Siege Warfare Manual: Engines, equipment and techniques (Haynes Manuals): From ancient times to the beginning of the gunpowder age

This book traces more than 1,500 years of siege warfare history, arguing that siege warfare occupies a unique place in military history, despite being regularly overshadowed by pitched battles. Siege warfare is a demanding form of conflict, and the book traces the technology, artillery and tactics of the siege, from its commencement to conclusion, from ancient times to the 15th century and beginnings of the age of gunpowder (although the occasional siege from the 16th and even 17th centuries are referred to). One thing which stands out is the sheer ingenuity of the Ancient Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans: until the advent of gunpowder, there were very few siege techniques employed during the Middles Ages that couldn’t trace their origins back to the Ancient World. This is no more apparent than in the development of sieges engines, and here the book provides a superb introduction to the various machines that were developed over the centuries. In contrast to the siege machines, more subtle arts are also examined, including the use of espionage, etiquette, infiltration, negotiation, and sabotage by both the besieger and the besieged. The final chapter considers the first incendiary weapons, before looking at early gunpowder artillery, concluding with the siege of Malta in 1565. So whilst it only lightly touches on early artillery fortification, it does sent the scene for what was to come. The book is very well-illustrated with some excellent drawings and superb photographs. On the other hand, there are too few maps and plans. This is not a scholarly study of Ancient and Medieval siege warfare, but instead it is a very good introduction to siege warfare before the advent of gunpowder, and given this, it is worthy of a place on anyone’s bookshelves.

Useful to students. With clear explanations.

Great lots of detail

Siege warfare is a concise, highly visual introduction to Ancient and Medieval siege warfare. What's best about the book is the breadth of its coverage and the number of pictures and diagrams it contains. It covers both the basics of castle designs and the key factors on the design and use of each type of weapon. The text is richly supported by diagrams, photographs of reconstructions and original drawings. What's less good is some odd choices for the pictures, which include images created well after the subject existed and therefore one wonders how accurately they represent actual siege engines. There are also a couple of small factual inaccuracies, such as one particularly glaring example when the author describes the side fighting Duke William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings as "the British". This is entirely anachronistic as they were the English, fighting for the then comparatively new kingdom of England. A last criticism would be that there are some annoying typos and layout issues in the book, such as pictures appearing in the section before the one they belong to. It is also worth mentioning that the book does not aim to be a comprehensive survey of siege warfare, more of an introduction for general readers. This is not a negative as the book accomplishes this very well but just stands as a warning. Overall, this is a great and useful little book which does a pretty good job of distilling several thousand years of warfare into 150 pages.

great book