Siege of Lundene

Siege of Lundene
File:Londonburning.jpg 'London Burning' Oil, 1741, E. Martinique
Date 22 November - 23 December 1343AD Location Lundene, Brytene Result Bahariyan victory
Belligerents
Brytene	Template:Country data Bahariyan Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
King Aelle†	Template:Country data Bahariyan Caliphate General Rahib Shah
Strength
800 household warriors Unknown numbers of townsfolk	30,000
Casualties and losses
800	approx 2,400 killed
8,000 to 120,000 civilian casualties

The Siege of Lundene took place in 1343AD when forces of the Bahariyan Caliphate under General Rahib Shah invaded Anglaland in Brytene and laid siege to the capital city. The siege ended in the fall and sack of the city and the death of King Aelle I of Brytene.

Background

Brytene was still a majority-Adfyr nation in the 14th Century, and in the spring of 1343AD the leadership of the Bahariyan Caliphate had declared Jihad, ostensibly to wipe out the pagan religion.

The Caliphate assembled a force of roughly 30,000 men and landed on the shores of Brytene in November of that year. They marched directly to Lundene, where the King and his retinue were wintering, and laid siege. Brytene had no standing army, and had last seen real warfare four decades previously during the conquest of Dyflin. As such, there were only 800 warriors under arms in the city, though they were reinforced by the people of the town.

The siege

Prelude

General Shah's forces quickly encircled the city, throwing a barricade over the river to the east of the walls and blocking all entry into and out of the city. A small force of 500 warriors from House Rohan marched to the assistance of the capital, but were forced to turn back by the sheer size of the invading force.

Messages discovered in the personal baggage of General Shah suggest that the invaders refused to consider a bloodless surrender due to the religious nature of the war. The city was invested and preparations made for an assault.

First assault

The first assault was the most costly for the invaders. They made a breach in the eastern walls with mangonels and other siege weapons, and stormed it later that evening, on the 26th of November. The defenders had built a second line of defenses at street level, however, and had hidden forces to either side of the breach. The Caliphate assault swept over the breach and into the trap, where fighting raged for the better part of an hour before the Brytisc regained control of the breach and trapped several hundred Bahariyans. Chroniclers speak of 'thousands of Bahariyan dead', but it is believed that between 700 and 1,100 of the besieging force were killed during this attempt. The defenders are also believed to have suffered heavy casualties.

Siege

The Bahariyans maintained the siege, harassing the defenders with missile fire and smaller assaults and feints. They also stripped the surrounding countryside of food and supplies, but as winter drew it became clear that the invaders needed to take the city before the cold weather worsened.

Fall of Suthwark

The district of Suthwark was protected primarily by shallow swampland, funneling attacking forces onto an easily-defended roadway. In late December, the temperature had dropped sufficiently that the swamp began to freeze solid, providing steadier footing. The Bahariyans managed to storm the palisade around Suthwark and take it early on the morning of the 23rd of December. The garrison guarding the bridge to the northern bank of Brytene was taken by surprise and, with the attackers inside the city, the defense quickly collapsed.

The elderly King Aelle I led the defense of Castle Oakhall himself and was killed in the fighting. By mid-afternoon, the city was largely uncontested.

Aftermath

The city was subjected to a week of pillage, destruction, and rape. Only the Castle Oakhall was spared as General Shah made it into his personal headquarters. The population of the city was either killed, enslaved, or forced to flee the devastation. Lundene would remain in Bahariyan hands until the Battle of Lowencraic the following year, when the surviving nobles of Brytene rallied under Aelfric of Nortymba and confronted the invaders.

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