History Main / TheSiege

* ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]'' is [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory based on a real, if wildly exaggerated, historical example]], with a group of fearless heroes defending a narrow mountain pass against a vastly larger number of enemies.
* The climax of ''StrawDogs'' has a microcosmic siege, when five thugs try to break into Dustin Hoffman's house, and he proceeds to [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass not allow violence against his house]].

* ''SmallSoldiers'' had a siege near the end.

* The Siege, usually involving a Town Boss being held in a city jail, was the climactic event of four JohnWayne movies, including ''RioBravo'', ''El Dorado'', ''The Sons of Katie Elder'', and ''Rio Lobo''. Apparently Duke liked this story line even more than he liked stalking and spanking beautiful women (three different movies!).

* Defied in ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: At World's End''. Several of the pirate lords advocate hiding in their fortress when the East India Company comes calling; said fort is supplied for a several-month siege. Jack points out that they ''could'' do that, but half the fort's inhabitants would be dead in a month due to cabin fever-induced civil war.
* The climax of ''KingdomOfHeaven'' is the siege of Jerusalem by Saladin's forces.
* ''Franchise/EvilDead''. In the 1st and 2nd movie the demons attack the wood cabin where Ash and his allies reside. In the 3rd movie the skeleton army assault the castle.

* The Great Siege of UsefulNotes/{{Gibraltar}} of 1779, took place during [[TheAmericanRevolution the American War of Independence]], when the British territory Gibraltar was besieged by a combined Franco-Spanish army. It lasted until 1783, and is the longest siege endured by the [[BritsWithBattleships British Armed forces]]. It was the largest action of the war, and of particular note was the [[ZergRush Grand Assult of 1782]]. It lasted for three years and seven months, and ended in a [[YouShallNotPass British victory.]]

* Noticeably averted in ''WarAndPeace''. Kutuzov abandons Moscow despite everyone on his staff and his emperor demanding that he hold Moscow against a siege.
* A mainstay of [[SienkiewiczTrilogy Henryk Sienkiewicz's ''Trilogy'']], set in the 17th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Each of the books in the trilogy has a climactic siege featuring the defenders fighting against great odds.

* The entire premise of ''Legend'' by DavidGemmell: the garrison of the fortress of Dros Delnoch must hold on against [[TheHorde the Nadir army]] to buy enough time for their country to levee an army. Most of Gemmel's books will end with TheSiege and/or LastStand
* In the book ''{{Azincourt}}'' by Bernard Cornwell it goes into great detail over the siege of Harfleur. The siege is a shambles, the British end up with dysentery, the French keep rebuilding the walls and to top it all a ship gets past the blockade to resupply them. When King Henry V finally takes the small town he lost so many forces he can't possibly hope to defeat the French in open battle but to save face forces his men to march around France attempting to avoid their army...[[ItWasHisSled that doesn't work out so well]].

* In ''The Power That Preserves'' (the third book in the ''ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' series) Lord Foul's army of monsters does this to Revelstone.

* Occurs several times in ''TheMalazanBookOfTheFallen'', most notably the exceptionally one-sided siege of Capustan in ''Memories of Ice''.

* There are many sieges in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. One siege at Riverrun is entirely at a stalemate until [[spoiler:Jaime]] comes and dissolves the whole mess. Daenerys becomes fairly well acquainted with sieges throughout Slaver's Bay, having been on both sides of them. One of the most memorable sieges in the series is in the back story, the famous Siege of Storm's End in which Stannis' men were nearly dying of starvation toward the end. This gave Davos his opportunity to become a main character by smuggling onions into the castle.

* This trope is a case of TruthInTelevision. Sieges have been and remain a common military strategy and a good number of movies and television programs base their siege plots on real life sieges like Leningrad and the Alamo. These are well-remembered by a (defending) nation's population if their people either won the siege by successfully holding their position against an overwhelming enemy OR (more commonly) lost gloriously.

* ''SavingPrivateRyan'': Uses this trope in the climax. Outnumbered and outgunned by advancing German forces, Miller and the rest of his squad put it all on the line for the survival of just one man[[note]]Well, that and holding a strategically vital river crossing for the Allied invasion, which was Ryan's mission. Essentially, they put it all on the line to accomplish RYAN'S mission so that they could then save Ryan[[/note]].

* ''SavingPrivateRyan'': Uses this trope in the climax. Outnumbered and outgunned by advancing German forces, Miller and the rest of his squad put it all on the line for the survival of just one man[[hottip:*: Well, that and holding a strategically vital river crossing for the Allied invasion, which was Ryan's mission. Essentially, they put it all on the line to accomplish RYAN'S mission so that they could then save Ryan]].

* ''SavingPrivateRyan'': Uses this trope in the climax. Outnumbered and outgunned by advancing German forces, Miller and the rest of his squad put it all on the line for the survival of just one man.

Compare with HoldTheLine, ProtectThisHouse, and YouShallNotPass. Contrast AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs. If they fail, see WatchingTroyBurn. If they send someone to get TheCavalry, it's BringHelpBack.

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' combines this with DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu. [[hottip:*:''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' combines ''everything'' with DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu.]]

* Defied in ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: At World's End''. Several of the pirate lords advocate hiding in their fortress when the East India Company comes calling; said fort is supplied for a several-month siege. Jack points out that they ''could'' do that, but half the fort's inhabitants would be dead in a weak due to cabin fever-induced civil war.

* The old Norse game Hnefatafl simulates an escape from a besieged fortress, as opposed to a pitched battle(like {{Chess}}.

* Several attempts were made in the golden age of table top wargaming to make siege games. The problem was that their is little maneuver and the most interesting parts are the gadgeteering which doesn't translate well. Some did manage to become classics like Avalon Hill's ''Siege of Alessia''

-->-- ''StrawDogs''

Compare with HoldTheLine and YouShallNotPass. Contrast AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs. If they fail, see WatchingTroyBurn. If they send someone to get TheCavalry, it's BringHelpBack.

* ''{{Mistborn}}''

* The main conflict in ''{{Redwall}}'' is a siege laid upon Redwall Abbey by a vicious one-eyed rat named Cluney the Scourge. Cluney's forces [[spoiler: actually manage to get in and have to be thrashed afterwards.]]

* There are many sieges in ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. One siege at Riverrun is entirely at a stalemate until [[spoiler:Jaime]] comes and dissolves the whole mess. Daenerys becomes fairly well acquainted with sieges throughout Slaver's Bay, having been on both sides of them. One of the most memorable sieges in the series is in the back story, the famous Siege of Storm's End in which Stannis' men were nearly dying of starvation toward the end. This gave Davos his opportunity to become a main character by smuggling onions into the castle.

* Defied in the first book of ''TheDeedOfPaksenarrion''. Paks's unit is holding a fortress when another mercenary company shows up with siege engines. Paks's unit is not equipped or supplied for a siege (and the other side is a [[HeroAntagonist sometimes-allied business competitor]], not some Army of Evil), so they surrender.

* ''BlackLagoon'': This occurs during the Greenback Jane arc.

-->--''StrawDogs''

* ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct13'': The premise of both versions, with a small twist: [[EnemyMine good must align itself with evil to defend against an enemy that threatens them both]]. In the original and [[AssaultOnPrecinct132005 the remake]], a small roster of police officers and civilians must team up with the criminals under their watch to defend the titular Precinct 13. JohnCarpenter, writer-director of the original film, has acknowledged his story as being basically a modern, urbanized version of ''RioBravo''.
* ''[[Film/HarryPotter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2]]''

* The Great Siege of [[MonkeysLionsAndAnnoyedSpaniards Gibraltar]] of 1779, took place during [[TheAmericanRevolution the American War of Independence]], when the British territory Gibraltar was besieged by a combined Franco-Spanish army. It lasted until 1783, and is the longest siege endured by the [[BritsWithBattleships British Armed forces]]. It was the largest action of the war, and of particular note was the [[ZergRush Grand Assult of 1782]]. It lasted for three years and seven months, and ended in a [[YouShallNotPass British victory.]]

* Happens a lot in pretty much every installment of ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', defending for a cetain number of turns in some levels and seizing castles in the seige missions.

** He still wins, though.