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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
#40
Quote:I've recently got hold of the Nic Fields book. Whilst he does use Mancetter as the principal case study he makes it clear that the River Anker just doesn't fit the Tacitus/Dio description, thereby shooting down the site he is basing his description on.
I had a quick glance through it, but having spent way too much time reading Boudica-related stuff a while back I thought I'd better pass on it. Fields appears to devote little time to the campaign itself, which seems a shame - he relies heavily on Webster's analysis, which has been challenged often and convincingly in recent decades. While I know the Osprey format isn't intended to present radical new ideas, but rather a concise and comprehensive survey of current thinking, I do think this is a bit of a missed opportunity. Using Mancetter as the 'principal case study', even with caveats, gives a distorted picture of the campaign. The site relies on Webster's notion of Paulinus making a fast cavalry 'reconnaissance' down to London, but we know from Tacitus' Histories that Paulinus was an unusually careful and cautious commander, surely not one to be dashing anywhere, especially unsupported by infantry...

Quote:The Church Stowe document has been updated
Thanks for the link - very interesting. It's an attractive site, although still too far north, I think. Reading Dio and Tacitus closely it would seem that Paulinus' withdrawal from London was very slow, and that the advance elements of the British force were actually in contact with his rearguard. I don't think a journey of five to ten days through hostile territory could be supported in those conditions.

Quote:(no Dunstable Downs though so I guess he's not following RAT too closely).
Well, revolutionary ideas always take a few generations to sink in. Especially ones supported by no evidence whatsoever! :wink:
Nathan Ross
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Nathan Ross - 05-27-2011, 06:41 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM

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