Medieval siege 中世纪攻城战-3

Trebuchets began in the Far East, in China. But what they were there, were hand-pulled machines, worked by quite large teams of men.

"Prepare to loose, loose!"

In many ways, quite limited in what they could do. The big advance came when Arab engineers got hold of these devices, and put a big counterweight on so that instead of teams of men pulling it, the beam was pulled down by a great counterweight. They are far more potent¹ and far more effective. These machines were picked up by western engineers and by the middle of the 13th century, it's very clear that French, English engineers were capable of building really quite large machines.

Some of the best military engineers were employed by Edward I, a master of military tactics. He was one of the most vicious and single-minded rulers of his time. Soon after ascending² the throne in 1274, Edward decided³ to squash Welsh independence and bring Wales under his personal rule.
"He was a bully⁴ frankly⁵, and I think many people would think of him as a really nasty piece of work. He was utterly⁶ determined⁷, nothing is gonna get in his way."

Edward's strategy was to ring the mountain stronghold of the Welsh prince with a chain of powerful castles. Richard Holmes is an historian of military tactics.

"He built 8 new big castles which were really state of the art. They were immensely strong, well thought-out. And most of them could be supplied by water, so they were very difficult for the Welsh to besiege⁸. And Edward believed that you control the countryside by castles like this. They are like nails, holding the landscape down, and their garrisons¹⁰ could issue out, attack enemies in the area. And until the castle was taken, nobody could really dominate that landscape.
They were extraordinarily¹¹ expensive to build, and were a very severe drain on the Royal Exchequer¹². In the short-term though, they worked."
Edward and other English lords designed their Welsh strongholds with the Trebuchet in mind. For example, Caerphilly Castle was surrounded by man-made lakes, which kept the besieging¹³ army and their siege weapons at a distance.
"Castles what modern tacticians would call force-multiplies, they enabled a relatively¹⁴ small garrison⁹ to operate at absolute maximum of effectiveness. And a castle like this is carefully organized to maximize defensive¹⁵ firepower. There were loopholes in the walls and the towers for archers¹⁶ to shoot through. And here the walls are cunningly organized. So the second set of walls is higher than the first, and therefore an attacker facing this face of the castle, not only gets the defensive fire of the first wall, but he's got archers shooting at him from the higher walls behind it. It's a real nightmare.

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counterweight: n. 平衡物
bully: n. 欺凌弱小者
state of the art: n. 技术发展水平
exchequer: n. 国库，财政部
loophole: n. 枪眼

1 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

2 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 besiege   

vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围

参考例句：

• The Afghan air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.阿富汗空军正用直升机向被围城镇提供补给。
• She was besieged by the press and the public.她被媒体和公众纠缠不休。

9 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

10 garrisons   

守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I've often seen pictures of such animals at the garrisons. 在要塞里，我经常看到这种动物的画片。
• Use a Black Hand to garrisons, and take it for yourself. 用黑手清空驻守得步兵，为自己占一个。

11 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

12 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

13 besieging   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
• He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上，把它们焚毁。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

16 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网