Siege Warfare in the Roman World: 146 BC–AD 378 (Elite, 126)

Cambell and Ospray work realy well on this one, awesome colour photos and great text keep you reading from front to back, This makes a great reference book and flows well. well worth the price.

Siege warfare was combat by wits and cunning - and a lot of hard, manual labor.Author Duncan Campbell describes the various methods ancient warriors took to subdue their adversaries through sophisticated field-and-mechanical engineering warfare. The strategy of “sitting and waiting” and starving out an opponent was an obvious approach, but a war of attrition could be as psychologically damaging to the attackers as to the defenders. Idle soldiers were dangerous to command.In response, commanders employed a variety of natural (ditches, ramps, tunnels) and manmade (battering rams, catapults, palisades) weapons. Campbell writes that a “ditch on its own, even a substantial one, may not seem a particularly secure barrier, but it would have served to apply the psychological pressure of containment” called circumvallation. Translation: You are surrounded, and we can come for you at any time.This excellent explanation of siege tactics is found on page 52 of a 63-page work. My problem with this work is that Campbell sets up his story in such a methodical and deliberate way that the dynamism of siege warfare is almost lost. Siege warfare was anything but static. Its battlefield was a study in contradictions and contrasts: Fixed, yet evolving; bold, yet intentional; fixed, yet fluid. It was an evolving, shifting, and dangerous space that Campbell's writing doesn't capture.What saves this work are the outstanding full-color illustrations by Adam Hook, and accompanying commentary. The detail and vitality in the images make Campbells pedantic text relevant.

It arrived one day AHEAD of time which was very nice.It is exactly as advertised. Tons of information at my fingertips

Good information.

After reading this book, you will see why the Romans were masters of this type of warfare. Better to surrender than to be taken by assault.

The book was in good condition. Delivery was prompt ~1 week.

An excellent addition to the series.

Title says it all. This is a crash course into innovations and advancements in siege warfare in the Roman Era from the triumph of the Roman Republic to the defeat at Adrianople. As usual with the Osprey books there is good use of primary resources combined with archeological evidence and recreations of equipment. Big sections include the use of seaborne siege machines by Mithridates in his bid to overthrow Roman power in the Late Republic, the many sieges of the Late Republic. Caesar's sieges from his own writings examined in detail, the sieges of the Jewish War and the amazing archeological finds at Dura Europos, which tell a chilling tale of tunnel/mine warfare with an early use of chemical weapons in Syria!I was a little disappointed that the Civil Wars of the late 2nd century and the Severan Invasion of Parthia got scant coverage, but there is little about them in the primary literature.Adam Hook, a legacy Osprey illustrator does a great job of reproducing epic small-scale scenes using the best evidence as to how these sieges occurred. The photographs include modern reenactments and reconstructions as well as some archeological finds, aerial site photos, maps and diagrams. A reader with a keen interest in getting up to speed on the technology and operational experience of siege warfare in this period will finish this book satisfied with the knowledge and degree of insight it would provide. I would also suggest the same reader get Osprey New Vanguard 78 and 89, Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC-AD 363 (New Vanguard) andGreek and Roman Artillery 399 BC-AD 363 (New Vanguard)