siege
nounThe setting of an army around or before a fortified place for the purpose of compelling the garrison to surrender; or the surrounding or investing of a place by an army, and approaching it by passages and advanced works, which cover the besiegers from the enemy’s fire. A siege differs from a blockade, as in a siege the investing army approaches the fortified place to attach and reduce it by force; but in a blockade, the army secures all the avenues to the place to intercept all supplies, and waits till famine compels the garrison to surrender.