A Case Study of the Perfect Siege of Ath 1697

The art of siege warfare was perfected in the 17th century. Bastion forts had never been sturdier and more complex while the methods of attack became ever more standardized and increasingly effective. To be sure, sieges remained extremely diverse, but now there was a consistent thread running through them, culminating in an almost infallible method created by Sébastien Le Prestre de VaubanSebastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The great French engineer of Louis XIV demonstrated his masterful siege craft in the siege of Ath in 1697. It was considered “[…] not so much a siege as an idealized version of one.” This is quite convenient for us, because it saves us the trouble of re-constructing a typical 17th century siege in the way we’ve covered medieval and 16th century siege craft. For a better overview, we are going to structure this as an 11-Step guide. So, let’s look at the siege of Ath, a masterful example of how to lay siege in the age of Louis XIV.
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Sources: Bibliography
Allent, Histoire du corps impérial du génie . . . depuis l’origine de la fortification moderne jusqu’à la fin du règne de Louis XIV, Paris 1805.
Duffy, Ch., The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494-1660, London 1979.
Lazard, P. Vauban, 1633-1707, Paris 1934.
Lynn, J., Giant of the Grand Siecle. The French Army 1610-1715, Cambridge 1997.
Ostwald, J., Vauban under Siege. Engineering Efficiency and Martial Vigor in the War of the Spanish Succession, Leiden/Boston 2007.
Parent, Michel et Jacques Verroust. Vauban, Paris 1971.
Rochas d’Aiglun, Albert de (ed.), Vauban, sa famille et ses écrits, ses oisivetés et sa correspondance, Vol. 2, Paris 1910.
Vauban, Sebastien le Prestre de, A Manual of Siegecraft and Fortification, trans. G.A. Rothrock, Ann Arbor 1968.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Hey, no sponsor, so we get to write something here for once: Thanks for watching our videos, truly! Especially to all of you who stuck around for many years. We do take note whenever you guys comment! The last couple of years have been a blast and we're more than happy with how things seem to evolve here on the channel. For the near future, we have sone exciting stuff planned. We will finish our studies (Roman his master at Uni, Sandro his teacher training) this summer which will give us more time to start more ambitious projects which should be fun for you as well. As for this video, if you could kindly leave a comment and a like, we would be grateful. The Algorithm has been hard to animated history in the last couple of months, not just to us but also to the likes of the Armchair Historian or Invicta, Likes and comments always help boost a video and to be honest, we kinda need it! If you want to support us even further, please check out the options below! Patreon (thank you): www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhis... Prints & T-Shirts: sandrhoman.creator-spring.com/ Paypal (thank you: www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandR... Twitter: twitter.com/Sandrhoman

[@simon2493]

I have two question, will be covering 19 and 20 century fortifications, and if you are well versed in this topic can you recommend me some books?

[@dukesilver702]

I love bastion forts so much I want to take them behind the middle school and get them pregnant.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

@@simon2493 hmmm, maybe at some point but not any time soon. Can't really recommend books on that as we haven't read up on that topic!

[@GarfieldRex]

Many congratulations and greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴😁 best historic warfare channel around.

[@gabrielcurraj3994]

How to build the "perfect" star shaped fortress

[@aloof_cardinal]

Vauban during the whole siege "Not necessary. The guy in front of us is a fcking noob"

[@francoiss1106]

😂😂

[@The_Honourable_Company]

The defenders had skill issue it seems

[@oldrabbit8290]

we move from the era of "the staggering siege of.." to the era of "the lightning siege of".. I still remember sieges that take years, if not decades, with dozens of thousands of deaths.. It is truly a revolution of siege warfare..

[@SandRhomanHistory]

haha, if we ever cover an individual siege of that era we would definitely have to change the title format!

[@gratefulguy4130]

You must be a very old rabbit to remember those sieges. 🐰🧙‍♂️

[@FusionCoreHoarder]

​@@SandRhomanHistory Maybe the Siege of Acre (1799)?

[@turthhurts]

Siege of Candia took 21 years, probably a lot of dead Ottomans as well. What a genius this guy was for real

[@user-do1kg1py1d]

You dont know vraks my friend

[@MTerrence]

Vauban's true mastery was revealed here in his ability to profitably break his own rules. By skipping unnecessary steps, he saved time and cost. To capture a modern star fort in two weeks with the loss of only fifty men is astonishing!

[@annominous826]

Vauban was one impressive person. In his last years, he determined that to secure the defense of France, it was necessary to lift the lower classes out of abject poverty by redistributing the tax burden. If the king had done as he said, the Revolution might not have been necessary at all.

[@eimantasbutkus5324]

The revolution wasn't necessary either way, though. I think you meant it could have been prevented.

[@annominous826]

@@eimantasbutkus5324 It was necessary, because the ancien regime clung to power at the cost of the people and the country. If the king had been able to see how miserable things had gotten and institute changes such as bread doles and criminal justice reform, the Revolution would have bee possible to prevent. Without, things were intolerable and the Revolution became necessary.

[@yasserbencheikh2626]

I would say The King's decision is exactly the reason for the reolution, not just the economic situation and the tax burden on the lower classes. Basically the French Monarchy always refused to reform and preffered to cling to old traditions, it was bound to happen as you cannot hold off change and progress (in the case of France change and progress is the Enligthenment)

[@guts145]

@@yasserbencheikh2626 The very notion of "always refusing" to reform is unrealistic, especially in the case of 1- a great power and 2- a monarchy that owed its fall to unorderly reforms, such as with the liberalization of trade under Turgot, the assembly of notables and many other similar attempts.

[@hndrwn]

I like how Vauban just sieged Ath just to flex and bully others 😂 What a fitting subject of the fabulous Sun King!

[@attilakatona-bugner1140]

*I am the only one, who can beat myself at this game*

[@kevinreiss-coint2353]

Little fun fact about the grenadiers. Initially, the task to attack the breaches during sieges was done by the royal musketeers and even if they were rather successful in these missions they were also very costly, which was a problem since these musketeers were noble and were supposed to take officer roles in the army after their career in the musketeers. To diminish theses loses Louis XIV created a regiment of royal grenadiers, these regiments were special because while the regiments of the "maison du roi" were often mainly composed of nobility, this one was composed of veteran grenadiers of more common regiments, so of commoners. They became so effective that every time musketeers were charged to assault of fortified place they were accompanied by these royal grenadiers.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Noble losses were really high in that time, many families were impoverished because the dad died in the latest war. Very smart to mix in veterans though.

[@Blastaballzy]

Fun facts : During the German Blitzkrieg a small group of french soldiers took cover in one of Vauban’s fortress while they were pushed by a German panzer division. Since his fortress were almost always conceived to allowed small groups of soldiers to hold the forts he designed, they were able to hold the german’s off with small arms, mortar and grenades against a far superior force until they were out of amo and forced to surrender. Vauban was truly the best engineer, a master in many ways.

[@Khobotov]

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

[@Waakala]

well, he also advised never to siege walled settlements

[@zpacula]

sun tzu, the live love laugh for weebs 🤣

[@EthanDyTioco]

@@zpacula based

[@alexandrebenoin40]

I live in France and it’s a pleasure to visit the dozens of Vauban citadel from the Atlantic coast to the Pyrenees and alps Great video as always

[@Barnabe51Reims]

Tout gamin, j'ai fait ma première colonie de vacances à Belle île et nous avions visité la forteresse Vauban. Une passion était née...

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

It was very considerate of Vauban to execute a textbook siege of a textbook fortress for future generations to study his methods' effectiveness. Also, for a two person team, you guys sure do put out an impressive amount of quality videos. I'd have guessed at least five.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Strictly speaking, there’s one more guy handling our french channel (translation and voiceover)!

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@SandRhomanHistory Oh you have a French channel ?! Which one ? So I might share it with my non-English speaking relations

[@Briselance]

​@@SandRhomanHistory Wait... you have a French channel??

[@Avent00]

​​@@SandRhomanHistory Okay,Wheres the Link? Learn french wouldnt hurt my dictiionary

[@ross6753]

I live in Ypres, one of Monsieur de Vauban's other masterpieces! We are reaping the benefits of his work up til this day: first, our fortifications are magnificent and attract many tourists; we ourselves profit from them because they have been topped with trees all around our city, which gives us a very large park, larger than most bigger cities. And third: we never get our feet wet, eventhough we live in a very low part of Flanders: thanks to the remnants of Vauban's "inondations" around the city, that take in all the heavy rains, inside the city there is never any flooding. On top of that, the large inondations make lovely lakes for our leasure, and up to a few years ago the city could draw it's own drinking water from it, which made our water bills way cheaper than those of our neighbours. All that thanks to monsieur Sébastien! (btw, the fine fortifications that he built around Ypres were never really taken to the test: we were never attacked anymore until the first World War. And then, of course, the fortifications were of no use against Kaiser Wilhelm's cannons... we were blown to smithereens, city and fortifications. But we built it all up again. Come visit us!

[@zacbru]

I visited Ypres many times, it blew my mind when I saw the pictures of the ruins of the lakenhal. I don't know how you rebuilt it so nice.

[@ross6753]

@@zacbru Yeah, we did a rather good job about it, didn't we? :-D Right now, we're busy with the next restauration. the last one was in the '60's. It ws greatly needed. The belfry is finished already (it looks glorious, especially in the sun!), and the right half of the Hall too, that is, from the front. There's still a lot of work to be done, and it's fascinating to watch. Behind the Hall building, they're doing excavations and they've found tonnes of stuff from the early Middle Ages! It's all in the city museum to be seen. You should visit us again! You British?

[@SpartaVictor]

When you design the perfect fortress, the king gives it away, and you have to re-conquer it...wonder if Vauban wished he had put "Easter eggs" in his designs? (secret entrance tunnel etc.) 😃

[@semi-useful5178]

His method was the easter egg!

[@hedgehog3180]

Obviously this was the plan all along as Vauban knew that only he could design fortresses that'd present a good enough challenge for him.

[@georgesmithson8694]

Better yet Vauban knew how to take any fortress and could calculate down to the day how long it would take to breach it.

[@mathieucage8157]

He did if i'm not mistaken, but after

[@ivandankob7112]

Ye, and then he had to kill the masons during castle's opening party to bury the secret with them :D

[@TheGrenadier97]

Vauban was a master, an artist in a kind of warfare often ignored. Definitely going to study him further.

[@rolletroll2338]

A fortress made by Vauban taken by Vauban. This is the siege translation of an unstoppable force encountering a unmovable object.

[@Mares1113]

French here, just wanted to say that your prononciation of french names is really good. Keep it up

[@christianpetersen163]

Hollywood siege: whole army immidiatly storms forward and punch the walls with fists. Vauban: "Gentlemen..."

[@DEVS_ET_DOMINVS]

Vauban is a 6 siege siege specialist.

[@halneufmille]

Vauban: Methodically captures state of the art fortress in 2 weeks while losing 50 men. Game of Thrones: Puts artillery outside the city walls and crashes its light cavalry in the enemy line.

[@2ndhendrix631]

So painful to watch. My gf couldn't understand why I was upset at this stupidity.

[@phobics9498]

Everybody gangsta till the cannonballs start bouncing on the parapet

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

Fortresses of that era are a thing of beauty. Praise the Sun King.

[@ChevyChase301]

Didn’t work too well in 1710s when it took a French offensive to beat them off the frontier

[@darbyohara]

They’re a unique example of the artistic beauty of simple mathematics and geometry

[@BountyFlamor]

The overall shape of these fortresses is from Italy though.

[@Lavenderwave704]

Shame that these fortresses never saw conflict with the ottomans if the ottomans besieged them then that would be the true test of their design

[@darbyohara]

@@Lavenderwave704 vauban was the best at siege warfare. The ottomans couldn’t hold a candle to vauban

[@tomhoni9642]

i vote for a Ultimate Vauban Siege Simulator game wirh SandRhoman as design consultant. Always a nice journey into history!

[@swordsmen8856]

This is THE source for anything in the pike and shot era. You videos are awesome and would be great resource for any European history major.

[@christopherg2347]

It is easy to see how trench warfare evolved from this. As the static fortification itelf became less relevant, the defender had to rely more and more on forward trenchworks.

[@dongleseon8785]

And firepower

[@townazier]

Awesome to have an entire siege video already, after the last one on Vauban.

[@greyfells2829]

Kind of a sad watch, seeing the death of walled cities. Also pretty wild thinking of these armies smashing apart walls that would now be considered priceless material history. My hometown in hungary has a medieval wall, and I love it so much.

[@maxpont8989]

Many fortresses of that era were kept intact or even rebuilt in the XIXth century in France, since the rapid changes of warfare with massive armies first, and smaller professional corps later, meant that a fortress able to delay for merely a week or two the enemy was an invaluable asset

[@florianschweizer4601]

Vauban: Bastion Engineer, Siege Engineer, and first person known to perfect job security guarantee

[@Emil.Fontanot]

Ath was one of his greatest masterpieces with Namur and Maastricht

[@monkey_gamer_001]

it's a bit depressing and ironic when Vaubon has to take down his own fortress. it's like playing chess against yourself

[@The_WatchList]

And winning 👀😂

[@taylorsherman3397]

My new way to take a nap, listen to things I'm interested in but not smart enough to understand on the first listen through

[@VinnieG-]

but this is a story about history.. there isn't much to understand

[@AnalyticalReckoner]

Vauban would have won anyways but the weather helped him turn it into a masterpiece.

[@Zajuts149]

"Vauban," observed Stephen. "is like aniseed in a cake. A little is excellent, but how soon one sickens." - Post Captain Patrick O'Brian.

[@chestermc9954]

I've been a subscriber for quite a while though I don't usually leave comments, so I'd like to say thank you for making such great content! As someone who's trying to finish his studies in Computer Science, I'd love to delve more into history but don't really have the time or energy to study another field. Fortunately, your videos are the perfect solution to that since they're well-written, well-researched and very easy-to-watch(the visuals help a lot!).

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Wow, thank you!

[@yansoloooo]

I'm french, congrats for your almost perfect prononciation of french names !

[@chrisedrev9519]

This was amazing guys. You never cease to impress me with your uploads, but this one felt special. Your style has gotten as efficient as the brilliant siege methods that it was describing.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chrisedrev9519]

@@SandRhomanHistory Yeah, both of the Vauban videos were pretty inspiring. Would love to learn more about him.

[@dubbyx8490]

Time to use Vauban's methods in RTS games

[@CMAzeriah]

Oh crap.... If only there was one that could support that.

[@hentaioverwhelming]

Vauban is the historical embodiment of an actual general going, "I made you. I can UNMAKE you."

[@Barnabe51Reims]

« Toute ville assiégée par Vauban, ville prise, Toute ville défendue par Vauban, ville imprenable. » Vauban

[@argokarrus2731]

Crazy how much cooler irl sieges are as opposed to fictional ones like Vraks and such

[@numadread1]

Hey ! Don't disrespect vraks. It only took 14 millions kreig to take it !

[@toastman1992]

I don't often comment, but I just wanna say that I always enjoy your videos! For me, they're among the golden ideal of what history videos on this platform should be.

[@JodenPaoloPeroy]

You guys have outdone yourselves in this video. It was clear, entertaining, and very fascinating. Vauban's genius shines through, and your presentation did justice to it, especially since it was a step-by-step presentation that really hit home how calculated his methods were.

[@loszhor]

17:22 *Mind blown* Of all the sieges you've uploaded this NEEDED to be titled as "Staggering"!

[@notalecguinness3221]

Vauban perfected siege warfare to an extend it removed all suspense, all "RNG". Given the time and resources and no relief army in reach, a fortress would fall. Incredible as a technique but I find the individual sieges of the previous era more interesting. Like Mantua or the 21 years of Candia. I would love to see a video on the siege of Breisach 1638, the masterpiece of Bernard of Saxe-Weimar. Not only did he starve out an impregnable river fortress, he also did fend off various relief attempts from all directions.

[@musculusiv4172]

Great video! Now I know exactly what to do next time I have to besiege a late 17th century fortress

[@Kierkergaarder]

Thank you so much for this video! In particular Vauban's injury and subsequent "shrugging it off" were awesome. The proto-industrial, mathemical/logistical angles are super interestingly implied as well. All the best!

[@ikklapje789]

i have watched endless historical documentary videos but this has to be the best. well done

[@iamtehgame]

One day, when I have the chance to travel to Europe I'll be sure to lay siege Ath!

[@tomdillistone8202]

Thank you for the concise analysis of this "textbook" siege. The irony of Vauban's involvement in both designing and then defeating this construction helps to further illuminate both sides of this exercise quite well. A very enjoyable 18:30 for any student of history. Well done!

[@russianhorde]

Always a joy to view a new video of yours. Cheers! I appreciate your dedicated work covering these topics many of us have not dug deeply into to learn.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Many thanks!

[@Pomers121]

Brilliant video! Thanks for taking the time to create this

[@gotbaka3]

You guys are the best! Absolutely love your siegecraft videos. Great details about the mechanics and concepts at play

[@budrothefox3666]

Such a good video! Thank you! This is amazing info that can still be used today effectively in combat. Lessons learned from our past serve us into the future.

[@rodjones117]

Great video as always!

[@verigone2677]

how did it take me so long to find you, this shit's awesome bro, great stuff

[@andrewgardner105]

Love the videos and appreciate the hard work that gets put into him. Keep it up!

[@Alex13501]

A longtime fan, i always enjoy new tactics and strategems from history.

[@indridcold1689]

As a fan of 17th century warfare and the period in general, I thank you guys for covering this underappreciated and uncovered era. Keep up the good work and I look forward with anticipation your upcoming projects.

[@wsswetghg8791]

Colossal work, many thanx!

[@jespers6702]

Great video, also like your sense of humor. I usually do not comment, but just wanted to say keep up the good work. I will remember the steps next time I have to lay siege to a fortress!

[@T-28_Trojan]

Thanks this was really helpful!

[@petros5155]

Great video as always

[@karlcrisostomo418]

This is what you get when the commander is also a brilliant engineer. And the king lets him do his thing. Awesome video. I always look forward to your new upload notifications. ❤❤❤

[@satyajeetsingh6318]

Great work!

[@itunzska]

It's amazing that I've come across this video, because I was just planning to siege my cousin's bastion fortress later this month! He will never expect my Vauban-style approaches.

[@AntimodernMindset]

A masterpiece of the art of siege. Thanks for the choice!

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Couldn't agree more!

[@johannesmichaelalhaugthoma4215]

Outstanding video on a truly fascinating topic!! Thank you!!

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Our pleasure!

[@ChristopherGibson-hs1wu]

Awesome work

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Amazing introduction showed importance of Artilleries bombarding and complex angle castle 🏰 walls

[@thcdreams654]

Awesome work. I found myself quite staggered by the quality of your content. Thanks.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Glad to hear it!

[@tektoastium7241]

I can’t see Vauban without hearing Marche pour la ceremonie des Turcs playing in the background.

[@MisterNizz]

This was fascinating to watch. I'm just getting into reading about siege works. Really engrossing material.

[@Jorduan100]

As someone who has waster MANY hours of his life in Europa Universailis 4, these videos help bring that experience to life masterfully. Your continued work is very much appreciated!!!

[@killerhornist]

love ur content!keep it up!

[@matthieubollea2216]

Thank you for you video! I live in a neighborood designed by Vauban and that resonates a lot

[@tobias064]

This channel is a treasure

[@Heroesflorian]

Fascinating, and well-presented!

[@wismsgre]

Great one, guys. Keep going with the amazing job!

[@wismsgre]

I'll add another one as a sacriffice for the lords of youtube. Amazing video!

[@workhardplayharder4924]

You are a good creator.❤

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Caesar would be proud.

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

Not a staggering siege but a staggering video!

[@AsbestosMuffins]

amazing how close this is to ww1 fought 200 years later

[@lastsong7159]

I mean we still throw rocks at each other, just different.

[@Vamper946]

As always, you've made a great video and it is nice to see an expansion into a period that you've covered less. Also such a great video demonstrating how and why Louis XIV could fight all of europe at once.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Thanks a ton!

[@elvenfellow8596]

By far my favorite historical KZbinr! Fantastic stuff again! Keep up the Early Modern stuff! (I think thid is still early moden?)

[@greenjoseph4]

I wrote about Ath for my thesis… wonderful video.

[@magnushorus5670]

this is far superior to any movie or show being made today.... although thats not saying much, this is a wonderful channel

[@ericburgess8347]

Marvelous presentation and graphics. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Thank you kindly!

[@christianschrage694]

Nice video as always

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Thanks for the visit

[@feaweninglorin6035]

I was under siege thank you

[@imperiumaeternum4832]

I had the honor of taking many of my undergraduate history classes with Dr. Ostwald. He’s definitely an expert in early modern warfare. It’s great to see him cited in this video!

[@janicnevim3969]

Thank you for what you are doing!

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Our pleasure!

[@m1herrmann160]

2:50. Sebastián WHO?!?! Like what a name!!

[@pierredelasalle4731]

I really wish you cover sieges in the Napoleonic wars, it's not a part of that period that people usually cover so i rely on you to be the saviors!

[@handlesrstupid123]

love your pike and shot videos not many on this era of warfare

[@tytanowyjanusz6874]

As always very nice video

[@zetectic7968]

This was a completely new piece of history to me. Very interesting that a seemingly strong fortress succumbed so quickly due to poor defence & a masterful attack. Having broken my collar bone I wonder how well Vauban coped with the injury.

[@tbj1972]

Great video thanks

[@greentuga691]

Just found out about your channel and will binge watch everything, its an amazing channel. Just a small request tho, can you do some video on the Portuguese? I find Portugal wayyyy too much overlooked in history videos.

[@kvnrthr1589]

Great video! I'm also interested in sieges of the later eras, from 1700 to Napoleonic wars. It seems to me to not take as much time unless the army was quite small. I'm not sure if its technological progress, tactics, or both.

[@simon2493]

And I'm interested in post Napoleonic era especially late 18 and early 19 century

[@mariushunger8755]

Doesn‘t it get somewhat repetitive after Vauban?

[@simon2493]

@@mariushunger8755 in a way yes, but at the same time forts designs became completely different than before when up to Napoleon era, they were towering above train after that they started to bury themselves deeper and deeper into the ground, like I've seen Prussia ring fort and you don't even realize you are seeing one all that sticking above ground is hidden behind earth.

[@edouardlorge4059]

They completely changed the way to lead seige. The common thing was to take a point near higher than the city you want to siege and then fire the city with artellery to force the city to surrender. Basicaly break by moral not by beating tacticely.

[@Jesse_Dawg]

Please more siege videos. They are my favorite

[@Gjellebel]

Your pronunciation of Dutch placenames like Rijswijk and Nijmegen is excellent! Dutch is quite hard for most non-natives but you do a great job! Call me an impressed Dutchman.