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

 
I think Paulinus's 'delay' (cunctatio) indicates that he was staying in one place, rather than constantly retreating before the rebel advance.
 
So my guess would be that he pulled back from London with his refugees to Silchester or (more likely) St Albans and held his position there, waiting for reinforcements while watching the movements of the enemy; he was in friendly territory, at a strategic road junction, and would have been close enough to defensible terrain that he could pull back there in a single day's march if the rebels got too close.
 
His withdrawal from London may have been followed by a quite lengthy period of inaction: perhaps ten days or so. Boudica had fulfilled her initial objectives, and her people were busy plundering the valley of the Thames, revelling in the fruits of their conquest and gathering supplies for their onward march. Paulinus was staying put and waiting for reinforcements from Wales and the western garrisons. Neither side was eager to force a confrontation.
 
Only when Paulinus 'grew short of food' and the rebels began finally to move in his direction and 'pressed relentlessly upon him' (Dio) did he decide, realising that the Second Legion were not coming, and his reinforcements from Wales would not reach him in time, to 'break off delay and fight a battle' (Tacitus).
 
I totally agree with SP travelling to Verulamium after he went to London for all the reasons that you mention. Both its strategic and political importance were paramount and it served as the gateway to the East from the North and the West where most of the Roman army were based at this time so an excellent place to re-group whilst awaiting re-inforcements as you state.
 
There does seem to be a slight anomaly regarding the delay for the rebels to catch up. SP would appear to leave London in a hurry as he doesn't want anyone who slows him down to come with him and leaves them to the advancing army. If he ended up waiting 10 days at Verulamium there was obviously no rush and he could have taken them with him.
 
This would imply that the "horde" or parts of the Brythonic Army were moving quickly or is there another explanation.
 
You mention the speed of movement of armies earlier and one that springs to mind is that of Harold Godwinson. He and his trained army of Thanes and Housecarls marched from London to York in 4 days and on the 25th of September 1066 defeated the Vikings and Harold's brother at Stamford Bridge utilising the local men. Three days later William landed at Pevensey and Harold and his trained army marched the 241 miles to intercept William and on reaching London gathered the local men from the South as his infantry, which took a further few days before erecting earth works at Senlec Hill near Hastings for the battle on the 14th of October.  
 
It seems plausible to me that the Brythons had a similar set up with a warrior caste in their tribes, that although often fought each other, banded together in times of mutual need - this can be seen by the joining of the tribes in the rebellion not just the Trinovantes and the Iceni but others are also mentioned. One could also mention Caractacus as a war leader of the Catavellauni  leading the Silures and the Ordovices earlier in the occupation.
 
The Brythonic Tribes were undoubtedly a formidable fighting force to be reckoned with; highly mobile and effective, dangerous in battle (it took the combined Roman Army of tens of thousands of men to cross the Medway in a 2 day battle, years for South Wales to be conquered) and it does the various Roman Generals such as Julius Caesar, Vespasian, Aulius Plautius, Publius Ostorius Scapula, Aulus Didius Gallus, Quintus Veranius and Seutonius Paulinus great injustice to imply that the Brythonic Army was just a drunken rabble.
 
We know that they had cavalry and chariots, warriors and infantry when they fought Caesar and Aulius Plautius and later a letter from Vindolanda mentions Brythonic cavalry a hundred years or so after this.
 
Yet they also traded successfully with Rome as we know and wheat was a major export (in fact some more recent scholars believe that the main reason for the invasion in AD43 was to protect the wheat supply as pro Roman feeling was coming to an end).
 
So there was a warrior caste (a professional tribal army that was raised when necessary but also farmers and other tradesmen who were possibly also called on to fight when numbers were required (perhaps not that much different to today's "call up" in times of war).
 
No doubt there were people that over celebrated, or looted or killed indiscriminately (as many invading armies did) or re-took possession of their farms and were delayed but even so the distance from Colchester to London is only around 60 miles and according to Nathan's figures (which I do not disagree with) it would have taken 14 days + (4 days for the message to reach SP from the Ninth and to set off from Anglesea at least) – let’s say 18 days and yet the Brythons had not yet reached London by the time that SP got there.
 
Yet somehow they had burned Colchester and were leaving when part of the Ninth tried to stop them and were defeated according to some.
 
Even if they only travelled at 6 miles per day they would have been in London in 10 days , 5 miles a day 12 days…..less than a 2 hour day for the average walker…..unlikely. 6 days before SP got there.
 
The only reason that this slow speed is accepted is to explain how SP got to London before the Brythons….

This is how the slow "horde" movement is explained but what about the Brythonic charioteers and the cavalry - surely it is not to be expected that they would just hang around doing nothing? 
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 - 12-28-2017, 06:14 PM

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