IN TIME OF WAR. 28/

approaches in any manner likely to bring the siege toa ipeedy termination.

4- When from bad roads, or other circumstances,the artillery is insufficient to prosecute the siege withvigour.

92. In the first and second case, the engineers maketrenches of communication from different parts of the line ofcircumvallation, at the distance of 700 or 1000 yards from thebody of the place, and batteries mounted with heavy cannon areerected by the artillery-men : each battery is inclosed in a re-doubt of respectable profile, and spacious enough to contain aguard sufficient to secure it against any attempts of the garrison.Guards are likewise posted in the hollows or ravines in thevicinity of the battery; and when the ground is level,detachments are placed in the intermediate parallels, be-tween the communications, to sustain the redoubts, andgive time to the troops at the camp to come to their assist-ance in cafe of a general sally : but if the batteries becovered by a river, canal, morass, precipice, or defile, astrong guard in each redoubt will be sufficient for their security.

93. In the third case, (91), the besieger must exert him-self to turn every accessible point, whence the town can beannoyed cither with shot or shells, to the greatest advantage,by planting on them a proper quantity of artillery of largecalibre.

I he proportion of ordnance for this kind of siege isgreater than for regular sieges, particularly when the block-aded town is very large; unless in regular sieges, a fire isdirected from every side on the most populous quarters ofthe town, in order to excite consternation and terror amongthe inhabitants.

94- In the fourth cafe, the lines or trenches judged ne-cessary on the occasion, ought to .be. constructed with a viewto their being useful, when an adequate quantity of artilleryarrives, to convert the blockade into a regular siege ; thevivacity of which must depend on the knowledge the besiegerhas acquired concerning the strength of the garrison, thestate of the fortifications, and the nature of the adjacentcountry.

An army sometimes sits down before a place of great im-portance, in hopes of inducing the enemy to abandon anadvantageous post i n order to relieve the place, and per-haps hazard a general engagement. The most vigorous

attack