A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that refuses to surrender and cannot be easily taken by a frontal assault. Sieges usually involve surrounding the target and blocking the provision of supplies, typically coupled with artillery bombardment, sapping and mining to reduce fortifications.
Sieges probably predate the development of cities as large population centers. Ancient cities in the Middle East show archeological evidence of having had fortified city walls. During the Renaissance and the Early Modern period, siege warfare dominated the conduct of war in Europe. Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci ( April 15, 1452 May 2, 1519) was a celebrated Italian Renaissance architect, musician, inventor, engineer, sculptor and painter. He has been described as the archetype of the " Renaissance man" and as a universal genius. Leonardo is wel gained as much of his renown from the design of fortifications as from his artwork.
Medieval campaigns were generally designed around a succession of sieges. It was not until the Napoleonic period when dynamic striking columns forced armies into the field and the ever increasing use of, ever more powerful, cannonprojectile, or cannonball, is labelled 1. The gunpowder is labelled 2. The fuse is inserted in the hole labelled 3. A cannon is a large, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading gun used before the advent of breech-loading, rifled guns firing explosive shells. A cann reduced the value of fortifications. In modern times, trenchesTrench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. Trench warfare arose when there was a revolution in firepower without similar advances in mobility and communications replaced walls, and bunkerA bunker is a defensive warfare fortification to protect oneself. A bunker is also: : a hazard, usually filled with sand, on a golf course. a storage area for a bulk product, such as coal or wood Image:Albania bunkers. jpg|thumb|300px|Bunkers in Albania Ps replaced castles. In the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, the significance of the classical siege declined. With the advent of mobile warfare, one single fortified stronghold is no longer as decisive as it once was. While sieges do still occur, they are not as common as they once were due to changes in modes of battle, principally the ease by which huge volumes of destructive power can be directed onto a static target.
