The Art of Siege - Prelude

 "when my uncle Toby discovered the transverse zig-zaggery of my father’s approaches towards it, it instantly brought into his mind those he had done duty in, before the gate of St. Nicholas; ---- the idea of which drew of his attention so entirely from the subject in debate, that he and got his right hand to the bell to ring up Trim, to go and fetch his map of Namur, and his compasses and sector along with it, to measure the returning angles of the traverses of that attack, -- but particularly of that one, where he received his wound upon his groin."

The Siege is very much the centre-piece of the Vauban and Shandy wargame.  As the rival Armies march and counter march across the 'chess board' of Flanders it is the defence and the attack of fortified places that is the norm, and the set-piece grand battle that is the exception.

And so it has proved with our humble miniature to date, and Monsieur B reflected that in our four years of playing the game, we have yet to have a general Field Engagement...but it is coming, perhaps in the Spring - and maybe at Landen or Steenqerck?

The siege game has been tremendous fun, and really a game of 'cat of mouse' - and the following dispatches will explore some of the subtleties of staging a siege - both indoors and outdoors, and we shall begin cover the art of Monsieur Vauban, with much zig-zaggery ...

but we begin with that most explosive of subjects - the Mine!

Boum!