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

The best that we can do is to suggest a narrative that fits the information that we have.

I agree….but….there are many options……

Renatus wrote:

For my part, I do not see it as the muster attested in the sources but as an earlier meeting of tribal leaders and their nobles, after which those agreeing to join the revolt would have dispersed to their homelands to gather their forces

It seems that you are perhaps talking about something that we are assuming took place BEFORE the muster and that this was what was reported up the line to Catus and then on to Cerealis and then on to Paulinus. I feel that if this was the case the 200 troops would have arrived a while before they were attacked and would have organised a proper defence of Colchester. This does not seem to have been the case from the texts which states Colchester was unprepared.

Renatus wrote:

If they intended to return home after sacking Colchester, they might well not have taken their families; if they intended to proceed on to London and elsewhere, the families would have been with them from the outset.

Interesting this. Without the families they would have travelled much faster…… If the Iceni were marching they would have been in Colchester in 3 days, 2 days for the battle, 2 days for pillage and back home in 4 days. All over in less than a fortnight! Waiting for the Romans to attack. Perhaps………..

Renatus wrote:

As I have argued before, the Britons were aiming for centres of Romanisation, of which Colchester may well have been the primary objective for its symbolism and London the second for its wealth.

I think you are correct about Colchester being the primary objective not only for its symbolism but because it was the seat of power for Rome, effectively the largest city by far in Britannia and would have had much wealth. It was also where the people who had cheated the Trinovantes out of their land were based. London in comparison was according to many including Webster a comparatively small frontier town with few stone buildings at all. It was not the capital at this time and possibly contained some 4000 people before people had left. Yes there would have been trading goods and some wealth but much of it would have been removed by Catus and Paulinus.


Renatus wrote:

I thought that you were arguing that the rebels had returned to their homelands in anticipation of Roman retaliation and that they only advanced on London when they realised that it was not coming. Have you changed your mind?

Sorry, you misunderstand me. I believe that the Iceni waited in their homelands for the Roman attack. I think that in the early stages of the revolt the Iceni and the Trinovantes combined in that the Iceni attacked the forts mentioned in the Agricola “They fell upon our troops, which were scattered on garrison duty, stormed the forts," and protected the borders whilst the Trinovantes attacked Colchester.

Renatus wrote:

Yes. Although the tribes appear to have agreed to act in concert, tribal suspicions probably persisted and those other than the Iceni and Trinovantes would have been anxious to secure their fair share of the spoils. I, therefore, see at least some of them as being present at both Colchester and London.

As you can see from the previous posts I feel that it was the Trinovantes who attacked Colchester.
When Paulinus left London I think that the Iceni warbands hit St Albans and the Trinovantes went for London. Both of them hoping to catch up with Paulinus on the march. This keeps bringing me back to the point that he only had a small army with him.

Renatus wrote:

London was a major entrepôt, so I don’t think food would be a problem. There would be stocks there and more could be shipped in, if required. If he did find himself running short, Paulinus would do what he would if besieged, retain the able-bodied and turf out those who could not contribute. It may seem harsh but that is how the ancient world worked. He did something analogous when he left the town; he took those who could keep up and left the others to their fate.

Paulinus obviously had a plan in mind that included leaving London and knowing that it would be completely destroyed so he took people with him. Yet under any circumstance they would have slowed him down. So why did he take them? As you said it was harsh time and these were not the rich and powerful so why?

Renatus wrote:

Ultimately, he could draw troops from the West Country and South Wales. His immediate source of reinforcement, however, would be the Second Legion and, if Postumus would not march, he would replace him with someone who would.

I think that Paulinus’ problem was that he couldn’t get re-inforcements from the Second – fullstop. It sems to me that the Legions were their own masters and if they didn’t want to go somewhere they wouldn’t. An example would be the Legions embarking to invade Britain in AD43. It took some persuasion before they would go.....

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 - 10-19-2012, 02:35 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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