a historical question about sieges

[afro-elf]

It seems to my VERY LIMITED knowedge that sieges always went to the attackers unless someone came to help lift the siege.

It this assumption correct or are there cases where the defenders won?

[Treebeard's apprentice]

This is an interesting topic. I wonder what the record is of attackers vs defenders. Is it about even or did one side seem to win more than the other?

Also, we need to determine what can be classified as a siege. Are we talking just Middle-Ages castles & stuff? Or if you stretch the definition very thin, a trade embargo might be like a modern-day siege, right? Someone help!

[afro-elf]

I am thinking the medieval castle siege.

[Hasty Ent]

Not a medieval castle siege, but the one that sprang to my mind was the siege of Leningrad (St Petersburg). It lasted for about 900 days, from September 8, 1941 till January 27, 1944. The city never surrendered. In January and February 1942 alone, something like 200,000 people died.

[Draken]

Good question. You seem to be asking were there any sieges whereby the defenders engineered their own salvation unaided? I can't think of any, off the top of my head. Besieged castles/cities were usually either taken or rescued by allies. But there were probably thousands of sieges in medieval Europe (plus the Crusades), many of them very minor - I wouldn't be surprised if the defenders saw off their attackers in at least some cases. But all the "famous" sieges I can think of ended in either capture of the defences or rescue from outside.

Out of period, here's an interesting account of the besieging of Government forces in Fort William by Highlanders. The defenders did win this without a relief force, by successfully sallying forth and destroying much of the siege artillery, then winning the artillery duel that followed.

"For several days a skirmishing was kept up between the garrison and two sloops of war stationed in the river, on the one side, and the besiegers on the other, with varied success; but the insurgents having completed a battery on the Sugar-loaf on March 20th, opened the siege that evening. On account of its distance from he fortress, and the smallness of the cannon, which consisted of six and four-pounders only, little execution was done. Next day the besiegers erected a new battery at the foot of the Cowhill, within half the distance of the other, which was also opened, but with little better effect. On the 22d, Brigadier Stapleton sent a drummer to Captain Scott, the commanding officer, with a letter, requiring him to surrender, but his answer was, that he would defend the place to the last extremity. The bombardment was hereupon renewed on both sides for some hours, but at last the garrison silenced the besiegers by beating down their principal battery. The besiegers then erected a third battery, and the bombardment continued, with little intermission, till the 31st, when the garrison made a sally, forced one of the batteries erected upon a place called the Craigs, about a hundred yards from the walls, and captured several pieces of cannon and two mortars. Notwithstanding this disaster, they continued to annoy the besieged from five cannon which they had still mounted, but with no other damage to the garrison than the destruction of the roofs of most of the houses. At length, on the 3d of April, Brigadier Stapleton, in consequence of instructions he had received from the prince to join him immediately, raised the siege, and after spiking his heavy cannon, marched for Inverness with the piquets, taking his field pieces along with him. He left the Highlanders behind, on the understanding that they were to follow him with as little delay as possible. The loss sustained on either side was trifling."

[IronParrot]

The one I immediately thought of was Stalingrad, considered by some to be the true turning point of World War II.

I think Hasty Ent meant Stalingrad above when he mentioned Leningrad.

Also, if you count the Battle of Britain as a siege (an aerial one, I guess), that would also be a case where the defenders "won" so to speak. Although that depends on whether or not by "outside help" you're including American support for the RAF. But London sure didn't fall to the Blitz...

[IronParrot]

In more ancient times, you might want to look at the Phoenician city of Tyre, a fortress so thoroughly fortified that numerous sieges upon it throughout centuries failed until Alexander the Great finally conquered it in the 4th century B.C.