Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.

[Renatus]

A nice summary, Deryk: let me add a few thoughts of my own arising from it.

I agree that there is nothing in Tacitus to say that the Ninth was ambushed; it reads more as a head-on confrontation. However, I doubt that the rebels were returning to their homeland. Having sacked Colchester, the incentive would have been to continue their advance. Nor is it likely that they were already on their way to London. Tacitus tells us that they met Cerialis on his way to relieve Colchester. It seems more likely that, having destroyed the temple and its defenders and razed the rest of the city, and being aware of the approach of the Roman forces, they turned to meet them.

I do not see the rebels then sitting back to see what Paulinus would do. It is more likely that they maintained their momentum and advanced on London but slowed down by their families in ox-wagons and plundering en route. That their progress was slow seems to be suggested by Paulinus' being prepared to take civilians with him on his withdrawal from London, albeit that they had to attempt to keep pace with the soldiers.

Even if the civilians were able to keep pace, I would not expect Paulinus being willing to encumber himself with them any longer than necessary. Tacitus' comment that he was prepared to sacrifice one town to save the rest raises the possibility that he expected the rebel advance to end in the sacking of London. That being so, his intention may well have been to convey the civilians to the comparative safety of Verulamium and then to proceed along Akeman Street to rendezvous with reinforcements summoned from the west. He may have intended to go as far as the Fosse Way, so that troops from the south-west and north could meet him there. If so, this was a miscalculation as, of course, the rebels were not content with plundering London but then marched on Verulamium.

It seems possible that Paulinus had proceeded as far as Tring when he received news of the rebel advance and decided to stop there to await developments. The rebels' movements were now unpredictable: they might return to their homelands along the Icknield Way via Dunstable or they might proceed along Akeman Street with the intention of attacking the tribes in the west not yet committed to the revolt or they might intend to go along Akeman Street as far as its junction with the Icknield Way and then branch off to the south-west to attack the Atrebates. At this point, Paulinus may have wanted to remain close to them to monitor their movements and react accordingly. From the rebels point of view, even if they did intend to return home, they may well have been unwilling to leave a powerful Roman force in their rear and, therefore, felt that they must proceed against Paulinus' force and eliminate it before it could be reinforced.

I am not convinced that Paulinus had pre-selected the battle site before leaving London. He had had little opportunity to reconnoitre a suitable site on his way south and, in any event, he could not predict precisely what the rebels would do or the route that they would take. I am not aware that Tacitus says that he had selected the site beforehand but I may have missed something and would be grateful for the reference. What is clear is that, having decided to give battle, he selected the most advantageous site in the area in which he was encamped.

Much of this is speculative, I admit, but it provides more material for discussion, I think.