Thread Rating:
  • 4 Vote(s) - 5 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(12-13-2017, 12:46 AM)Theoderic Wrote: 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... As he had come down Watling Street the stores in those forts would have been low as he would have used them already.

I still go with the idea that Paulinus diverted off Watling Street on his march south and aimed to meet up with Cerealis, in order to combine their forces against a rebellion believed at that time to be in East Anglia. Only on his arrival at somewhere like Godmanchester did he realise that Carealis had rushed on ahead and come to grief, so he once more diverted his march down to London. So the supplies at forts and towns south of Mancetter or thereabouts would be fine.

However, we seem in agreement on the St Albans stage of things. My guess would be that from that point things might have gone as follows:

1. As the rebels approach St Albans from the south, Paulinus pulls back along Akeman Street, aiming to meet up with his reinforcements from the western garrisons.

2. Arriving at Tring, he meets the veterans detachment of the 20th, and, hearing that the rebels are following him from St Albans, sends out scouts to pick a defensive site in the vicinity.

3. At this stage I would imagine he would pick Newground as a place to confront the advancing rebels directly. It seems to meet most of the requirements of a defensive position with attack capabilities, not so enclosed as to limit manoeuvre if necessary.

4. However, if he did not pick Newground, he may have decided instead to use the V-shaped valley below Chivery Top - perhaps he thought there might be another rebel force to the north, or that rebels might be approaching along the Iknield Way? These are unknowns. But he would need some good reason for tucking himself away in such a tight spot, I think.

5. If he was using the valley below Chivery, I suppose he could wait until the rebels had already passed Newground and swung west before moving back into the defile and deploying his men there - this would slightly resolve the problem of the Britons being able to surround him from the high ground... although there is still that parallel valley on the eastern side of the Hastoe ridge...
Nathan Ross
Reply


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 - 12-13-2017, 07:52 PM

Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Armchair Wall walking mcbishop 3 3,479 01-11-2012, 03:22 AM
Last Post: Vindex

Forum Jump: