Pitched Battles and Sieges
In ancient times, regions often invaded other regions in order to acquire their
land or wealth. Everyone wanted what someone else had! Soldiers used pitched
battles and sieges to conquer others and take their resources.
Pitched battles took place on a battlefield and involved hand to hand combat,
skirmishes (small battles), and frontal assaults. A variety of weapons were used in
these battles, such as daggers, battle-axes, bows and arrows, clubs, and spears.
Sieges, on the other hand, took place when one army was behind the walls of a
castle, fortress, or walled city. Different techniques were used to conquer the
castle. In a blockade, the invading army surrounded the castle to stop supplies
from getting in. Sometimes, though, those within the castle had more supplies
than the invading army and could thus hold out for longer! Other times, threats or
bribes were used in an attempt to get the other side to surrender. Spies were
used sometimes as well.
If these methods didn't work, the invading army might be forced to attack the
castle itself. This was no easy task, as the stone walls of the castle were several
feet thick! One strategy for conquering the castle was digging tunnels under the
castle wall. Another strategy involved removing enough dirt from under the wall
to cause it to collapse. Obviously, both of these methods took quite some time!
Yet another method made use of tall movable towers. The towers, with ladders
inside, would be rolled up to the wall and a bridge would then be lowered down
the other side. The soldiers could then easily and quickly climb the tower, cross
over the wall, and run down the bridge!
Other techniques for conquering a castle involved blasting the castle wall with
various types of missiles! That's where catapults came in!
Tension Catapults
The earliest catapults, dating back to around 399 BCE, were tension catapults.
Tension catapults shot heavy darts (called bolts) and worked by bending back a
bow that was usually made of animal horn or wood. Although they were
powerful, their disadvantages included the time it took to load and fire them, as
well as their large and heavy size.
Torsion Catapults
Around 340 BCE, torsion catapults came into use. Torsion catapults used springs
made from coils of rope as their power. Some types also had throwing arms on
either side of the catapult. Ballistas, Mangonels, and Onagers are all types of
torsion catapults. As the winch is turned on this torsion catapult, the bowstring is
pulled back, which pulls back the throwing arms, thus tightening the ropes. When
a pin is pulled out, the ropes are released, and the bolt is shot forward.
Traction Catapults
Around 800 CE, traction catapults became popular. These catapults were more
like our idea of a catapult today in that they had levers which were pulled down
and then released to shoot rocks long distances.
Gravity Catapults (Trebuchet)
Gravity catapults, such as the trebuchet, first began to be used by the Chinese
armies around 600 to 900 CE, but didn't enter widespread usage until around
1200 CE. In gravity catapults heavy weights were attached to one end of a lever
arm. When the weights fell, the other end of the lever swung quickly up, throwing
a rock or other item(s) in a high arc toward the castle wall.