Pushing siege weapons to longer range only drove artillery growth

Evidence

The devastating impacts of artillery, in turn, selected for ways to keep these catapults out of range, beyond the reach of the flying stones. New walls were thrown up outside of the original walls. Outer walls were very expensive, since they encircled a much larger area than inner walls, and many were several miles long. Simple barriers wouldn’t suffice, since they’d be smashed or undermined. So outer walls had to be equipped with full suites of defensive paraphernalia, including crenellated bastions, protruding balconies, and towers at regular intervals. For a while, these new walls worked. But the ability to hold siege weapons at greater distances only led to the design of bigger and bigger artillery. By the time of the Romans, onagers were hurling hundred-pound stones more than a thousand yards. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 514

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Fortification style evolved in direct response to artillery effectiveness — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 972; Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973; Animal weapons evolved to extremes far beyond practical size — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 2 (+3 more)

Related

• Siege artillery evolved to exploit the fragility of fortress wall corners (similarity 0.90)
• Siege equipment grew enormous, with towers pushed by thousands of men (similarity 0.89)
• Bombers evolved like castles, adding all-around defenses against attackers (similarity 0.85)
• Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts (similarity 0.85)
• Fortification style evolved in direct response to artillery effectiveness (similarity 0.85)
• Round towers replaced square ones because corners were vulnerable to artillery (similarity 0.84)
• Assyrians multiplied assault points to overstretch thin defender coverage across the perimeter. (similarity 0.84)
• Trebuchets made square castle towers disappear in favor of round ones (similarity 0.83)
• Human fortifications and artillery evolve via the same arms-race logic as animal weapons (similarity 0.83)
• Fortification-artillery escalation mirrors predator-prey arms races, not rival contests (similarity 0.82)
• Cannons ended the castle arms race, making thousands obsolete (similarity 0.82)
• Assyrian siege towers countered wall elevations by matching defender height and battering walls. (similarity 0.81)
• Absent siege threats, defensive walls stagnated for seven thousand years (similarity 0.80)
• Cannons collapsed castle defenses and drove a new star-fort architecture (similarity 0.80)
• City fortification walls evolved progressively from palisades to layered battlement systems by 1500 BCE. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Animal weapons evolved to extremes far beyond practical size #exemplifies (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 2
• Balancing selection normally curbs weapon size until some lineages escape into runaway arms races #exemplifies (0.65) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 22
• Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts #contradicts (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973
• Siege equipment grew enormous, with towers pushed by thousands of men #expands (0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 515
• Long-range ship gunnery proved ineffective against thick hulls #corroborates (0.50) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 709
• Fortification style evolved in direct response to artillery effectiveness #qualifies (0.45) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 972