Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.

[Nathan Ross]

This, of course, is entirely irrelevant to the movements and actions of Suetonius.

Yes.

I suspect that Suetonius deliberately left the bridge intact - his intention in deserting London was to leave a tempting 'soft target' for the rebels, buying himself time to regroup and gather reinforcements elsewhere. Allowing the enemy to cross the bridge and ravage the southern riverbank settlements as well would have furthered his purpose.

In any case, they seem to have done just that - most of Roman Southwark was destroyed by fire at the same time as the main city. So the rebels did cross south of the river, either by bridge or by ford, and the Thames was not an impassable barrier or a moat, and anyone hoping for safety on the southern bank would have been sorely disappointed!