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

34.  At this time, the 14th legion, with the veterans of the 20th, and auxiliaries from the nearest, almost 10,000 soldiers, were with Suetonius, when he determined to abandon delay and to join battle. And he chose a position in a narrow defile and closed at the rear by a wood, with sufficient knowledge there to be none of the enemy unless in front and an open plain, without fear of ambush. Therefore, the regular legionary stood in ranks, the light-armed all around, the massed cavalry on the wings.


37.  The unmoving legion at first holding in position and the narrowness of the place as a protection, when it had exhausted its missiles with unerring throwing against the closely attacking enemies, burst forth like a wedge. Likewise the attack of the auxiliaries; and the cavalry with extended lances breaks through whoever was in the way and powerful.

It is interesting that Tacitus mentions that he had chosen a place where he could be safe from ambush. This perhaps brings us to the point of why he was concerned about being ambushed. This was a typical Brythonic tactic but if, as has been assumed, SP was moving away from the "Horde" why was he concerned about being ambushed?

The implications are that either SP's force (with the refugees from London) was being harassed by Brythonic cavalry and / or charioteers from the Atrebates or the Iceni  or that there were other enemy tribes that his scouts had located in the countryside ahead?

Tacitus does mention that there were other tribes involved but does not name them but it is likely that the tribes would be from the Midlands rather from the South as Nathan mentions. 

It would also be logical that as SP had been in St Albans which is the perfect place for a rendezvous of the legions to launch an attack on the East of the Country and also a place that held Roman citizens as it was only one of two towns recognised by the Empire; Colchester as a Colonia and Verulamium as a municipium  conferring Latin rights on its citizens.

SP had to protect these people as Governor, especially as he had lost Colchester and the Roman citizens there.

So for him to have left London with one set of refugees he needed to go to St Albans (perhaps still hoping to meet up with the 2nd) and also to protect those citizens. 

As we have agreed SP was a brilliant but cautious / thoughtful General and would have had his scouts deployed around his location and it may well have been that he had knowledge of attackers advancing on his position.

St Albans could not be defended any more than London could (and I am sure that it is stated that he was running low on supplies), so he needed to retire with his men and the London and St Albans refugees either up Watling Street or Akeman Street perhaps burning the granaries as he left to give the impression to those that followed him that he did indeed have plenty of grain.

As he had come down Watling Street the stores in those forts would have been low as he would have used them already.

My supposition is that Akeman Street would have had supplies at the forts between St Albans and Cirencester where he could have food for his force, unfortunately he felt that he was heading into an ambush and chose a place that he could defend.

At Tring there is a valley facing Akeman Street where this is perfectly feasible, a steep sided valley with a water supply contained therin but no river running through the battlefield, that as we all agreed years ago would have been reported.

Like John I think that the defile does imply an extremely steep sided valley so that he could not be outflanked, based not only on woods but also the terrain but would have to be large enough to accommodate his forces and the refugees 

I have yet to find a reason why this valley is being ignored as a valid site.

The Brythons had a water supply of the River Bulbourne and their wagons were probably along the Icknield way where the high land was above the river allowing a view of the battlefield at the valley 1,000 metres wide at its entrance

The valley under Chivery is surrounded by the largest hills in the vicinity, a perfect spot for the Brythons to think that they had trapped a much smaller force in the valley which they could fight especially as they had recently smashed a severely depleted Legion.

Their mistake was that this was a full legion, ready for battle and arrayed properly and according to Tacitus with cavalry on its wings - a force that they never beat in this configuration, as far as we know.
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 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 Theoderic - 12-13-2017, 12:46 AM

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