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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
"At the risk of flogging any number of dead horses, I thought I might extend this very long thread a little with a bit more armchair speculation..."

thanks for bringing it back, I've been missing it and it's certainly the most intelligent conversation on the 100 year debate of the topic that I'm aware of.

While it appear, after much debate, that the western route out of London would be the more likely, I think it's still at least possible that Paulinus retreated northwards up Watling street, and that the battle site might be located in that direction.

I haven't seen anything to suggest the western route is "more" likely, so I can't let that statement go un-challenged. The western route remains a possibility but no more than that. But you are naming and testing a site, I have yet to see that from the western route protagonists (come on Westerners give us a site).

The northern location allows the Romans to maintain control of the Watling Street/Fosse Way axis, the loss of this would have been a disaster. Access to Legio II would be as easy/safer up Fosse Way than up the Thames Valley, the distances are not significantly different.

The northern location maintains contact with the rear guard covering the new gains up to Mona.

The northern location holds the core confluence of the major rivers which was potentially strategic/communication resource.

The northern location gives the potential for a central mustering position for Paulinus, II and the XI assuming P wasn't aware of quite how minced up the XI had been.(we assume he was fully aware, he may not have been when he selected a site to muster and make his stand and sent messages to II to that effect)

Whilst it is obvious the Romans were using the new fangled roads, it is by no means certain that the Brits were, what would be the older routes around the country?

The northern location maintains a Roman force in a position to threaten the depopulated East Anglian targets.

I'm not convinced from the texts, or common sense, that the Brits were moving around in a single mass/column from empty target to empty target.

To the site;
Steve Kaye has put a lot of effort into the water consumption issue,the Dunstable site is on Chalk (the Chalk pits the clue) so I think the site falls down horribly on the water supply issues.

The tactical situation suggests the high ground isn't defensible in a meaningful way due to flanking potential from Markyate onto the ridge. I believe the chalk downlands were cleared of woodland fairly early but I cannot be certain in this particular location. Marix Evans postulated there were "forests" around the Towcester sites due to the pre-dominance of Boulder Clays which were cleared quite late.

There is no plain, even with the most optimistic eye I cannot see one.

So how to test the theory;

Where did the Romans muster (Church Stowe I'm trying to show they had camps)
Where did the Brits muster (Church Stowe I'm looking at Hunsbury Hill as a potential)
Where did the water come from?
How could the flanks be protected?
What is the reason for making a stand there? was it the holy place being despoiled by the Romans?

It seems pretty clear that the numbers involved on both sides wouldn't just turn up and fight, more likely a day or even 3 of forces mustering together.

Thanks for bringing the thread back with a serious contender, I still buy the northern route but I can't buy this site for this event.
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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 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 John1 - 04-24-2012, 01:20 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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