Siege of Legram

Siege of Legram
Part of the Scandinavia Campaign of the Seleucid Uprising
ERUAC Infantry near Lohengrin Castle.
Date 15 November 1951 - 25 November 1954 Location Arseid Viscounty, Erebonian Empire Result Allied Victory Selucid Forces repelled 100km away from Legram.
Belligerents
Erebonian Empire Rubrum United Kingdom Zanarkand New Akiba Jutland-Gimli Gallia-Bruhl Alteria Quenmin	Deseleni Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance Mikrasianasel
Commanders and leaders
Karl L.K. Arseid Daidoji Kitagawa Murasame Susaya Allone Grønkjær Kiều Hữu Dương	Athanasios Fotallis Ian Landauer Marko Holzhausen
Strength
350,000	850,000
Casualties and losses
By November 1954: 50,497 killed or wounded 175 tanks 451 guns	By November 1954: 99,750 killed or wounded 15,998 captured 347,874 died of disease or hypothermia 785 tanks 674 guns 875 aircraft

Siege of Legram (15 November 1951 - 25 November 1954) was a major siege that took place during the Seleucid Uprising at the capital of the Arseid Viscounty, Legram. Included as well was Lohengrin Castle. The encircle Allied forces had an overall 120km defensive circle with the Erebonians and Rubrumians defending Lohengrin Castle, and the Lucians, Zanarkians, New Akibanders, Jutlanders, Alterians, and Gallians defending the city. The siege was to be the longest of the war, lasting for 3 years and 10 days all in all.

As part of Operation Antiochus, part of the Seleucids war plan was the capture of the Province of Kreuzen to be able to use it as a base for invading the Republic of Calvard and the Crossbell State]]. Here, the Army Group East would be free to either participate in the capture of Heimdallr or pursue the capture of the Crossbell State or invading Calvard. As early as August, Erebonian General Karl L.K. Arseid, the Viscount Arseid, refused to allow his land to fall under Seleucid control, lest it be turned into a base for supporting further Deseleni invasions. As a result, Arseid defied orders to retreat to Bareahard and made a stand in his capital and castle. Just a month prior to the siege, Field Marshal Daidoji Kitagawa joined him and sent a Commonwealth force to reinforce his defensive lines. The preparation for the defence was massive, as they expected to be encircled.

By 16 December 1951, the Allied forces fell back to the defensive circle after holding their lines in the outskirts of the city. For the next months, the Allies were cut-off and supplies were hard to go through, as the circle was isolated from the Allied forces. After several attempts to reinforce and resupply the city, Field Marshal Archibald Sugiyama called in Quenminese Field Marshal Kiều Hữu Dương to plan out the supply routes. Duong navigated the weakest part of the encirclement, which was at least 10kms deep. Duong had men dig up at least 10 kms of tunnels that ran from the unoccupied portion of the Legram-Barehard Road to Legram itself. By June 1952, the tunnel became operational and soon, at least 10 tons of supplies per day were flowing in to Legram. Duong would expand the tunnel system to have different routes that ran to different defensive sections around Legram and Lohengrin Castle. The Deseleni High Command would not be aware of this until late 1953, when General Athanasios Fotallis undertook operations to destroy the Quenminese tunnels. However, these proved largely to be a failure, as by the time the Seleucids began the operation, the tunnels were already so extensive that there were already multiple entrances that led to Legram.

By the failure of Case Eumenes, the Selucids began to lose the ability to besiege Legram, such that reinforcements going to Legram were getting less by the week. By November 1954, Sugiyama launched Operation Watersprout, in which the Allies drove the Seleucids from the Arseid Viscounty, thereby relieving the Legram and Lohengrin Castle.

Although the siege was the longest during the war, the Allies had less casualties, being able to shelter most of the civilians in the Legram Subways. As a result, the Allies had less casualties in the span of the 3 year siege as opposed to the Seleucids, who suffered heavy casualties brought by skirmishes, environmental factors, and continuous RAF and REAF bombings.

Legacy

Lohengrin Ham, Legram Sandwich, and Defender's Ice Cream

Not only did the siege gave birth to the ERUAC identity and the important of Legram in commercial life, it also gave birth to certain food preparation techniques and dishes which are still in use today.

During the 1st Anniverary of the start of the siege, some foodstuffs began to go stale. As a result, Brigadier Hans Georg Fegelein instructed soldiers to cure and preserve meat to be able to make them last longer. These meat were cooked using a baker's oven and enclosed in clean ammunition boxes before being buried underneath the soil. Erebonia's cold climate suited the preservation, especially at the slopes of Lohengrin Hill, where the castle was located at. A month after burying it, the soldiers found that the ham tasted very sweet. Some often buried it for a longer time and what came out was a more sweetened ham with the sauce's sweetness comparable to that of salted caramel. Asa result, the ham became a popular commodity throughout the siege. When the Quenminese first managed to make contact with the besieged defenders, the first thing that defenders requested was pork belly meat so they can make more of their hams.

In addition, the ham was also eaten as a sandwich. It was largely popular with Zanarkian and New Akibander defenders, who created a sandwich with the ham, pickled beets, and lettuce. This sandwich also became popular with defenders and civilians who enjoyed. It was also enough to keep a soldier fed for half a day.

The cold climate also allowed some soldiers to create a cold dessert. Some months after the Quenminese made contact with the defenders, milk came into the city. The soldiers mixed butter and milk to create cream, which were later mixed with melted chocolate and other sweet delicacies. To churn it out, the soldiers stored the mixture in covered buckets and placed it on a small platform where the machine gun was located. After some 500 rounds, the mixture was churned enough to turn into ice cream. Soldiers found it sweet and was also fed to civilians to satisfy their cravings. Sugiyama was given a sample of the ice cream and said: "By God, Even these blokes find ways of making themselves happy."

As a result, Sugiyama suggested that these be made a regular commodity to both soldiers and civilians in commemoration of the siege. November 15 is celebrated as a non-working holiday as "Defender's Day" in which all 3 foods are served in every household throughout Erebonia, Rubrum, United Kingdom, Zanarkand, New Akiba, Jutland, Gallia, and Alteria.