Siege Warfare Fundamentals

In Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, siege warfare is the primary method of expanding your kingdom's territory. Unlike field battles, which are frantic and reactive, sieges are methodical and strategic. This guide covers the fundamental phases of a siege and how to make the critical decisions that lead to victory.

The Phases of a Siege

Every siege follows a distinct timeline. Understanding these phases allows you to manipulate the outcome before the first sword is swung.

1. Investment: You arrive at the settlement and pay the influence cost to besiege.

2. Camp Construction: Your army builds the siege camp. During this time, you cannot attack, and you are vulnerable to enemy armies.

3. Bombardment (Optional): You build engines (Ballistae, Onagers, Trebuchets) to destroy enemy engines or walls.

4. The Assault: You order the attack, transitioning from the campaign map to the battle map.

To Storm or to Starve?

Once your camp is built, you face a critical choice.

Storming the Walls

• Pros: Fast. Minimizes the time enemy relief armies have to reach you.

• Cons: High casualties. You will be fighting fresh defenders with full morale.

• Best When: You have a massive numerical advantage (3:1 or better), or an enemy army is approaching.

Starving Them Out

• Pros: As the settlement's food hits zero, the garrison starts to die, and their morale plummets. An easier fight.

• Cons: Takes days or weeks. You burn through your own food and influence. Highly likely an enemy army will attack you from behind.

• Best When: You are besieging a super-fortress with a huge garrison, and you know the enemy field armies are distracted elsewhere.

Wall Breaches & Bombardment

Destroying the walls on the campaign map is a game-changer. To do this, you need Trebuchets.

• Tactical Tip: Build 4 Trebuchets. As each one finishes, pause the game and move it to "Reserve". Once all 4 are ready, deploy them all at once. They will overwhelm the defender's engines and smash the walls.

• Result: When you assault, there will be two massive gaps in the walls, allowing your cavalry to charge right in.

Morale Mechanics

Morale is the hidden killer in sieges.

• Starvation: Causes massive daily morale loss.

• Casualties: If you kill enough defenders quickly (e.g., with a wall breach charge), the remaining militia may flee, ending the battle early.

Troop Compositions for Sieges

Sieges negate the advantage of cavalry speed. You need heavily armored shock troops and massed archers.

• Infantry: Imperial Legionaries and Sturgian Heavy Axemen are kings here. They have the shields to survive the approach and the armor to win the melee on the walls.

• Archers: You need volume of fire. Vlandian Sharpshooters are excellent because their shields protect them during the reload phase against enemy wall archers. Battanian Fians are devastating if you can keep them out of range of enemy onagers.

Defending a Siege

If you find yourself inside the walls, you have a massive advantage.

• Auto-Resolve: The auto-resolve calculation heavily favors defenders in sieges. If you are outnumbered 4:1, you might actually win by just hitting "Send Troops".

• Ambush: Use the "Ambush" option to sally out and destroy their battering ram. If they lose the ram, they must use ladders, which is a death sentence for them.

Summary

Mastering the fundamentals of siege warfare—knowing when to build camp, when to starve, and when to storm—is what separates a bandit leader from a King. For more detailed engineering tactics, check out our Siege Warfare & Engineering guide.