise day and night. Two days a day is fine, but ten days and a half will definitely break your spirit. ⑧Spy infiltration. Everyone knows about the Trojan horse scheme, right? A group of special forces sneaked in and cooperated inside and outside, which was very troublesome.
The above are all commonly used siege methods in ancient wars. Generally speaking, the siege party has an absolute advantage. If they can defeat you, they will fight. If you cannot defeat them, they will take the body back home, and they will not run out of the city to chase you.
Although a head-on confrontation will cause great losses, in general the siege party has the initiative on the battlefield, and in history, the end of the battle was mostly declared when the siege party broke through the enemy's city.