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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Vindex wrote:

No general is going to funnel his line into crossing points and then reassembled it into an attacking formation in the face of a potentially larger force which could outflank him anyway.

I know this valley quite well, as it happens, and even in a relatively dry summer/autumn it does not dry to a solid surface and I cannot understand why a lack of visible water makes you think the river bed would be "dry". The area may be chalk but you still get mud! I certainly wouldn't put horses across it.

And not much of a "narrowness of place" either I'm afraid. Your battle lines are fighting across a valley not up and down it.



Hi Vindex

I think you are missing the point here. Paulinus could never have outflanked the horde. Tacitus states that. What he does do at Cunetio is to put his forces in a position that cannot be outflanked because of the woods and the steepness of the hills.

In fact although the Roman Army is completely on display because of the steepness of the slope at this point (which you will appreciate being familiar with the valley) it is really hard to attack which means the Brythons are forced to try and attack on the one front.

They would not be outflanked as they had far more forces.

I have never said that the river was dry but again as you know the valley and river well you will appreciate that it is easily waded and would not be a problem for horses or chariots.

Although you say that the valley is not narrow it is the narrowest of all the battle sites from a depth point of view.

The key here is the use of the cuneus to split the Brythons and force them up and down the valley and some will run back up to the wagons. The Brythons will be driven up to the "pinchpoint" at Stitchcombe one way a nd the Og valley the other way with some escaping to the West when they expand to absorb / avoid the charging Romans.

The cavalry could then follow up and cut down the fleeing Brythons.

(At least that's how I see it at the present) Smile

It is interesting to see the Mancetter dmonstration where unless the waggons surrounded the Brythonic army completely you can see that as the Romans burst forth the Brythons would run to either side and escape as there is no narrowing valley behind them. This is the same (in my humble opinion) for the Dunstable and the Church Stowe sites.....

Time to stop now - too many words!!!! :grin:

Cheers - Deryk
Deryk
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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 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 Deryk - 09-16-2012, 04:47 AM
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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