---
title: "Siege Warfare"
description: "How castles were attacked and defended: trebuchets, battering rams, siege towers, arrow slits, and murder holes; supplies, duration, and possible endings of a siege"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/siege-warfare-mt_CqzsM0BDFP
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/siege-warfare-mt_CqzsM0BDFP.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Siege Warfare

How castles were attacked and defended: trebuchets, battering rams, siege towers, arrow slits, and murder holes; supplies, duration, and possible endings of a siege

Subject: History · Area: Medieval Times · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/siege-warfare-mt_CqzsM0BDFP

## Ready when they can

- Name at least three siege weapons or attack methods
- Describe at least two ways a castle was designed to resist attack
- Explain what a siege was and why it could last weeks or months

## Lesson: Sieges: Attacking and Defending a Castle

A siege was an attempt to capture a castle or town by surrounding it and cutting off supplies. Stored food and access to water could help defenders hold out for weeks or months. Some sieges ended sooner. Defenders might surrender, help might reach them, or attackers might leave. A siege did not always end with a break-in.

*(drawing: Stored supplies could help defenders hold out after deliveries were blocked.)*

A battering ram hit a gate again and again with a heavy beam. A trebuchet used an arm and sling to throw stones. A siege tower let attackers climb up and cross onto a wall if it could get close enough.

Thick walls gave protection. Arrow slits let defenders shoot while exposing less of their bodies, but arrows could still enter. Murder holes above a gate passage let defenders drop stones onto attackers below. Defenders could still be hurt.

**Recap.** Attackers cut supplies or attacked defences. Rams hit gates, trebuchets threw stones, and towers carried soldiers upward. Sieges had several possible endings.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Castle Design Through the Ages](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/castle-design-through-the-ages-mt_doVAdMqfJg)
- [Knights & Armour](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/knights-and-armour-mt_M_xcaRcvSo)

## Opens up

- [Magna Carta and Limiting Royal Power](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/magna-carta-and-limiting-royal-power-mt_8ShghTx0jd)