The longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
The 2 month siege by the Ottoman Army, in which they failed to take this city, is considered the turning point in the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.
Pharaoh Thutmose III besieged this Canaanite city for 7 months, as it controlled the east-west trade from its location. Despite siege towers, lack of water forced the town’s surr
This city was blockaded and bombarded for almost 900 days by the German Army Group North, resulting in the most deadly siege of all time with over 3 million casualties.
The Union Navy bombarded this fortification for 48 days, and used explosive mines to finally bring Confederate surrender and open the entire Mississippi up to Union traffic.
Alexander the Great besieged this city for 6 months, constructing a causeway in the ocean to reach the walls of the Persian island garrison with ballista and siege towers.
During a 2 year siege by the Romans, this city was famously defended by heat rays and weapons invented by Archimedes, who himself was killed at the conclusion of fighting.
Hernán Cortés and 1,000 conquistadors cut the water supply to this city, the Aztec capital, during a final month long siege that led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization.
Gaddafi loyalists besieged this town held by anti-Gaddafi forces in the most violent urban battle of the uprising. The town was completely severed from the outside world.
The Mughals lay siege to this garrison for 123 days before overcoming the Hindu Rajput defences with siege towers, extinguishing much Indian resistance to Mughal rule.
To drive Dutch rebels out of this town, the Spanish besieged it for a year, only to be defeated when dykes were broken and a flotilla of boats relieved the citadel.
The British lay siege to this city of 70,000 for 6 months during the Hundred Years' War, using starvation tactics to force an eventual French surrender and capture of Normandy.
The Kingdom of France captured this city after a 3 day artillery siege, ending 200 years of English control. A treaty the year later recognised the town as a French territory.
This siege during the Gothic War lasted a year and ended with the Byzantine armies successfully defending the city, despite Ostrogothic attempts to starve and poison the population
This 13 day siege at a former mission became the most famous battle in the Texas War of Independence.
A Mahdist army besieged this town for 416 days, cutting river access to the city and causing widespread starvation. Once inside, they slaughtered the Egyptian defenders.
2,000 footsoldiers of the Knights Hospitaller successfully defended this island fortress during a 4 month siege by Ottoman Turks, which was later romanticised by Voltaire.
Jewish fighters committed suicide rather than surrendering when Roman forces breached this fortress built on a desert plateau.
Ottoman forces besieged this Venetian controlled town on Crete for 21 years, before its surrender.
The French besieged this Spanish naval base for 2 years during the Peninsula Warch was then also the Spanish seat of power,
Forces loyal to the Emperor occupied the hills around the seat of the Shogunate and breached it after several days. This ends the of control the Hojo clan over Japanese leadership.
Julius Caesar constructed his own fortifications around this hilltop fortress in Gaul, using starvation tactics to force the 80,000 strong army of Vercingetorix into surrender.
The Soviet Red Army and Black Sea Fleet held out for weeks in this Crimean port while under intense Axis bombardment. Over 70,000 Soviets were taken prisoner when they surrendered.
The greatest loss of equipment and manpower experienced by the Americans during the Revolutionary War was the outcome of this siege.
The surrender of 20,000 French troops at this town following a 54 day siege marked the end of French colonial rule in Indochina.
1000 Crusader knights besiege this city for a week, breaching the walls with siege towers and slaughtering the entire Fatimid garrison.
A six day siege is followed by the massacre of several hundred surrendered British soldiers by Native American warriors.
Joan of Arc famously lead a campaign to relieve this city during a siege.
This 8 month siege saw the use of both siege towers and tunneling techniques to breach the thick defenses of a fortification built by Richard the Lionheart.
This hilltop Combat Base was battered by communist ground, artillery, and rocket attacks for 77 days. Up to 800 US soldiers died during operations to restart ground supply lines.
A 3 month siege of this city by the Romans spelled the end of Jewish independence and the incorporation of Judea into the Roman Republic as a client kingdom.
A 3 three month siege saw up to 90,000 German soldiers fight house-to-house to defend this city that had been turned into a fortress on the orders of Hitler.
During the War of the Roses this location was besieged for seven years before finally surrendering.
Spanish forces besieged this Dutch town during the winter, eventually slaughtering most non-Catholics when they surrendered.
At the height of Ottoman power, Suleiman the Magnificent fails to capture this town after a three week siege that claims many of his 120,000 men.
King Louis XIII captures this town from the Spanish during Thiry Years' War, forcing them into surrender by placing explosive mines under their walls.
This 8 month siege of a Spanish fortress by Hannibal of Carthage triggered the Second Punic War.
A French Foreign Legion garrison resisted a 4 month siege by over 15,000 Chinese soldiers at this outpost during the Sino-French War.
Australian and other Allied forces defended this port city from 240 days of continued Axis attacks, stalling the advance of the German Panzer division in Africa.
A force led by the famous musketeer d'Artagnan launched a night assault against this town, but artillery proved most decisive in capturing it for the French King, Louis XIV.
A Parliamentary force besieged this town for 3 months to draw out Royalist fighters taking refuge inside. Many thousand civilians starved and died.
The Christians were starved out of their island garrison during this 1 month siege that marked the loss of the last Crusader outpost on the coast of the Levant.
A two month naval siege of this town forced the French into surrender and the eventual loss of Quebec.
The samurai forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded this castle for 3 months, using raids and starvation tactics to eventually force the Hojo into surrender.
The Royalist Army blockaded this town for 18 months, periodically capturing sections of fortifications in fierce battles before the blockade was abandoned on Christmas Day.
Crusaders besiege this Muslim held town for 9 months and, despite low food stocks, occupy the city. They are forced out after 3 weeks of siege by a Muslim relief force.
The Mongols, led by Liu Zheng, besiege this town on the Han river for 5 years, using trebuchets to destroy large portions of the city and naval blockades to starve the people.
Over 100,000 Japanese soldiers die in the 5 month bombardment and blockade of this fortified Russian garrison. Heavy artillery and trench warfare prove decisive for Japan.
The Tokugawa shogunate twice lay siege to this town within a year to crush the rival Toyotomi clan. The battle saw the use of imported European cannons.
After a two week siege, with 220 pieces of artillery, the capture of this town aided in the Union occupation of the Mississippi River, and effectively split the Confederacy in two.
When this citadel fell, the Crusaders lost the last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Over 2 months, catapults and exploding mines destroyed all of its towers.
10,000 Vietnamese besieged the citadel of this town for 2 years after the capture of the city by Franco-Spanish forces. The siege was ended after French victory at Ky Hoa.
The Vikings besieged this town for a full year, but the 30,000 Danish soldiers could not breach the defences with either rams or explosive mines.
The loss of this city to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state which had lasted almost 1,500 years.
Arab forces lead by Lawrence of Arabia laid siege to this Ottoman held city for 3 years, sabotaging the rail supply lines that maintained the city.
The Ming-Korea alliance successfully besieged and captured this Japanese held city in a 1 day battle that saw the largest use of artillery in the 16th century.
Continental Army and French troops besieged the English redoubts and batteries at this deep water port for 3 weeks, breaching them and severely handicapping the British war effort.
One of the first recorded uses of starvation tactics, siege towers and rams was by Pharaoh Piye to breach this Nubian held walled city.
The longest siege endured by British forces, this 4 year, failed attempt by Spain and France to capture fortified British land saw the use of floating batteries with 138 guns.
A French army besieged, repeatedly stormed, and was repulsed from this city during the Peninsula War, destroying most of the city in urban fighting.