Siege of Summer Palace

## Description

The Summer Palace was the former gathering place of the Sigma Society. It was lost to TLO forces led by Ayatollah Cheng Lee Cherh during the Great Taliban Schism.

## Siege of the Summer Palace

Artist depiction of the first night of the siege

### Location

Summer Palace of the Sigma Society

On 3 March 2004, the leader of a Taliban splinter group, then Brigadier-General Cheng Lee Cherh led approximately 5000 Taliban fighters with 3 QF 18-Pounder artillery pieces to surround the Summer Palace of the Sigma Society. This action was not approved by Taliban high command.

The castle had 43 inhabitants, including 10 high-ranking members of the Sigma Society. Upon first sighting the Taliban forces, the inhabitants began plotting an escape route in the basement of the central tower as it would be impossible to defend should the Taliban forces break in.

##### The First Day

At 7.30 AM, Taliban forces had set up a picket line surrounding the castle, cutting it off from external supplies. At 9.50 AM, after the construction of the siege camp, Taliban guns began firing. Despite the large caliber of the guns, the cyclopean walls, further reinforced by the roots of various plants being grown between the boulders, were impenetrable. According to battlefield analysis, an estimated 13,000 shells would be fired until 7.00 pm, when the firing would cease for the day.

At approximately 5.30 PM, a HEAT shell would strike a weak joint on the upper half of the central tower. The shell penetrated, igniting several gardens. Estimates say that 1-5 tonnes of plants, including Hydrangeas, Orchids, as well as an assortment of ferns, were lost to the shell and the ensuing fire. The fire would also claim the life of a Sigma trainee, who, in his youthful ignorance, attempted to extinguish the fire, only to trip and fall into it.

##### The Second Day

Shelling resumed at 6.00 AM the next morning. After concentrating fire on a single joint, the wall was finally breached at 4.47 PM. Taliban fighters rushed in promptly, engaging the rear guard of the Gardening forces. The ensuing skirmish would last for 3 hours, with the Taliban taking heavy losses. With their inferior numbers, the Gardeners had to resort to ambushes and booby traps, as well as dispersing their forces in hiding spots throughout the many rooms of the central tower. This forced the Taliban into room-to-room fighting, causing them to pay dearly for every piece of territory captured. The familiarity of the gardeners with the Summer Palace also allowed them to hide effectively, giving them the freedom to pick their fights. At 7.55 PM, Taliban forces briefly retreated due to the heavy losses they had sustained. This gave the Gardeners the opportunity to retreat through a hidden underground passageway.

The fierce skirmishing left approximately 300-500 killed and 700-1000 wounded on the side of the Taliban, with Cheng Lee Cherh herself receiving a bullet to the temporal lobe, and a blunt booby trap permanently impairing her prefrontal cortex. This would leave her with a permanent speech and a challenged sense of empathy. These issues would worsen over the years, which would severely impact her later actions, such as the 2017 attempted assassination of Tan Chiew Sern. On the side of the Horticultural Federation, 3 gardeners would die in combat, and 20 men would be wounded.

##### Aftermath

In their retreat, the Horticultural Federation burnt several important documents. Several new plant species were also annihilated due to their potential for bioweapon development.

After scouring the Palace for leftover Gardeners, the Taliban Forces would occupy it and convert it into their new headquarters, with Cheng Lee Cherh as their Commander-in-Chief. The next day, 6 March 2004, at 8.00 AM, fed-up with the inaction of the Taliban leadership, Cheng Lee Cherh would announce the new organisation of the Taliban Liberation Organisation, unfurling its brand new flag during her publicly broadcast announcement.

*"We are sick and tired of listening to these useless leaders. God only helps those who help themselves, and yet the incompetent government refuses to take action against the Horticultural Federation, who publicly insults us and spits on our honour. They lack the passion and initiative expected of Through Train students. We denounce these leaders and will take back our name and our honour. I, the Ayatollah of the Taliban Liberation Organisation, promise this."*

***~Declaration of Independence by Ayatollah Cheng Lee Cherh***