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


We therefore have three options:
 
1.    Paulinus proceeds to London with his army.
2.      Cavalry dash.
3.      Sea voyage.


As we are still in lock-down(ish) and are debating options (and although I still feel that the Tring area fits the bill at least as well as Church Stowe) I thought it may be interesting to add something else to the mix.
 
I have always thought that there is perhaps a 4th option.

We know that Paulinus received the news of the attack on Colchester whilst he was wrapping up the campaign at Anglesey.

We do not know if he also heard of the actions of the 9th at this time and their defeat but we know that he was a planner.

He may have thought that Cerialis would have gone to the aid of Colchester as the city was in his area of control.

It would have been inevitable that as there was an uprising he would automatically have taken the army that was already mobilised to support the 9th who were depleted as we know as half of them were garrisoning the Brigantian forts in the North East.

Watling Street was the quickest way to the area, firstly to protect the towns (St Albans and London)and to make punitive reprisals in the Colchester area, once these locations had been secured and the requested other troops had arrived.

His first point of arrival would have been St Albans which had excellent road links to Colchester via Braughing and to London and also via the Camlet Way to Silchester (Margary 163) .
 
His problem was a lack of information.

Catus had fled so although Paulinus could secure St Albans but he had no idea of the details of what had happened or what was the current situation.

Rather than take his whole army to London into an unknown and exposed situation, he could take his mounted troops to reconnoitre what was happening in London and the outlying districts leaving the legionaries at St Albans keeping the populace of St Albans secure and ready to greet the reinforcements he has asked for.

He could then have gained first hand knowledge of the uprising and the demographics and logistics of London itself.

As we know from the text, he left with those who could keep up because he didn't have enough troops nor was there an adequate defensible position. 


This does bring up the intriguing possibility that when he returned to St Albans and then he left with the citizens, not North up Watling Street, nor West along Akeman Street but South West along the Camlet Way towards Silchester where there are many options for battle in the Chilterns.....or farther west at Marten, Shalbourne or Ogbourne. 


  
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 - 07-26-2020, 12:17 PM

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