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Thread: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

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  1. #1
    Member Member RollingWave's Avatar
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    Default Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    Now i know they used ladders in Roman times, however, thinking realistically, it would require some pretty super human strength to just throw a ladder up a tall wall like the game is suggesting....

    At least at my own house when i try to fully extend my ladder to cut trees or something it was almost impossible for me to throw up alone, consider that stone city walls are generally several times taller than the tree in my yard, even with multiple men throwing a long sturdy ladder that can hold the weight of many men on it at the same time up like that would seem extremely difficult if not outright impossible.... particularly for the taller walls.

    Looking at my own history stuff on chinese seige equipment, the ancient chinese ladders as i suspected were much like a modern day fire fighter ladder truck (except that it would be men or animal powered) with the ladders on top of a mobile and having a multi stage device that can extend according to different heights. something kinda like this




    Of course these were the more advanced versioned used against taller and better defended walls, however it would seem reasonable that in Romans time they didn't simply just throw a normal ladder up a super epic wall.... ?
    or is there a particular reference to how tall Roman era walls generally were? The time era reference for these two picture the Chinese walls were generally around 11 meters, relatively around 40 feet or so? but this sort of design been around at least from around 500 b.c in China though this image was from the Song dynasty which was around the 10-11th a.d
    Last edited by RollingWave; 02-23-2005 at 13:10.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    Have you seen LoTR Two Towers and siege in that movie?
    I'm not really sure how did look sieges in acient times but i can imagine that medieval sieges ware very similar and in dedieval times they WERE using simple ladders only with hooks at the ends (or some kind of that). Whole group of men were holding such kind of ladder and while throwig up some of them were using kind of pikes (with Y on the ned) to hold it higher. And they were probably much stronger than you even if they were 20 cm shorter than nowadays people ;)

    And in the medieval sieges they were even throwing ladders with a soldier on the top - just like in LoTR.

  3. #3
    Spends his time on TWC Member Simetrical's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    Hooked poles isn't an angle I'd thought of, but it makes sense. Then you could have tons of people pushing up the ladder, and even holding it up to stop the enemy from knocking it over—but the poles and ladder would be much easier to build than a large mechanical device. You'd just have to have any soldier chop down an appropriate tree and then split the wood up until he got the desired width, then screw a prefabricated hook onto the end. Mechanical devices would need engineers.

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    Vermonter and Seperatist Member Uesugi Kenshin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    Plus these guys were really tough. You think our soldiers are strong, well these guys could out push, punch, bite and kick many of our soldiers. Simply because all of their work required strength. If your sole purpose in life was to be the best at cracking skulls with a mace or running in armor, ramming into someone and then stabbing his heavily armored buddies how strong would you be?
    "A man's dying is more his survivor's affair than his own."
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    robotica erotica Member Colovion's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Uesugi Kenshin
    Plus these guys were really tough. You think our soldiers are strong, well these guys could out push, punch, bite and kick many of our soldiers. Simply because all of their work required strength. If your sole purpose in life was to be the best at cracking skulls with a mace or running in armor, ramming into someone and then stabbing his heavily armored buddies how strong would you be?
    basically NFL then
    robotica erotica

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    agitated Member master of the puppets's Avatar
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    Talking Re: Ladders... historical accuratcy?

    NFL? BAH!

    hannible would rip through madden so fast...

    i love nfl football but war is just so more ...fulfilling
    A nation of sheep will beget a a government of wolves. Edward R. Murrow

    Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. —1 John 2:9

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