Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-01-15
WAR ENGINES OF OLD DAYS.
Were Considered Powerful Weapons
When World Was Young.

The military engineering OF today
seems less remarkable in point OF
inventive ingenuity than that Of 1000
years ago. when in the absence OF
explosives for purposes Of destruction.
seIge warfare assumed extraordinary
developments. Often II happened that
"a walled town withstood seige for
years-usually in the end TO be taken
and given up 10 sack and plunder.
Tn" wall Of such a town might he
sixty or even one hundred feet in
height. Its construction vas an enor-
nous labor the outer and inner fac
ings being Of masonry. with q filling
Of earth and stones between. The
height Of the wall outside, was IN
effect augmented by deep moat. the
digging Of which supplied the above
mentioned filling. AT intervals along
the wall were towers. on which ma
chimes were mounted for throwing
huge stones.
(catapults and ballistas). and they
employed huge logs Of wood weigh
INK many tons. with metal-polnteu
heads, to break through the wall. As
4 preliminary TO this kind of attack
they filled in parts Of the moat. and.
to- protect themselves against missiles
thrown from above, they would build
what they called Il ''rat--a sort or
lhovcgronnd tunnel of tmberwork
roN cred with clay.
Beneath the rat" IL ram of the
kind above described could be opcrat-
ed. being swung from a machine de-
could Ice used as a means Of approach
70 {, mine gallery excavated beneath
the wall such "A gallery was sup
ported by timber struts and planking.
When il was large enough the sup
portS wcr. burned and the wall col
laI'Scd.
The Roman leglonary was not
merely a good fighter; he was a skill
ed workman II was part OF his busi-
ness TO construct and operate en-
yincS of war one of the latter was
a crane Of great height, by which Il
cage containing fifteen or twenty
picked soldiers was hostcd on TO the
crest of the fortifications. There were
also long ladders. on wheeled plat
forms. by which it was sought TO
gain the top of the wall.
Most remarkable. however. were
the wooden seige towers (sometimes
$50 feet high, which moved on
wheels twelve feet in diameter and
four feet thick. Such Il tower might
have Il dozen lloors. carrying bow
men on top and missile engines on
lower stories. with ram swung be-
meath.
\ war tower Of this description
was really Il colossal affair. 1t even
carried reservoirs Of water with
which to extinguish fires. Perhaps
It's most important purpose was to
dominate the defense. keeping down
the fire from the wall. But. when
opportunity served. il could throw
across TO the wall Il drawbridgc for
q storming party.
In the meantime. Of course, the be-
sicged were not idle. They built
wooden towers high enough 10 over
top those OF the bcsiegers. AS u de-
fensc against mining. they dug coun-
ter mines. driving out the enemy or
filling his galleries with smoke. From
the top of the wall they poured blaz-
ing pitch upon the foe.
Nevertheless sli- the history af
warfare. ancierf. and modern. goes
to prove that the offense is stronger
than any defense. In the average in
stance a town beseiged is town lost
1t has always been 80: 1t is so today,
when it is fully recognized that no
place can he successfully defended
except by military operations outside
/ of il t-philndplDhin Ledger