Battle of The Locke

The Battle of The Locke, or the Siege of The Locke was the bloodiest battle in the Questers-Juumanistra War and lasted for two long, bloody years, right up until the cease fire. To this day The Locke is split right down the middle of its giant canal, Questarian to the west and Juumanistran to the east. Every day of every month for 22 months the Questarian Strategic Command ordered mass infantry charges against key Juumanistran positions, often suffering massive and uneccessary casualties. Both sides fought with total disregard for civilian loss of life. Civilians were often conscripted into the Questarian Army to make up for numbers in attacks. Every month, the Questarian Army would launch attacks on a corps scale level to no success.

Opening

When, on the 1st of August 2016, Questers invaded Juumanistra along the southern border, the people of Questers prepared for a quick and easy victory. They were wrong, and within a month the Questarian Army had been surrounded, cut off, and routed. The long retreat from the frontline to The Locke, the primary stronghold citadel of the United Kindom, was marched and in some cases Questarian troops abandoned ammunition and helmets to travel lighter. At 11:30 September the 3rd, when only 40 miles from The Locke, Questarian troops were surrounded and cut off by the Juumanistran Army. Fierce fighting continued for the rest of the day when at 12 PM the Questarian troops tried a last, desperate breakout to reach the city. Only three thousand made it.

Preparations Inside the City

The Strategic Command had been preparing for a siege for some time, but the city was still relatively undefended at that point apart from the main buildings such as City Hall, the Imperial Science Museum, and the Technical Academy. Ten different points were barricaded and made defensible. These were;

• City Hall
• The Imperial Science Musuem
• Saint David Technical Academy
• Miller's Tractor Factory
• John Brown's Smeltery and Colliery
• East Locke Train Station
• Locke Train Bridge
• The East Locke Dockyards
• The East Locke Bridge

Of these ten, only the bridges and dockyards were not taken immediately; the rest of the battle consisted of mass Questarian attacks on Juumanistran positions, forcing them back to these defended points about a year after the battle started. However, fierce fighting and heavy resistance meant that by the end of the battle, the Juumanistrans still controlled the Musuem and the Tractor Factory, which allowed them a dominating view of The Locke and in fact most of the east bank still belonged in Juumanistran hands, although it was turned to all but rubble.