How To Attack A Castle And How To Defend It

by Trevor Yorke

Decaying animals catapulted over battlements, flaming arrows raining from the sky and red-hot sand poured down ladders to repel advancing bloodthirsty hordes. Castle warfare was a grim and grisly business, and every aspect of it is brought to life in this book. Through colorful illustrations and accounts of actual sieges in every chapter, you'll discover how armies from medieval times up to the English Civil War attacked and besieged British castles and how changing weaponry shaped the defenses we see the remains of today. As castle design developed, attackers had to change their tactics and introduce new siege methods to bring the walls down. The weapons, siege engines and mining techniques used are described in detail here, alongside diagrams showing how they worked and details of the defensive structures erected to counter them.

95 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2018

Reviews

[G. Lawrence]

Great little book, surprisingly detailed and compact. Highly recommended

[John Miller]

A detailed account of castle warfare, including architectural information, and both offensive and defensive techniques. Well-written and nicely illustrated. Very informative - a good read.

[Rob Langham]

Really fun, enjoyable book, handsomely illustrated, giving an overview of castle design and development in Britain told mainly through sieges and other actions involving them. For someone with a casual interest in castles and other fortifications as a visitor of those across Britain when in the area, a really useful and enjoyable overview. Definitely given me a stronger understanding of castles and their various parts and will certainly enhance future visits to castles in the future! Likely to pick it up and re-read again and take with me on various castle-y adventures. Top book all round

[Ben Gilman]

Due to a recent trip away, I have once again found myself very interested in castles, the designs, history around them, and stories of the people who lived in and attacked them has always fascinated me. How to Attack a Castle is fascinating, well written book that uses beautifully detailed illustrations to explain the evolution of castle designs through history, including how methods of attacking and defending evolved and countered each other over time.

[Marissa]

Great little book, just in need of a few commas.