Ted Callahan

Obviously, you have practical concerns, as far as how close they can get, how accurate their fire will be, the rate of fire they can lay down on the city, but then, you have the potential for panic to take root. And that has almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy in a lot of cities in the north, where people just assume it is going to be overrun, they panic, they leave.

They have moved stockpiles (to outlying districts) because they knew they wouldn't hold the city for long. encyclopedia.