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

With the sources that we have giving such scant information about the timing of the events described, it is possible, with a little ingenuity, to construct a timeline to support almost any theory.

I don’t think this is quite correct.
Well, with a change of assumption here and the addition or deduction of an event there, you, Nathan and I have managed to create four different scenarios.



Quote:The above is assuming that Boudica's army is travelling at 12 miles per day. Even at this speed Boudica could have been in London about 4 days before SP could arrive.

If Boudica's forces moved at 20 miles per day . . .
I think that these rates of travel are unrealistic. The British forces were accompanied by families in wagons. A proportion, at least, of these, I would suggest, was ox-drawn. Oxen require eight hours a day to feed and another eight hours to digest. If worked for more than five hours a day, they need several days to recouperate. They are also slow: two miles an hour would be an average speed. On this basis, Nathan's estimate for the British force's rate of progress as being a maximum of ten miles a day is spot-on.

There are, it seems to me, a number of problems inherent in the idea of the British forces returning to their homelands after the fall of Colchester and the defeat of the Ninth Legion. I will set out those that occur to me; others may be able to think of more.

1. The sources give no suggestion of the Iceni and others returning home. They give the impression of a non-stop rampage.

2. Tacitus states that the Iceni, the Trinovantes and other tribes conspired to regain their freedom. This would not have been achieved by simply destroying one town and only two of the tribes, the Iceni and the Trinovantes, recovering their lands. The other tribes would have had something to say, if the rebellion seemed to have ended there.

3. The theory is incompatible with subsequent events. If it were true, there seem to be three possibilities. First, the tribes wait in their homelands for Paulinus to react. In this event, London is not under threat and there is no need to abandon it. Paulinus has simply to sit tight, gather his reinforcements (ensuring that they obey orders this time) and, when he has sufficient forces, counter-attack. Secondly, Paulinus anticipates that the rebels will eventually march on London and decides to abandon it immediately. It might be some days before the rebels realise this and there would be a further several days of march before they reach the town. By this time, Paulinus would have put a good many days of travel between him and the enemy and there would be no prospect of their catching him up. Thirdly, Paulinus remains in London and the rebels lose patience and march on the town. Again, it would take several days for them to get there and Paulinus would have plenty of warning of their approach. He would be able to evacuate the town in good time and, again, put a substantial distance between him and them before they reach London. Once again, the rebels would be unable to catch him up. In none of these cases, therefore, would Paulinus have been forced to give battle before he was adequately reinforced.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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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 Renatus - 10-11-2012, 01:49 AM
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

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