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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(11-20-2015, 10:42 PM)Renatus Wrote: I believe that, having left Verulamium, he chose to pause in the vicinity of Tring because it offered a number of strategic advantages, lying at the junction of Akeman Street with the Icknield Way.

I tend to think, by that time, Paulinus would have known that Postumus had refused to move, and therefore that he could not expect any reinforcement from the west.

The problem with a withdrawal up to Bulbourne valley towards Tring would be that it left a clear route for the rebels to bypass his position and head north from St Albans towards their homelands via the Iknield. That would look very much like Paulinus had avoided battle - a shameful prospect!

There are suggestions in Tacitus that Paulinus's delay might have been criticised at the time, or subsequently - T's vague allusions to (I believe) Fabius Maximus might have been an attempt to put a positive spin on what could otherwise have looked like dithering. The point about him being forced to fight 'contrary to his judgement' implies that, for all his supposed skill, Paulinus was not entirely in control of what was going on!

But if Paulinus wanted a strategic position that would allow him to control the Iknield and the routes northwards through the Chilterns, Dunstable would have made more sense than Tring, I think. It was also on Watling Street, so he would not have been surrendering his line of supply.

I agree about the citizens (or not) in St Albans - there would have been a few enfranchised members of the tribal elite, but no more. It was more important, I would say, as a 'friendly' place to fall back on after abandoning London.
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
RE: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand. - by Nathan Ross - 11-22-2015, 01:54 PM

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