AI: 🏰 Constantinople (1453), 🐎 Vienna (1683), 🐍 Vicksburg (1863), ❄️ Leningrad (1941–1944), and ⛰️ Dien Bien Phu (1954) Compared: Modern Sieges (Part II)
“And when it had been fired [Great Turkish Bombard]… the earth shook for a great distance around, and the sound was like the sound of a thunderclap, and the ball flew out with immense force and struck the wall, and it immediately shook and fell.” — Byzantine historian Kritovoulos
“It is not a city alone that we must save, but the whole of Christianity, of which the city of Vienna is the bulwark. This war is holy.” — Polish King Jan III Sobieski
“Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket… We can take all the northern ports of the Confederacy, and they can defy us from Vicksburg.” — Abraham Lincoln
“That piece of bread was our only link to life. We ate it like a holy sacrament, crumb by crumb, trying to make the sensation of swallowing last for hours.” — The daily bread ration for civilians eventually dropped to 125 grams—about the size of a deck of cards.
“The enemy will be caught in a valley where he cannot move, while we occupy the heights. It will be like a tiger against an elephant. If the tiger stands still, the elephant will crush him. But the tiger does not stand still.” — General Võ Nguyên Giáp