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Why were castles and fortified cities easier to defend than to attack in medieval warfare?
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tactics
Sumerian phalanx, a block of foot soldiers depicted standing shield-to-shield, presenting spears, and advancing in a dense mass, detail from the Stele of the Vultures, limestone bas-relief, c. 2450 bce; in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Castles and fortified cities were exceptionally difficult to attack because their design prioritized denying an enemy an undisturbed approach to the walls. While attackers relied on methods like escalade, battering rams, or mining, these tactics were frequently thwarted by defensive architectural features.12
The transition from timber to stone curtain walls provided a significant advantage, as stone was fireproof and could be built high enough to prevent simple climbing. Defenders utilized several key tactical advantages:2
- Flanking Fire: Towers were designed to protrude from the wall, allowing defenders to fire along the face and foot of the wall, preventing attackers from safely approaching the base.2
- Vertical Defense: Features like machicolations and hoardings allowed defenders to drop projectiles or substances directly onto attackers at the base of the wall.2
- Access Control: Entrances were heavily fortified with barbicans, portcullises, and drawbridges, making direct entry nearly impossible.2
- Counter-measures: Defenders could employ countermining against attackers attempting to collapse walls.1
Because these fortifications were so robust, medieval sieges were more often resolved by starvation, disease, or treachery than by direct military assault.2