Siegecraft (Civ3)/Age of Discovery/Civilopedia

Siege warfare was, obviously, completely transformed by the arrival of gunpowder in Europe. Frederick of Brandenburg was among the first commanders to use siege cannon effectively, in a lightning campaign in which most of his opponents' castles were reduced and stormed. However, cannon also proved of great use in defending castles; gun ports in walls and towers became common, and defensive cannon fire often deterred the deployment of the besieging army's own artillery as well as storming attempts. The new siege warfare also claimed mighty Byzantium as a casualty, when in 1453 the Ottoman sultan's cannon-armed forces breached the walls of Constantinople. Castle designers reacted to these innovations by doing away with high towers and reinforcing stone walls with earthen ramparts. Some cities even did away with fortress walls altogether, opting for deep, wide trenches that obliged an enemy army to charge into overlapping defensive battery fire. The disappearance of stone castles as defensive fortifications was the definitive end of the medieval warfare era.