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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Hi Nathan

Nice to hear from you again.

Nathan Ross wrote:

I still don't understand how their lands were 'newly acquired'... Rome was in the process of annexing the Iceni homeland, but there was no colonisation, no forts, no garrisons that we know of - as yet. Aside from kicking out a few parties of surveyors or rapacious tax assessors, Icenia would not require much 'reconquest'.

Tacitus states:

His dominions were ravaged by the centurions; the slaves pillaged his house, and his effects were seized as lawful plunder. His wife, Boudicca,was disgraced with cruel stripes; her daughters were ravished, and the most illustrious of the Icenians were, by force, deprived of the positions which had been transmitted to them by their ancestors. The whole country was considered as a legacy bequeathed to the plunderers. The relations of the deceased king were reduced to slavery

To me this seems that the situation had progressed far worse than you indicate. It would appear that there were forts around the Iceni lands; Great Chesterford, Saham Toney and Wixoe and perhaps others built after the earlier rebellion.

Nathan Ross wrote:

Anyway, Tacitus clearly states that the Iceni had neglected to plant crops in the spring, intending instead to seize Rome supplies - so they were certainly leaving their homeland, and certainly attacking Roman supply depots; London being the principal depot in the south-east, with archaeological evidence of military grain supplies brought from the continent.

Although I agree that London contained grain as you say, so would have Colchester and St Albans.

Tacitus does not state that the Iceni neglected to plant crops in the spring.

He states:

Nothing however distressed the enemy so much as famine, for they had been careless about sowing corn, people of every age having gone to the war, while they reckoned on our supplies as their own.


This can be interpreted that the corn crop was not planted in the autumn for winter wheat because everyone had gone to war. If they were planting Spring wheat this would have been before they went to war.

Nathan Ross wrote:

Ten miles per day as an absolute maximum, I'd say - and not on consecutive days either! The Britons were not a trained and disciplined army, capable of regular marches - their progress would have been slow, halting and rather haphazard. Five miles every other day might not be too unlikely...

At that rate it would have taken them two months to get from Thetford to London if you include all the destruction and pillaging and a further 4 weeks to get to Dunstable if you include London and then St Albans being plundered. A total of 3 months in the field. I just cannot see this as being feasible.

Nathan Ross wrote:

I assume the Iceni warriors would have taken their families with them if they were leaving home - who would defend them otherwise?


Are you saying that in effect the whole of the Iceni nation went to war?


Nathan Ross wrote:

Unless there's good evidence of the Twentieth being elsewhere, I think we have to assume that they were with Paulinus and his campaign army. He was the governor of Britain, and would have used the largest force available to him - we know that a single legion with auxiliaries was considered 'scanty', so he would hardly have led such a force into the homelands of the Ordovices. Surely his Anglesey campaign involved the Fourteenth and Twentieth, and he left the main force of the latter to hold his position while he marched south with the veteran vexillation and the Fourteenth...


It has always been assumed that the Second was in Exeter although there is obvious interest in the fact that the commanders were not with them. If the Twentieth were removed from Usk, Monmouth and Gloucester to be with Paulinus to confront the Deceangli who was keeping an eye on the Silures or the Ordovices both who had not been brought to terms?

I am afraid that I am going to have to differ with nearly everyone on this point about the Twentieth being in Anglesey.

Kind Regards - 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 - 10-12-2012, 07:41 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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