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S I E ( 816 ) s. I E

liues leading to the place. By day theyshould keep themselves out of cannon-shot ; but as soon as it is dusk, theymust approach much nearer, the betterto be able to support each other, and tostraiten the town.

To undertake the Siege of a town ,(entreprendre le siege dHune ville , Fr.) toinvest it, to form lines of circumvalla-tion, to open trenches, &c.

To lay Siege to a town, (faire le sieged y une ville, Fr.) to draw your forcesround a town, for the purpose of at-tacking it.

To carry on tt Siege , (continuer unsiege , Fr.) to persevere by regular ap-proaches, &c. in gaining ground uponthe garrison.

To lay close S/ege, (presser le siege,Fr.) to approach close to the walls forthe purpose of making a breach andstorming, or of starving out the garrison.For a full and scientific explanation ofthe different methods which are adoptedin modern times, for the attack and de-fence of places, particularly of sieges,see Essai General de Fortification etd’attaque et defense des places , tom. i.page 61, &c. &c.

General phrases and terms used at aSiege are, viz.

To besiege a place. See Siege.

To accelerate the Siege , (accelerer lesiege, Fr.) is when an army can approachso near the place as the covert-way,■without breaking ground, under favourof some hollow roads, rising grounds, orcavities, and there begin their work.

An attack is when the besieging armycan approach the town so near as totake it, without making any considerableworks.

To form the Siege , or lay siege to aplace , (mettre le siege a une place, Fr.)there must be an army sufficient to fur-nish five or six reliefs for the trenches,pioneers, guards, convoys, escorts, &c.and artillery, with all the apparatusthereto belonging ; magazines furnishedwith a sufficient quantity of all kinds ofwarlike stores; and a general hospital,with physicians, surgeons, medicines,&e.

To raise the Siege , (lever le siege , Fr.)is to give over the attack of a place, quitthe works thrown up against, it, and theposts formed about it. If there be noreason to fear a sally from the place,the siege may be raised in the day time.The artillery and ammunition must havea strong rear guard, lest the besieged

should attempt to charge the rear: ifthere be any fear of the enemy in front,this order must be altered discretionally,as safety, and the nature of the countrywill admit.

To turn the Siege into a blockade ,(converlir le siege en blocus, Fr.) is togive over the attack and endeavour totake it by famine; for which purposeall the avenues, gates, and streams,leading into the place, are so wellguarded, that no succour can get in toits relief.

To insult a zcork, to attack it in asudden and unexpected manner, withsmall arms, or sword in hand.

Surprize , the taking a place by acoup de main, by stratagem, or treason.

To escalade a place , to approach itsecretly, then to place ladders againstthe wall or rampart, for the troops tomount and get into it that wav.

To petard a place, privately to ap-proach the gate, and fix a petard to it,so as to break it open for the troops toenter.

Line of circumvallation , a kind offortification, consisting of a parapet orbreast-work, and a ditch before it, tocover the besiegers against any attemptof the enemy in the field.

Line of contravallafion, a breast-work, with a ditch before it, to coverthe besiegers against any sally from thegarrison, in the same mauner that theline of circumvallation serves to protectthem in the field.

Lines , works made to cover anarmy, so as to command a part of thecountry, with a breast-work and ditchbefore them.

Retrenchment , a work made round thecamp of an army, to cover it against anysurprize.

Line of counter-approach, a trenchwhich the besieged make from the co-vert-way to the right and left of thebesieger's attacks, in order to scourtheir works. This line must be perfectlyenfiladed from the covert-way and thehalf moon, &c. that it may be of noservice to the enemy, in case he getspossession of it.

Batteries at a siege cannot be erectedtill the trench is advanced within reachof the cannon of the place; that is,within what is generally understood tobe a point-blank range, which is reckon-ed about 300 toises, 1300 feet.

Cannon is made use of at a siege for twe-