This is the sort of thing for which commanders deserve the severest censure.
Who could indeed help blaming those who come up to a town with the expectation of taking it on the spur of the moment and without having given the matter the slightest thought, having made no preliminary examination, and no measurements of the walls, precipices, and suchlike approaches by which they hope to gain entrance to it?
And they are equally blameworthy if, after getting as accurate measurements as possible, they entrust at random to unskilled hands the construction of ladders and similar engines which require only a little pains in the making, but on their efficiency so much depends.For in such enterprises it is not a question of either succeeding or getting off without disaster, but failure here involves damage of various kinds; firstly in the action itself, where the bravest men are those most exposed to danger, and more especially in the retreat, when once they have incurred the contempt of the enemy.
There are only too many examples of such consequences; for we find that there are many more instances of those who have failed in such attempts either perishing or being in extreme danger than of their getting away unhurt.
Not only this, but by common consent they create distrust and hatred of themselves ever afterwards and bid all men be on their guard against them,
for it is as though a warning is thus issued not only to the victims but to all who hear of the attempt to look well to themselves and be on the alert. Commanders therefore should never enter upon such projects without due consideration and care. The method of taking measurements and constructing ladders and so forth is quite easy and infallible, if we proceed scientifically.
I must now resume my narrative, but when I find a suitable occasion and place in the course of this work for dealing with the subject again, I shall attempt to indicate the best means of avoiding mistakes in such undertakings.
Walbank Commentary