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Osprey
New Vanguard 78
Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399BC- AD363
By Duncan B Campbell: Illustrated by Brian Delf
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As with all New Vanguard publications this volume covers, in some depth, a specialised area of warfare, in this case a selection of Ancient
Siege engines. This is not my period of interest, but I found the book a fascinating read.
The Romans in particular are renowned for their expertise in the area of siege
engineering and in grim determination to overwhelm even the most elaborate of defences. But I had not realised before the scale of construction that the Romans and their precursors had undertaken in such
siege work. It seems that it was no enough to construct a machine that would effectively carry out a specific task for the attackers, but there is a clear attempt to gain a psychological domination over the
besieged as they helplessly observed the construction of these daunting machines. This indicated that the attackers had an engineering superiority, and an overwhelming determination to win.
But though the Romans may have brought the art of siege work to an efficient and professional military standard, it was the Greeks who initially developed the art, with the aggressive wars of Phillip and Alexander of Macedon providing an urgent incentive. There are some detailed discussions of various aspects of Greek Helepolis, or city takers. These were
siege towers, of massive and overwhelming size, and of a scale difficult to imagine even given modern
egineering skills. The problems of construction, , defence and especially the propulsion of such massive amounts of wood and metal are considered in depth.
This volume is perhaps of specialist interest, but is also a very interesting general read. Packed with information, and stacks of illustrations, including excellent cutaway plans by Brian Delf, I would say that it is an essential for the bookshelves of any gamers interested in the Ancient wars of
Greece and Rome.
Format:Softback, 48 pages
ISBN: 1-84176-605-4
Price: £8.99/$14.95
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