What is "escalade"

Escalade \Es`ca*lade"\, n. [F., Sp. escalada (cf. It. scalata), fr. Sp. escalar to scale, LL. scalare, fr. L. scala ladder. See Scale, v. t.] (Mil.) A furious attack made by troops on a fortified place, in which ladders are used to pass a ditch or mount a rampart.

Sin enters, not by escalade, but by cunning or treachery.
--Buckminster.

Escalade \Es`ca*lade"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Escaladed; p. pr. & vb. n. Escalading.] (Mil.) To mount and pass or enter by means of ladders; to scale; as, to escalate a wall.

1590s, "action of using ladders to scale the walls of a fortified place," from Middle French escalade (16c.) "an assault with ladders on a fortification," from Italian scalata, fem. past participle of scalare "to climb by means of a ladder," from scala "ladder," related to Latin scandere "to climb" (see scan). For initial e-, see e-. Also in early use in English in Spanish form escalada, later corrupted to escalado. As the name of a brand of luxury SUV by Cadillac, from 1999.

n. An act of scaling walls or fortifications vb. (context military dated English) To scale the walls of a fortification.

n. an act of scaling by the use of ladders (especially the walls of a fortification)

v. climb up and over; "They had to escalade canyons to reach their destination"

Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders, and was a prominent feature of siege warfare in medieval times. It was one of the most direct options available for attacking a fortification, but was also one of the most dangerous.

Escalade consisted simply of soldiers advancing to the base of a wall, setting ladders, and climbing to engage the defending forces. This would generally be conducted in the face of arrow fire from the battlements, and the defenders would naturally attempt to push ladders away from the wall. Heated or incendiary substances such as boiling water, sand and pitch coated missiles were sometimes poured on attacking soldiers. As the result of all this, it was often difficult for attackers to reach the top of the wall. Even when they did so, however, they would be heavily outnumbered by the defenders. Often, the objective of escalade was not to take the fortification itself, as it was thought impossible to get sufficient numbers of troops up the ladders. Rather, infiltration in this manner had the intention of opening the fortification's gates, to allow a more direct attack.

Fortifications were often constructed in such a way as to impede escalade, or at least to make it a less attractive option. Some of the measures taken to counter escalade included the digging of moats (which prevented ladder-bearing soldiers from reaching the base of a wall), the construction of machicolations (which facilitated attacks on enemy soldiers while they climbed), and walls incorporating a talus feature.

Because of the difficulties involved, escalade was usually very costly for the attackers. Two critical factors in determining the success or failure of escalade were the number of ladders and the speed with which they could be arranged. A slow attack gave the defenders too much time to pick off the attackers with arrows, while having too few ladders meant that the number of troops would be insufficient to capture the battlements.

Escalade was, in essence, an attempt to overwhelm defenders in a direct assault rather than sit through a protracted siege. Attackers would generally attempt escalade if they had reason for wanting a swift conclusion, or if they had an overwhelming superiority in numbers. Otherwise, less costly siege tactics were often preferred.

Modern assaulters sometimes use off-the-shelf ladders or firefighting ladder trucks to attack a building through upper windows and balconies. Purpose-modified vans and trucks with a variety of ramps, ladders, and stairs on the roof are also available. SWAT teams and other special forces units often put these to use to raid a house through an upper window and the front door simultaneously.

Escalade is also an umbrella term used to describe more modern forms of climbing activities.