The Great Sieges of History

by William Robson

The ardour of the besiegers was not at all diminished by this repulse, indeed, they appeared more animated than ever against the Rhodians. They began the scalade by the land and sea at the same time, and employed the besieged so effectually, that they scarcely knew to what quarter to run for the defence of the place. The attack was carried on with the utmost fury on all sides, and the besieged defended themselves with the greatest intrepidity. Numbers were thrown from the ladders to the earth, and miserably bruised; several even of the principal officers got to the top of the wall, where they were covered with wounds and taken prisoners; so that Demetrius, notwithstanding all his valour, thought it necessary to retreat, in order to repair his engines, which, with the vessels that bore them, were almost entirely destroyed.

After the prince’s retreat, immediate care was taken to bury the dead; the beaks of the ships, with the other spoils that had been taken from the enemy, were carried to the temples, and the workmen were indefatigable in repairing the breaches of the walls.

Demetrius having employed seven days in refitting his ships and repairing his engines, set sail again with a fleet as formidable as the first, and steered with a fair wind directly for the port, which he was most anxious to gain, as he conceived it impracticable to reduce the place till he had made himself master of that. Upon his arrival, he caused a vast quantity of lighted torches, flaming straw, and arrows to be discharged, in order to set fire to the vessels that were riding there, while his engines battered the mole without intermission. The besieged, who expected attacks of this nature, exerted themselves with so much vigour and activity, that they soon extinguished the flames which had seized the vessels.

At the same time they caused three of their largest ships to sail out of the port, under the command of Exacestes, one of their bravest officers, with orders to attack the enemy, employ the utmost efforts to reach the vessels that carried the tortoises and wooden towers, and to charge them in such a manner with the beaks of their own, as might either sink them or disable them. These orders were executed with surprising expedition and address; and the three galleys, after they had broken through the floating barricado, drove their beaks with so much violence into the sides of the enemy’s barks, on which the machines were erected, that the water was immediately seen to enter through several openings. Two of them were already sunk, but the third was towed along by the galleys, and joined the main fleet; and, dangerous as it was to attack them in that situation, the Rhodians, through a blind and precipitate ardour, ventured to attempt it. But the inequality was too great to allow them to come off with success; Exacestes, with the officer who commanded under him, and some others, after having fought with all the bravery imaginable, were taken with the galley in which they were; the other two regained the port, after sustaining many dangers, and most of the men also arrived there by swimming.

Unfortunate as the last attack had proved to Demetrius, he was determined to undertake another; and in order to succeed in that design, he commanded a machine of a new invention to be built, of thrice the height and breadth of those he had lately lost. When this was completed, he caused it to be placed near the port, which he was resolved to force; but at the instant they were preparing to work it, a dreadful tempest arose at sea, and sunk it to the bottom, together with the vessels on which it had been raised.

The besieged, who were careful to improve all opportunities, employed the time afforded them by the tempest in regaining the eminence near the port, which the enemy had carried in the first assault, and where they afterwards fortified themselves. The Rhodians attacked it, and were repulsed several times; but the forces of Demetrius, who defended it, perceiving fresh troops continually pouring upon them, and that it was in vain for them to expect any relief, were obliged at last to surrender themselves prisoners, to the number of four hundred men.

This series of fortunate events was succeeded by the arrival of five hundred men from Cnessus, a city of Crete, to the assistance of the Rhodians, and also of five hundred more, whom Ptolemy sent from Egypt, most of them being Rhodians, who had enlisted themselves amongst the troops of that prince.

Demetrius being extremely mortified to see all his batteries on the side of the harbour rendered ineffectual, resolved to employ them by land, in order to carry the place by assault, or reduce it to the necessity of capitulating. He therefore prepared materials of every kind, and formed a machine called helepolis, which was larger than any that had ever been invented before. The basis on which it stood was square, and each of its sides was seventy-five feet wide. The machine itself was an assemblage of large square beams, riveted together with iron; and the whole mass rested upon eight wheels, that were made proportionable with the superstructure. The felloes of the wheels were three feet thick, and were strengthened with large iron plates. In order to facilitate and vary the movements of the helepolis, castors were placed under it, so that it could be moved in any direction. From each of the four angles a large column of wood was carried up to the height of about one hundred and fifty feet, inclining towards each other. The machine was composed of nine stories, whose dimensions gradually lessened in the ascent. The first story was supported by forty-three beams, and the last by no more than nine. Three sides of the machine were plated over with iron, to prevent its being damaged by the fires launched against it from the city. In the front of each story were little windows, whose form and dimensions corresponded with the nature of the arrows that were to be shot from the machine. Over each window was a kind of curtain made of leather, stuffed with wool: this was let down by a machine; and the intention of it was to break the violence of whatever might be discharged against it. Each story had two large staircases, one for the ascent of the men, and the other for their descent.

This machine was moved forward by three thousand four hundred of the most powerful men in the army; but the art with which it was built greatly facilitated the motion.

Demetrius likewise gave directions for the building of a great number of other machines, of different magnitudes and for various purposes; he also employed his seamen in levelling the ground over which his machines had to move, which was a hundred fathoms in length. The number of artisans and labourers employed on these works amounted to nearly thirty thousand men, which enabled them to be completed with astonishing rapidity.