Siege

Military tactic that involved the surrounding and isolation of a castle, town or army by another army until the trapped forces were starved or frightened into surrender. Hemyock Castle was besieged and captured by the Royalist forces in 1644, during the Civil War.

In 1373, while Sir William Asthorpe was Keeper of the Channel Islands, Mont Orgueil (then known as Gurri or Gorey Castle) was besieged by a large French force led by In 1373, Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France, (also called "The Sword of France") and Duc du Bourbon.

Military blockade of a city or fortification, designed to force it to surrender. The besiegers used three main techniques; close assault, bombardment, and capitulation. In close assault, they would place towers and tunnels trying to defeat the walls of the fortification, generally conducted after a period of bombardment with archery, ballista, trebuchets, catapults, and even cannons. If the fortification would not fall to direct assault, a difficult and expensive proposition, or the defenders would not give over the keys (sometimes using parlay the attackers and besiegers would agree on a specific length of time the defenders would do their best to hold out unless relieved by a friendly army), then the attackers would try to keep new supplies out of the fortress, causing privation within and usually forcing capitulation.