Fave Historical Siege

[OliverWKim]

Post your favorite historical siege here. Historical, not in-game.

[OliverWKim]

Mine would definitely have to be the siege of Constantinople in 1453, as after a recent trip to Istanbul I am obsessed with the Byzantine civilization - amazing city, btw. Though the Byzantines lost as they were vastly outnumbered by the besieging Ottomans (around 10 to 1) the whole nature and history of the siege was very interesting.

[Vorenus]

Siege/Battle of Gergovia, started as a seige and ended up in a full on battle. Julius Caesars first and only military defeat.

[Frederick_I_Barbarossa]

Alaric's Sack of Rome and (although not technically a siege in the purest sense) Nelson's threatening of Copenhagen during and after the First Battle of Copenhagen get my vote(s).

[Martok]

I have three favorites, to the point that I'm not sure how to choose among them:

1.) The Ottomans' siege of Constantinople: It's probably the most important of the three in a historical sense, as it marked a fairly major turning point in world affairs.

2.) Agamemnon and the Greeks' siege of Troy: Yes, I realize this one may never have actually happened, but I've always been captivated by the story of it. (I'm kind of a romantic when it comes to the era of ancient Hellas. )

3.) Germany's siege of Leningrad in WW2: Just for sheer longevity and toughness on the part of the defenders, I have to admire this one. Kudos to the Russians for holding out against the Nazis for over 800 days! For the better part of 2 1/2 years, they held out again the armies of the Reich, waiting for relief to arrive.

[OliverWKim]

Julius Caesars first and only military defeat.

Actually, it wasn't his only military defeat. Caesar's other major military defeat was at the battle Dyrrhachium during the Roman Civil War, against Pompey. Caesar's legions outnumbered Pompey's around three to one, but Pompey managed to break through Caesar's surrounding troops and caused a rout.

[OliverWKim]

Caesar's legions outnumbered Pompey's around three to one

Whoops. Pompey outnumbered Caesar 3 to 1, not the other way around.

[Vorenus]

Actually, it wasn't his only military defeat. Caesar's other major military defeat was at the battle Dyrrhachium during the Roman Civil War, against Pompey. Caesar's legions outnumbered Pompey's around three to one, but Pompey managed to break through Caesar's surrounding troops and caused a rout.

Ah, yes. Didnt do him much good though. Caesar defeated him a month later at the battle of Pharsalus.

Notice how all the battles deciding the fate of the Republic happened in greece. odd. Pharsalus, Philippi, Actium.

[OliverWKim]

Yeah, that's pretty funny.

[Frederick_I_Barbarossa]

I bet Caesar was one pissed dude after losing a fight...

[OliverWKim]

I bet Caesar was one pissed dude after losing a fight...

Yeah, he was. He subsequently defeated and humiliated Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus. But I think this thread is getting slightly off-topic.

[Innocentius]

The siege of Kidwelly in 1403...In fact most interesting sieges occured in Wales or France IMO.

[CaesarAugustus]

The seige of Jereusalem, by Titus (I think around 70-something AD).

[Boyar Karhunkynsi]

First siege of of Pavia in 773/774.

Charlemagne truly showed his power than, and nearly annihilated the Langobards.

[Fate]

For me it's probably the siege of Badajoz in the Ilberian war.

The strength and determination of the defenders made it a bloody attack for the redcoats, and it was a huge historical turning point. If the defenders had held out, and beaten the brits, the napoleons forces would have been able to push the brits back to portugal, and eventually back onto ships to britain.

Europe could have been a VERY different place if that siege had gone the other way.

[OliverWKim]

For me it's probably the siege of Badajoz in the Ilberian war.

The strength and determination of the defenders made it a bloody attack for the redcoats, and it was a huge historical turning point. If the defenders had held out, and beaten the brits, the napoleons forces would have been able to push the brits back to portugal, and eventually back onto ships to britain.

Europe could have been a VERY different place if that siege had gone the other way.

Yeah, that battle was the beginning of the end for Napoleon's empire. Good one, I hadn't thought of that.

[OliverWKim]

How do you move threads? I don't think the current section for this thread is appropriate.