Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.

[Nathan Ross]

The reasons given for Suetonius not making London his sedes bello were the paucity of the troops around him and the example of what had happened to Cerialis.

Yes, I suppose so. The reference to 'the rashness of Cerialis' (temeritatem Petilli) suggests that he realised that taking on the enemy directly with only a reduced force was a bad idea, and he should play a longer game, falling back to assemble more men on better terrain.

St Albans would perhaps make a rather better 'base of operations' anyway, as it was at the junction of two supply roads, marginally closer to his approaching reinforcements from Wroxeter, and closer to the high ground of the Chilterns.

Your note about the importance of London is a good one - Suetonius would have guessed that the rebels would go there as it was the procurator's headquarters, and held large stores of grain. But it was also the main entrepot for the Gallic trade, and presumably ships came right up the river to unload at the wharfs - like the Blackfriars I ship, of a later date. Catus Decianus, then, fleeing London for Gaul, would not need to head for a Channel port, but could just step directly aboard the next ship going downriver.

And while it might have appeared obvious for Suetonius to send the refugees from London across the Thames and destroy the bridge behind them, he would not have followed them himself - unless he was going to Dover, or to Chichester. However, it looks like he did not destroy the bridge at all, considering the evidence for destruction in Southwark dated to the revolt.