A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings. In its strict sense the term is only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, etc, the object of the assailant being to dishearten his opponent, and specially to force the civil population and authorities of a besieged place to persuade the military commander to capitulate before the actual defences of the place have been reduced to impotence. The practice was especially common during the 19th century; during the 20th century the tactic was largely superseded by the use of aircraft and missiles in various ways, under the general term "bombing".
Bombardment can only achieve its objective when the amount of suffering inflicted upon non-combatants is sufficient to break down their resolution, and when the commander permits himself, to be influenced or coerced by the sufferers. A threat of bombardment will sometimes induce a place to surrender, but instances of its fulfilment being followed by success are rare; and, in general, with a determined commander, bombardments fail in their objective. Further, intentionally intense fire at a large target, unlike the slow, steady and minutely accurate artillery attacks directed upon the fortifications, requires the expenditure of large quantities of ammunition, and wears out the guns of the attack. Bombardments are, however, frequently resorted to in order to test the temper of the garrison and the civil population, a notable instance being that of Strasbourg in 1870. The term was often loosely employed to describe artillery attacks upon forts or fortified positions in preparation for assaults by infantry.
