By the time of the English Civil War, sieges
were becoming the dominant form of warfare. The history books may be filled
with battles, charging horsemen and fluttering flags, but for the commanders of
the time far more men, weapons and money were devoted to the grinding work of
sieges than to the more exciting adventures of marching across the countryside
fighting battles.
The reasons for this were partly to do with
the strategic reasons that the Civil War was fought and partly to do with the
technology of warfare in the mid 17th century. The first was peculiar to
England, the second was a general trend across Europe.
Both sides were interested in taking and
holding ground, mostly so that they could raise the usual taxes on the
population and so boost their ability to keep their army in existence. By and
large that meant keeping garrisons in position in towns or fortresses. Those
garrisons could then march out to patrol the surrounding region and enforce
control.
from "The Sieges of Newark" by Rupert Matthews
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sieges-Newark-1643-Bretwalda-Battles/dp/1909099570/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422861079&sr=8-1&keywords=bretwalda+newark
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