NAT II's Art of the Defensive Siege, pt. 3
5) - Wooden shields
Wooden shields are not thought of as being defensive weapons but they can be very useful. This screenshot is from The Conquest VIII by NAT and shows wooden shields in a tower. Everyone knows that an archer in a tower will have a huge advantage over an archer down below, but still on quite a few maps whole defences can be wiped out by enemy missile fire, especially crossbowmen. So putting wooden shields into a tower or up onto walls makes the archers or crossbowmen almost invincible. So if you have spare engineers and the option for boiling oil is not available building wooden shields can give you a huge advantage as they soak up all enemy missile fire.
6) - Fighting siege equipment
Fighting siege equipment is the hardest thing to do while defending in a siege, especially ranged units like trebuchets or catapults. Siege towers are rare but can be devastating if you don't send out men to dispatch them. Mangonels and ballistae are both very effective in destroying siege equipment and should be used wherever possible. Ballistae and mangonels more so are also useful in attacking large armies that approach, but they must be manually told to attack as they will not unless there is siege equipment present. However there is one very successful technique for dispatching siege equipment.
The single best technique is to sally forth with a group of men as soon as the map starts. This screenshot is taken from the siege map Monteriggioni where I have rushed out with my cavalry to destroy the enemy trebuchets. This is a very good tactic; it's done best with knights but macemen and even groups of archers off the walls can do it as well. If you are really quick you can kill the engineers before they even get a chance to make the siege equipment.
In conclusion I would say that the most important thing to consider while defending in a siege is to be active and not passive. If you are a passive defender who mostly watches the siege happening, only interrupting to set pitch alight then you will not survive the tough maps. You have to be active, moving men around, maximising your archer fire and blocking off and funnelling the enemy attacks. Good luck!
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