Editing Siege (section)

==Modern warfare==

===World War I===
[[File:Indian army soldier after siege of Kut.jpg|thumb|upright|right|This [[sepoy]] [[Prisoner of war|PoW]] shows the conditions of the garrison at [[Kut]] at the end of [[Siege of Kut|the siege]] in World War I.]]

Mainly as a result of the increasing firepower (such as [[machine gun]]s) available to defensive forces, [[World War I|First World War]] [[trench warfare]] briefly revived a form of siege warfare. Although siege warfare had moved out from an urban setting because city walls had become ineffective against modern weapons, trench warfare was nonetheless able to use many of the techniques of siege warfare in its prosecution (sapping, mining, [[Artillery|barrage]] and, of course, [[Attrition warfare|attrition]]), but on a much larger scale and on a greatly extended front.

More traditional sieges of fortifications took place in addition to trench sieges. The [[siege of Tsingtao]] was one of the first major sieges of the war, but the inability for significant resupply of the German garrison made it a relatively one-sided battle. The Germans and the crew of an Austro-Hungarian [[protected cruiser]] put up a hopeless defense and, after holding out for more than a week, surrendered to the Japanese, forcing the German [[East Asia Squadron]] to steam towards South America for a new coal source.{{dubious|reason=The East Asia Squadron was already off South America and had fought at Coronel by the time Tsingtau surrenedered to the Japanese|date=September 2023}}

The other major siege outside Europe during the First World War was in [[Mesopotamia]], at the [[siege of Kut]]. After a failed attempt to move on Baghdad, stopped by the Ottomans at the bloody [[Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)|Battle of Ctesiphon]], the British and their large contingent of Indian [[sepoy]] soldiers were forced to retreat to Kut, where the Ottomans under German General [[Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz|Baron Colmar von der Goltz]] laid siege. The British attempts to resupply the force via the [[Tigris]] river failed, and rationing was complicated by the refusal of many Indian troops to eat cattle products. By the time the garrison fell on 29 April 1916, starvation was rampant. Conditions did not improve greatly under Turkish imprisonment. Along with the battles of [[Battle of Tanga|Tanga]], [[Battle of Sandfontein|Sandfontein]], [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli]], and [[Battle of Namacurra|Namacurra]], it would be one of Britain's numerous embarrassing colonial defeats of the war.

[[File:Skoda 305 mm Model 1911.jpg|thumb|left|The Skoda 305 mm Model 1911]]

The largest sieges of the war, however, took place in Europe. The initial German advance into Belgium produced four major sieges: the [[Battle of Liège]], the [[Siege of Namur (1914)|siege of Namur]], the [[siege of Maubeuge]], and the [[Siege of Antwerp (1914)|siege of Antwerp]]. All four would prove crushing German victories, at Liège and Namur against the Belgians, at Maubeuge against the French and at Antwerp against a combined Anglo-Belgian force. The weapon that made these victories possible were the German [[Big Bertha (howitzer)|Big Bertha]]s and the [[Skoda 305 mm Model 1911]] siege mortars, one of the best siege mortars of the war,{{sfn|Reynolds|Churchill|Miller|1916|p=406}} on loan from Austria-Hungary. These huge guns were the decisive weapon of siege warfare in the 20th century, taking part at Przemyśl, the Belgian sieges, on the Italian Front and Serbian Front, and even being reused in World War II.

[[File:Szturm Twierdzy Przemysl A. Ritter von Meissl.jpg|thumb|Siege of Przemyśl]]

At the [[siege of Przemyśl]], during World War I, the [[Austro-Hungarian Army|Austro-Hungarian]] garrison showed excellent knowledge of siege warfare, not only waiting for relief, but sending sorties into Russian lines and employing an active defense that resulted in the capture of the Russian General [[Lavr Kornilov]]. Despite its excellent performance, the garrison's food supply had been requisitioned for earlier offensives, a relief expedition was stalled by the weather, ethnic rivalries flared up between the defending soldiers, and a breakout attempt failed. When the commander of the garrison Hermann Kusmanek finally surrendered, his troops were eating their horses and the first attempt of large-scale air supply had failed. It was one of the few great victories obtained by either side during the war; 110,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners were marched back to Russia. Use of aircraft for siege running, bringing supplies to areas under siege, would nevertheless prove useful in many sieges to come.

The largest siege of the war, and arguably the roughest, most gruesome battle in history, was the [[Battle of Verdun]]. Whether the battle can be considered true siege warfare is debatable. Under the theories of [[Erich von Falkenhayn]], it is more distinguishable as purely attrition with a coincidental presence of fortifications on the battlefield. When considering the plans of [[Wilhelm, German Crown Prince|Crown Prince Wilhelm]], purely concerned with taking the citadel and not with French casualty figures, it can be considered a true siege. The main fortifications were [[Fort Douaumont]], [[Fort Vaux]], and the fortified city of Verdun itself. The Germans, through the use of huge artillery bombardments, flamethrowers, and infiltration tactics, were able to capture both Vaux and Douaumont, but were never able to take the city, and eventually lost most of their gains. It was a battle that, despite the French ability to fend off the Germans, neither side won. The German losses were not worth the potential capture of the city, and the French casualties were not worth holding the symbol of her defense.

The development of the armored [[tank]] and improved [[infantry]] [[military tactics|tactics]] at the end of World War I swung the pendulum back in favor of maneuver, and with the advent of Blitzkrieg in 1939, the end of traditional siege warfare was at hand. The [[Maginot Line]] would be the prime example of the failure of immobile, post–World War I fortifications. Although sieges would continue, it would be in a totally different style and on a reduced scale.

===World War II===
The [[Blitzkrieg]] of the Second World War truly showed that fixed fortifications are easily defeated by manoeuvre instead of frontal assault or long sieges. The great [[Maginot Line]] was bypassed, and battles that would have taken weeks of siege could now be avoided with the careful application of air power (such as the German [[paratrooper]] capture of [[Fort Eben-Emael]], Belgium, early in World War II).

[[File:Leningrad Siege May 1942 - January 1943.png|upright=1.8|thumb|right|Map showing Axis encirclement during the [[siege of Leningrad]] (1942–1943)]]

The most important siege was the [[siege of Leningrad]], which lasted over 29 months, about half of the duration of the entire Second World War. The siege of Leningrad resulted in the deaths of some [[List of battles by casualties|one million of the city's inhabitants]].<ref>[[Timothy Snyder]] (2010). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n856VkLmF34C Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''. Basic Books. p. 173. {{ISBN|0-465-00239-0}}</ref> Along with the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the siege of Leningrad on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] was the deadliest siege of a city in history. In the west, apart from the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], the sieges were not on the same scale as those on the European Eastern front; however, there were several notable or critical sieges: the island of [[Malta]], for which the population won the [[George Cross]] and [[Siege of Tobruk|Tobruk]]. In the [[South-East Asian theatre of World War II|South-East Asian theatre]], there was the siege of [[Singapore]], and in the [[Burma campaign]], sieges of [[Myitkyina]], the [[Battle of the Admin Box|Admin Box]], [[Battle of Imphal|Imphal]], and [[Battle of Kohima|Kohima]], which was the high-water mark for the Japanese advance into [[British India|India]].

The [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)|siege of Sevastopol]] saw the use of the heaviest and most powerful individual siege engines ever to be used: the German [[Schwerer Gustav|800&nbsp;mm railway gun]] and the [[Karl-Gerät|600&nbsp;mm siege mortar]]. Though a single shell could have disastrous local effect, the guns were susceptible to air attack in addition to being slow to move.

====Airbridge====
Throughout the war both the Western Allies and the Germans tried to supply forces besieged behind enemy lines with ad-hoc [[Airbridge (logistics)|airbridges]]. Sometimes these attempts failed, as happened to the besieged [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|German Sixth Army]] the [[Battle of Stalingrad#Sixth Army surrounded|Battle of Stalingrad]], and sometimes they succeeded as happened during the [[Battle of the Admin Box]] (5 – 23 February 1944) and the short [[Siege of Bastogne]] (December 1944).

The logistics of strategic airbridge operations were developed by the Americans flying [[military transport aircraft]] from [[India]] to [[Republic of China (1912-1949)|China]] over [[the Hump]] (1942–1945), to resupply the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Chinese war effort]] of [[Chiang Kai-shek]], and to the USAAF [[XX Bomber Command]] (during [[Operation Matterhorn]]).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Tactical airbridge methods were developed and, as planned, used extensively for supplying the [[Chindits]] during [[Operation Thursday]] (February – May 1944). The Chindits, a specially trained division of the [[British Army|British]] and [[British Indian Army|Indian]] armies, were flown deep behind Japanese front lines in the South-East Asian theatre to jungle clearings in Burma where they set up fortified airheads from which they sailed out to attack Japanese lines of communications, while defending the bases from Japanese counterattacks. The bases were re-supplied by air with casualties flown out by returning aircraft. When the Japanese attacked in strength the Chindits abandoned the bases and either moved to new bases, or back to Allied lines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History Press {{!}} Special Force: Legacy of the Chindits |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/special-force-legacy-of-the-chindits/ |access-date=23 February 2023 |website=www.thehistorypress.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

===Post-World War II===
[[File:Dien Bien Phu002.jpg|thumb|right|French troops seeking cover in trenches, Dien Bien Phu, 1954]]

[[File:Sarajevo Siege Collecting Firewood 2.jpg|thumb|right|Sarajevo residents collecting firewood, winter of 1992–1993]]

[[File:Marawi-structures-stats.jpg|thumb|right|Map of destroyed infrastructure following the [[Battle of Marawi|siege of Marawi]], 2017]]

Several times during the [[Cold War]] the western powers had to use their airbridge expertise.

* The [[Berlin Blockade]] from June 1948 to September 1949, the Western Powers flew over 200,000 flights, providing to West Berlin up to 8,893 tons of necessities each day.
* Airbridge was used extensively during the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]] during the [[First Indochina War]], but failed to prevent its fall to the [[Việt Minh]] in 1954.
* In [[Vietnam War|the next Vietnam War]], airbridge proved crucial during the siege of the American base at [[Battle of Khe Sanh|Khe Sanh]] in 1968. The resupply it provided kept the [[People's Army of Vietnam|North Vietnamese Army]] from capturing the base.

In both Vietnamese cases, the [[Viet Minh]] and [[National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam|NLF]] were able to cut off the opposing army by capturing the surrounding rugged terrain.<ref>See for example the challenges noted in {{harvnb|Windrow|2005|pp=437,438}}</ref> At Dien Bien Phu, the French were unable to use air power to overcome the siege and were defeated.{{sfn|Morocco|1984|p=52}} However, at Khe Sanh, a mere 14 years later, advances in air power—and a reduction in Vietnamese anti-aircraft capability—allowed the United States to withstand the siege. The resistance of US forces was assisted by the [[People's Army of Vietnam|PAVN]] and [[Viet Cong|PLAF]] forces' decision to use the Khe Sanh siege as a strategic distraction to allow their mobile warfare offensive, the first [[Tet Offensive]], to unfold securely.

The Battle of Khe Sanh displays typical features of modern sieges, as the defender has greater capacity to withstand the siege, the attacker's main aim is to bottle operational forces or create a strategic distraction, rather than take the siege to a conclusion.

In neighboring Cambodia, at that time known as the [[Cambodian coup of 1970|Khmer Republic]], the [[Khmer Rouge]] used siege tactics to cut off supplies from [[Phnom Penh]] to other government-held enclaves in an attempt to break the will of the government to continue fighting.

In 1972, during the Easter offensive, the siege of [[An Lộc, Bình Phước|An Lộc]] Vietnam occurred. ARVN troops and U.S. advisers and air power successfully defeated communist forces. The Battle of An Lộc pitted some 6,350 ARVN men against a force three times that size. During the peak of the battle, ARVN had access to only one 105&nbsp;mm howitzer to provide close support, while the enemy attack was backed by an entire artillery division. ARVN had no tanks, the NVA communist forces had two armoured regiments. ARVN prevailed after over two months of continuous fighting. As General Paul Vanuxem, a French veteran of the Indochina War, wrote in 1972 after visiting the liberated city of An Lộc: "An Lộc was the Verdun of Vietnam, where Vietnam received as in baptism the supreme consecration of her will."

During the [[1982 Lebanon War]], the [[Israel Defence Forces]] [[Siege of Beirut|besieged]] [[Beirut]], the capital of [[Lebanon]], to quickly realize their goals including the eviction of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] from the country.

During the [[Yugoslav Wars]] in the 1990s, [[Republika Srpska]] forces [[Siege of Sarajevo|besieged]] [[Sarajevo]], the capital of [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]]. The siege lasted from April 1992 until February 1996.

Numerous sieges haven taken place during the [[Syrian civil war]], such as the [[siege of Homs]], [[siege of Kobanî]], [[siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017)]], [[siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa]], and [[siege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya]].

Multiple sieges took place in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], most notably the [[siege of Mariupol]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-says-situation-mariupol-very-difficult-rejects-surrender-ultimatum-2022-03-21/ | title=Ukraine says situation in besieged Mariupol is 'very difficult' | newspaper=Reuters | date=21 March 2022 | last1=Polityuk | first1=Pavel | last2=Zinets | first2=Natalia }}</ref>

The [[Gaza war]] contained multiple sieges, including the [[siege of Gaza City]] and the [[siege of Khan Yunis]].