William Gurstelle, Popular Mechanics: How to Storm a Castle
Just a few suggestions for any Iron Throne wannabes.
The past seasons of Game of Thrones were full of castle-storming goodness, and that's unlikely to change for the show's eighth and final outing. While humanity hasn't had dragons to help breach a foreboding keep, it's gotten pretty good at the art of the siege.
Here are a few pointers for whoever makes a grab for the Iron Throne this season.
There's perhaps no military action older than castle storming. Whether you're talking about paleolithic Scotland, medieval France, or the fictional kingdoms of Westeros, the pattern appears to be the same: As soon as people had any possessions at all, other people have coveted the lands and possessions of their neighbors.
And so, the people with lands and possessions built castles for protection. Siege warfare against those castles is brutal and blunt. It's a style of fighting characterized by a combination of ungodly long, boring waits punctuated by short spurts of terrifying action.
There is a lot more to besieging a walled fortress than simply running around with ladders. A lot more.
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WNU Editor: And as for Games of Thrones fans, we all know what happened last night.
— MaryJane (@maryrobido) April 29, 2019
