Siege Weapons

Bill Mizell

Use

• The main use of siege weapons was to destroy a castle wall that was being laid siege to.

• The point of using machines to do this was to throw heavy objects long distances to breach those walls.

Battering Ram

• A battering ram was used to try to knock down a part of a wall by using a large log to ram into the side of the wall

Pros and Cons

• Easy to hit the same spot twice

• Slow to move

• Easily stopped

Early Catapult / Onager

• An early catapult was first used by the Greeks and Romans and continued to be used until the early Middle Ages.

• An onager was similar to a catapult but used a sling instead of a cup.

Pros and Cons

• Ranged attack

• Not effective against individual troops

• Unpredictable

Mangonel

• The mangonel replaced the onager because the mangonel could fire many rocks at one time, while the onager could only fire one stone at a time. Mangonel is also a word that means engine of war.

Pros and Cons

• Ranged attack

• Able to fire more than one projectile

• Not effective against individual troops

• Unpredictable

Trebuchet

• The trebuchet replaced the mangonel in the late Middle Ages. The trebuchet was much more effective that the mangonel because the trebuchet could fire a heavier projectile farther.

Traction Trebuchet

• A traction Trebuchet used manpower to fire a stone projectile.

Pros and Cons

• Powerful

• Reliable

• Limited by space under the trebuchet

• Need several to break down a wall

Counterweight Trebuchet

• A counterweight trebuchet is a trebuchet that used a weight instead of manpower to throw a projectile.

Pros and Cons

• Gets rid of the people problem

• More powerful

• Need several to breach a wall

Gunpowder

• The introduction of gunpowder to Medieval Europe revolutionized the thinking behind siege weapons.

• Gunpowder is a mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter.

Cannons

• Cannons were used to throw metal cannonballs into walls at relatively low trajectories.

• Metal was finally able to use because the gunpowder was able to throw the much heavier object farther.

Pros and Cons

• Very powerful

• Low trajectory

• Destructive

• Expensive

• Inconsistent

• Slow moving

Spiral Effect

• The spiral effect of trying to stay technologically ahead of enemies drives almost all major technological advances. This effect is evident in the medieval arms race.

• Engineers build stronger castles, so besiegers develop more powerful weapons. This process repeats forever and ever until there is no longer a need for more development.