How were castles attaked?

Answer 1

There were many different ways of attacking castles, not all of which would work on any give castle.

One was to lay siege to the castle. If the castle had insufficient food or water, this would work. If a siege wore on, it could be as devastating to the people outside the castle as to those in it.

Another way to attack a castle was to run men up to the walls with ladders, and have them climb over the top. It took courage.

A battering ram could be used at the castle gate. This took courage also. People in castles sometimes threw oil down on the battering rams and set them on fire. When that happened, the men working them could be burned alive.

Catapults could also be used to break down the gate or the walls.

Siege towers were towers on wheels. If the castle was on level ground and had no moat, the siege towers could be run up to the walls and give attackers both protection while they were climbing, and a way in. Siege towers could also be toppled or lit on fire.

Sometimes attackers would lay siege to a castle and use catapults to throw rotting bodies of animals or parts of people who had died of diseases over the walls into the castle. That way they could make the people inside sick. They could also make their own people sick, so it was not done as commonly as it is written about.

If a siege was lasting too long, and if it was possible to do so, the attacking army sometimes dug a mine under the castles walls and then caused the walls to collapse. One way to do this was to build a room under the walls, then fill it with something that would burn slowly, such as the bodies of fat pigs, light the fire, and let the fire weaken the walls to the point that they fell down.

Answer 2

There were very few attacks on castles during the 12th century; a sensible army commander knew that a lengthy siege was far more effective than trying to storm stone walls and towers.

Any army foolish enough to try to take a castle by force would lose many men and gain little: During the Scottish invasion of northern England in 1173 to 1174, King William of Scotland's forces spent 3 months laying siege to the castle at Carlisle in Cumbria; attack after attack as repulsed and finally the Scots gave up and went away.

Only when the castle was relatively weak or the attackers had some particular advantage would an attack on a castle be likely to succeed.

Answer 3

• Theye are attacked by suprise !! x

Answer 4

So armies could get a stronghold and obtain large masses of weapons and food from the castles. They used them as strategic positions in which to carve paths to other castles.

Answer 5

I think castles got destroyed by boulders shot by a canon or else giant pilars being knocked into the walls

Answer 6

so the attackers can take over