The Siege of Paris, 1870 - 1871. France Falls... But France Refuses to Forget; Seeding WWI.
Paris' surrender marked the end of the Franco-Prussian War, a conflict that not only crushed the Second French Empire but also gave birth to a new European superpower. In the wake of victory, the German Empire was proclaimed, uniting the fragmented German states under Prussian rule. The balance of power in Europe had shifted, permanently. But the war did not simply end with treaties and territorial concessions. It left behind a deep, unresolved hostility between France and Germany, a resentme...
20 Feb 22min
The Siege of Fort Fisher, US Civil War, 1865. The South's Last Artery, Severed. Heroic Last Stand of the Damned.
The fall of Fort Fisher sealed Wilmington’s fate, shutting down the last open port of the Confederacy and severing its final link to the outside world. No more weapons. No more supplies. No more war materiel smuggled through the blockade. With that final door slammed shut, the Confederacy was left to starve, fight, and die alone. Fort Fisher. December 23, 1864 - January 15, 1865. Union Naval Force: 57 vessels. Union Land Forces: 8,000 Infantry. Confederate Forces: 2,000 Infantry. Addit...
14 Feb 18min
The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854 - 1855. Crimean War. First Use of Electrically Detonated Land Mines, Russia's Crimean Dreams Destroyed.
The loss of the port city shattered Russia’s campaign in the Crimean War. With Sevastopol gone, the Tsar’s ambitions in the region collapsed. His fleet was crippled, his armies bled white, and his empire humiliated on the world stage. No reinforcements could change the outcome now—Russia had been broken, not just militarily, but politically. The war dragged on for months, but the defeat at Sevastopol had already sealed its fate. Sevastopol. October, 1854 - September, 1855. French Forces: 120...
13 Feb 20min
The Siege of Veii, ~ 404 BC - 396 BC. Rome's Walls Breached for the First and Last Time.
Rome’s victory did more than defeat a rival; it annihilated the one power that had stood as its greatest obstacle. With its most formidable enemy wiped from the map, the balance of power in central Italy shifted permanently. No force remained to contain Rome’s ambition. The republic had proven its ability to wage long, brutal war and emerge stronger. From this moment forward, its rise was not a possibility... it was an inevitability. Veii. ~404 BC - 396 BC Roman Force: Unknown Veiian Fores: U...
12 Feb 15min
The Siege of Plevna, 1877. Balkan Pan-Slavic Dream Stopped by Ottomans, but Planted Seeds for WWI.
Though the Ottomans fell at the end, their five-month stand shattered Russia’s momentum so completely that the road to Constantinople was never taken. The Tsar’s armies, bloodied and exhausted, were forced to settle for negotiation instead of conquest. The treaty that followed carved up what remained of European Turkey, stripping the empire of its Balkan dominions and accelerating its long, agonizing collapse. The siege had delayed defeat, but in doing so, it had also ensured that the Ottoman...
11 Feb 19min
The Siege of Liege, 1914. Blindsided by Courageous Belgian Resistance, German's Lightening Plan Thwarted, Paris Saved.
Belgian resistance was not supposed to exist. The German war machine had counted on speed... on smashing through the Low Countries unopposed. Instead, Belgian troops stood and fought, throwing the invasion off balance. What should have been a relentless advance became a grinding struggle, costing the Germans precious days. Those lost days gave France and Britain just enough time to rally, to fortify, to prepare. When the Germans finally reached the Marne, they no longer had the advantage. The...
10 Feb 20min
The Siege of Montségur, 1243 - 1244. The Last Stand of the Cathars. First Crusade Against Fellow Christians.
The fall of Montségur was not simply a siege, it was an annihilation of a faith. The last sanctuary of the Cathars, deemed heretics by the Catholic Church, was reduced to silence in fire and blood. Their doctrine did not fade by choice, nor by debate, but by the merciless hand of steel and flame, leaving only echoes of their defiance in the ashes. Montségur. November, 1243 - March, 1244. Cathar Forces: 11 Knights, 150 Soldiers. Inquisition Forces: 10,000 Soldiers. Additional Reading and Episo...
7 Feb 15min
The Siege of Boston, 1775 - 1776. America Refuses to be Ruled. Ragtag Militia Besieges and Takes Boston. America is Birthed.
By driving the British from Boston, the rebellion achieved its first decisive victory, expelling the bulk of British forces from the American colonies. This triumph was more than just a strategic success... it was a surge of confidence for the revolution. The war was no longer a scattered resistance but a tangible fight for self-determination. Emboldened by this victory, the Continental Congress moved forward with its most radical step yet. In the months that followed, the momentum gained on ...
6 Feb 22min
