Christmemel was an Ordensburg fortress made of earth and timber built on the Neman River in 1313 to serve as a base for attacks into Samogitia.
Six weeks later, Grand Duke Vytenis attacked with two siege machines and a number of East Slavic archers.
His men began cutting and stacking wood, as Vytenis intended to set fire to the castle and suffocate the garrison.
While the Order's Grand Master Karl von Trier prepared a relief force, he sent ten knights and 150 soldiers aboard ships to aid the garrison, but Vytenis sent his own men to prevent these reinforcements from arriving at Christmemel.
Defeated at the castle walls and facing Karl von Trier's army, the Grand Duke called a retreat and burned his siege engines.