How do Island Sieges work?

I know how land siegs work, surround a city choke keep anything from coming in or out and if you feel up to it you can try to storm the walls by force. But how do Island sieges work, at least when it comes to assaults?
 

Saphroneth

Banned
I know how land siegs work, surround a city choke keep anything from coming in or out and if you feel up to it you can try to storm the walls by force. But how do Island sieges work, at least when it comes to assaults?
Pretty much the same.

If it's a small island with defences all around it, then you're basically going to have a lot of trouble and the best bet may be to make a hole in the walls and use that. It will be nasty. (Or you could just build a causeway!)
Docks are also a weak point - sail in and land troops there directly, that kind of thing.
For a large island, land somewhere the defences don't cover and then it's a land assault.
 

B-29_Bomber

Banned
I know how land siegs work, surround a city choke keep anything from coming in or out and if you feel up to it you can try to storm the walls by force. But how do Island sieges work, at least when it comes to assaults?

Depends on how big the island is, but if it's like a small Aegean Island then a blockade would do the job. But if it's like Sardinia, where there's a large hinterland outside the main fort then ground forces could be sent in.
 
I know how land siegs work, surround a city choke keep anything from coming in or out and if you feel up to it you can try to storm the walls by force. But how do Island sieges work, at least when it comes to assaults?

In some situations, if you planned ahead of time, just like a land siege, you can have people on your side make things go....in a favorable direction.

However, even with that in mind, you still have to deal with how to assault it; do you launch a surprise assault as sunrise, or sneak through the dead of night and try to make an opening into the island's main defenses?

EDIT: Also, as B-29 said, depending on how big of an island you're talking about, you should do different methods. Sieging Malta, you could blockade it, and not let anything get past, but the same can't be said if you're sieging a place with lots of high terrain, ie Sardinia or some of the Pacific islands.
 
I know how land siegs work, surround a city choke keep anything from coming in or out
Actually, that's far from being always the case, especially in Ancient Times. There's thousands of cases, of course, but let's mention the Siege of Orléans in 1429 as an exemple of the contrary and guerre guerroyante.

But how do Island sieges work, at least when it comes to assaults?
It depends of the period : really small islands would probably involve blockade and or quick attack especially if it does have fortifications and or reserve. Failing so would often end as a defeat.

For larger islands, where you could efficiently unload troops and prepare an attack, it looked more like a regular campaign, though it required a good use of seafare to prevent being cut from reinforcement (Expedition of Sicily may be a good exemple). From there, going for the core or eating it slowly is a question of tactical choice and ennemies' power (Invasion of Candia by Turks)
 
The problem with an island "siege" is that unlike land sieges, resupply is a much larger problem for the besieging forces unless they establish a foothold on the island. Having a foothold means (hopefully) a supply of fresh water for the attackers, and a place to establish a supply base/dump.

As noted with small islands you can blockade, and depending on the local resources "starve out" the garrison. Larger islands become more like regular land sieges, with the caveat that the attackers have to secure some sort of port so they can efficiently land troops, animals, supplies etc. Doing this across a beach is quite limited.
 
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