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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Quote:(I'll keep looking for a western alternative)

I may as well add my own western alternative, for completeness' sake...

I've mentioned this place before -

The Battle of Bagshot Heath (or Crowthorne, if you prefer)

   

The whole area is plantation forest now, but in antiquity was (I think) open heath land. I've assumed some woods into the 'defile' itself, on no good authority I admit! I've also removed Rapley Lake, a much later artificial water feature.

Advantages:

- Good distances. 15 miles east of Silchester, 30 miles west of London, 10 miles west of Staines, all on the Portway.

- New England Hill and Surrey Hill provide good elevation on either side of the position.

- Possible Roman camp (later settlement) 1.3 miles west at Wickham Bushes, plus the hillfort of Caesar's Camp (no relation!), if further redoubts are required...

- Just about the only defensible rising ground between London and Silchester (aside from Virginia Water, which is possibly too boggy).

Disadvantages:

- A rather shallow 'defile'.

- Ground slopes away eastward with no clear 'edge' for British carts etc. This also means that the site is quite open to the north and south, perhaps allowing an easy escape for fleeing Britons... Although no more so than (say) Mancetter!

- Very dry. The few small brooks provide no good water supply, and unlike Dunstable there are no springs handy. The possible camp position at Wickham Bushes is better supplied though.

:-)

(and incidentally, this appears to be more or less the position chosen by G---- Sh---- in his 1968 novel.... although of course I'm not officially mentioning that...)
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 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
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Nathan Ross - 11-11-2012, 05:21 PM

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