assuming gunpowder cannot be used, would a star fortress be able to resist a medieval army? more specifically sieges where 20-30 people had been able to withstand against hundreds and low thousands of besiegers, to me it seems that the embankments are too easy to stand on and harass defenders if you dont specifically defend with guns and cannon
whats the difference between guns and cannons and bows and big crossbows?
>>18628714well you could probably close the distance fairly easily with some mantlets, a canon would of course blow through these
the point of a siege is to starve the fort.
>>18628723ok but if you HAD to take it quickly
>>18628723>the point of a siege is to starve the fort.correct>>18628724>ok but if you HAD to take it quicklyno general would do this
>>18628690If there is no gunpowder then this sort of fortification is doomed. A bunch if trebuchet will destroy it in a few weeks. The main strength of these forts are the ability to blast back with cannons
>>18628690>Low angled wallsJust march over with short ladders. No guns means it cant stop any army.
>>18628690Depends on the size of the attacking army, the size of the garrisoned force, what the attacking armies has in terms of siege enginges and how exactly the fortress is laid out as there were no standardized designs. The biggest issue for the defenders would be that their ramparts were generally lower and thus could more easily be scaled. >more specifically sieges where 20-30 people had been able to withstand against hundreds and low thousands of besiegersDo you have any examples of this? The best I could find would be the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566 where 2.000 to 3.000 croats and hungarians held out for one month against an attacking ottoman force of 50.000 to 100.000 (nice margin).>>18628714One uses a chemical stored energy and the other uses physically stored energy.>>18628816>no general would do thisDepends on several factors. A long term siege was always a heavy investment of many ressources (manpower, material and most importantly time) and not always desireable. If you had the option to take a place quickly you generally tried it.>>18628824Again that depends on the actual construction of the forts. Casemates for example were heavily dug in vaults that could withstand direct fire from cannons and siege mortars.
>20-30 people had been able to withstand against hundreds and low thousands of besiegersThe fort you posted would need 10 cannons on the reflex angles of the outer wall to enfilade the wall, 6 at points to cover blind spots and maybe 2 cannons at the entrance of the central tower. A single well trained person can reload, move and fire a cannon, but prohibitively slowly. If there are 24 defenders, they could work in 16 hour shifts allowing the other 8 to sleep, they may also have a system where a single scout on the high tower watches for enemy and helps direct the few defenders to where they are needed. So this is about the absolute bare minimum needed to turn the fort into a problem.If the medieval general doesn't understand what cannons are they will probably probe the wall at different points at the same time in dense formations with disastrous consequences, perhaps enough to convince them to cancel the assault allowing them time to reload.If the general does understand they will attack one section at night, first baiting the cannons with a "forlorn hope". The defenders will sabotage the outer cannons then retreat to the central tower.The enemy then has to progress through various booby traps and mines, then scale the tower walls and assault the entrance at the same time. The enemy will probably use fire to reduce the barricades at the entrance and also generate smoke to cover them and irritate the defenders. The remaining dozen or so defenders at the tower walls will have to scurry around like a hamster on a table looking for anyone trying to scale it. Enemy archers will be helped by the inner walls, though of course the musketeers could shoot the archers.Morale is an issue, the defenders will need to be convinced the enemy will give no quarter and their best bet is to kill so many they give up the attack, or some religious fanaticism.
>>18628690Well so we're assuming that they'll use siege engines and mines instead.A lot of the earthworks built around star forts would hinter them, plus if it's meant to stop a cannonball it'll stop a rock launched from a trebuchet.The biggest difficulty is that the walls are smaller so theoretically going full ancient warfare and just building a ramp is easier than with medieval castles proper. This is why having artillery in these fortresses was so important as constructing field works to protect the construction of such ramp would be easy.
