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brkh47 t1_j5kpkhp wrote

Reply to comment by Pfeffer_Prinz in TIL the first known résumé was written by Leonardo da Vinci, when applying to be a military engineer for the Duke of Milan. It's mainly just a list of his designs for siege weapons (including trebuchets). He briefly mentions his art: "In painting, I can do everything possible." He got the job. by Pfeffer_Prinz

>5. Also, I have means of arriving at a designated spot through mines and secret winding passages constructed completely without noise, even if it should be necessary to pass underneath moats or any river

What does he mean by this? He builds tunnels without noise?

>And if any of the above-mentioned things seem impossible or impracticable to anyone, I am most readily disposed to demonstrate them in your park or in whatsoever place shall please Your Excellency, to whom I commend myself with all possible humility

Such a nice little paragraph. Highly confident in demonstrating his abilities but commending himself with all possible humility.
Well balanced, Leo.

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LordAcorn t1_j5kqzbs wrote

>He builds tunnels without noise?

Yep. Mining was a widely used siege tactic where you dig a tunnel under the enemy walls and then collapse the tunnel to bring down the wall. However, this activity could be heard from the defenders on the surface who would then dig counter mines to fight the miners.

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Quelchie t1_j5l3x57 wrote

ok but where does the lack of noise that Da Vinci was talking about come in? That shit doesn't even exist today.

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sirophiuchus t1_j5l6ydf wrote

I read it as him saying he had a quiet enough method that it couldn't be (easily) detected. No idea what that method was, though.

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obscureferences t1_j5lc4hi wrote

Probably something based on his other disciplines, like saturating and collapsing the ground, or a lightweight portable bronze meerkat on a stick to deflect suspicion.

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sunsetclimb3r t1_j5myoul wrote

"fun fact! The enemy cannot hear you mining if you simply kill them all first. Allow me to demonstrate! I shall need a volunteer..."

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Wirse t1_j5m8w2o wrote

It’s likely to have involved some men aboveground who would, at the opportune moment, clear their throats quite loudly and boisterously - thus masking the sounds of the miners belowground.

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seakingsoyuz t1_j5la4r5 wrote

This is total speculation, but anyway:

Underground warfare made a brief resurgence in WW1, because the front lines in Flanders were on top of soft chalk and the trench lines meant that the Western Front devolved into siege warfare. Counter-mining was also a serious concern, so the troops digging the tunnels would sometimes drill holes, soak the rock with vinegar to soften it further, then scrape away the top layer and repeat. This was a lot quieter than just hacking away with a pick.

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SeiCalros t1_j5l80l4 wrote

its easy you just put pillows over the rock and the fortress thinks somebody is having a pillow fight instead of invading from underground

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oh3fiftyone t1_j5mbdy3 wrote

Salesmanship, probably. His “covered vehicle” designs don’t seem particularly practical either.

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neoplastic_pleonasm t1_j5lfcau wrote

Or if merely collapsing the mine wasn't enough, they'd pack explosives in it and set them off. It's where we get the word landmine.

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Daniel_The_Thinker t1_j5lnv8r wrote

One of those held the record for largest non nuclear explosion for most of the 20th century.

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Clewin t1_j5lim43 wrote

In fact, it has a name - sapping and is done by sappers (trench diggers). Digging under enemy fortifications is called undermining and is where that word originated. Neither undermining or taking down walls was used all that often from what I've read - laying siege and starving the enemy was easier and less deadly (and if that fails, salt their fields and poison their wells before you leave...).

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ericbyo t1_j5mkpf3 wrote

Probably well known because it was used in some extremely famous sieges. Constantinople, Siege of Vienna etc

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