Siege of Arkridge

The Siege of Arkridge was a two year-long siege during The War of The Bears that took place concurrently with much of the war. It was carried out by the royalist forces of the Southlands led by House Ross against the garrison of Arkridge.
== History ==
=== Prelude ===
Following the Eve of Blades and the death of Lord Bart Durham during the massacre, the new Lord Dayron Durham fled to Ravenglass and alongside the Lords of the Lake, raised his banners in rebellion against King Dannis and in support of Prince Kaegan. While the main, primarily Lakelander, rebel army began to rally in the Lakelands and fought against House Pyke who had refused to join the rebellion, Lord Dayron travelled back to Arkridge in order to rally his bannermen and raise an army to take the Southlands.
King Dannis had already assumed House Durham would join the rebel side and ordered the Lord Adviser and Warden of the South, Rodrick Ross, to take an army and march on Arkridge to capture the city. By the time Dayron arrived at Arkridge, the Siege had already been going on for several months.
=== The siege ===
While the rebellion raged on elsewhere, Lord Rodrick Ross remained at the Siege of Arkridge and besieged the city for an entire two years. Lord Dayron managed to sneak his way through the Siege lines and took command of the 1,000 strong garrison to defend the city. The year prior had luckily yielded a good harvest and the garrison and it's inhabitants were able to ration supplies but toward the end of the siege, they had begun to eat cats, dogs, horses and rats. 
By the time, Lord Wyllam Rocke, who had been busy fighting toward Arkridge in the Southlands following the Battle of the Fields, arrived at Arkridge and the royalist forces withdrew; Prince Kaegan had already won decisively in the Battle of the Tyne and began to march on Newcastle, Lord Daltas Carlisle was still engaged in the Borderlands Campaign, and the Defiance of Seawatch (the longest continuous battle/siege of the war) was far from ending. It was Prince Kaegan's victory on the Tyne which forced King Dannis to order the retreat of the Ross and Tarbor army to rally back to Newcastle to defend the city from the approaching rebel force. The withdrawal of the royalist army early, with only some minor casualties meant that a fairly strong army was able to reach Newcastle prior to the battle.
=== Aftermath ===
Prince Kaegan was soon crowned as King after his brother's death during the Battle of Newcastle. He pardoned Lord Margan Tarbor for his role in the war but Lord Rodrick Ross had already fell in the Battle so he was unable to be put on trial for his crimes. Lord Dayron Durham, who had served as the rebel Warden of the South in the war, was informed that the title of Warden was set to be given to Lord Rupert Ross as he surrendered during the Assault of Sunderly and changing the ruling house of the Southlands would have caused further chaos and more war. Instead, House Durham was given a great deal of gold by the new King and betrothed his son and heir, Prince Byrron to his daughter, Joanne Durham. He also promised that Arkridge would be rebuilt at the crown's expense.
The Siege of Arkridge was of vital importance for the course of the entire war because it tied down the entirety of the large armies of House Ross and House Tarbor, preventing it from linking up with other royalist armies further north, from the Domainlands and the Borderlands. Had the city have fallen, the large army would have joined Lord Commander Prince Cayle Boyce's army and overwhelmed Kaegan's army at the Tyne.
It was an impressive military achievement, as the garrison of just one thousand men was able to hold out against a force in the tens of thousands for an entire two years. However, because it wasn't a dramatic battle but a prolonged siege with occasional sorties, the Siege is not given the same recognition as the Defiance of Seawatch, which is seen as a more dramatic battle of a force of just over 300 men holding out against an army much greater than their own, right on the King's doorstep. Lord Dayron was grateful for the relief of the Rockes as well as the rewards granted to him by the King. He was also appointed as Lord Chancellor in both Kaegan's and Byrron II's High Councils.
Category:337 AF
Category:338 AF
Category:The War of the Bears
Arkridge