Boudicca’s Victories.
Boudicca seems to have laid waste to three major population centres at that time, Camulodunum, (Colchester) Londinium, (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) During the campaign she also defeated the Ninth Hispana legion, probably her greatest victory.
The Brutality of Boudicca
There are some notes recording the brutality of Boudicca’s army and records show that many of those depicted in this book actually happened at the time. In reality, as in many historical battles, the reality was probably much worse.
Catus Decianus
Catus Decianus was the Procurator at the time and it seems he failed to see the seriousness of the revolt, sending only a force of two hundred men to relieve Camulodunum. He later escaped to Gaul, thus avoiding the rout of Londinium.
Quintus Petillius Cerialis.
Petillius was in command of the Ninth Hispana, though when the legion was defeated, he escaped the slaughter and in later years, went on to become a Governor of Britannia.
Poenius Postumus
Poenius Postumus was the Praefectus Castrorum of the Second Augusta legion at the time and though his aid was requested by Suetonius, it seems the request was ignored. Subsequently, at the end of the campaign he committed suicide by falling on his sword, presumably in shame.
The Final Battle
The exact location of the final battle is unknown though many believe it is somewhere along the Roman Road known today as Watling Street.
Military numbers vary for the battle but it is generally agreed that Suetonius had approximately ten thousand men under his command, made up from the Gemina, the remains of the Hispana, part of the Valeria Victrix and several vexillations (smaller units) from around the country.
Numbers for Boudicca’s army range from a hundred thousand to two hundred thousand and though we will never know the exact figure, it is agreed the Britannic army vastly outnumbered the Romans.
Despite this superiority, the narrowness of the carefully selected valley meant Boudicca could only deploy the same amount of men as the Romans at any one time and her numerical superiority was thus nullified. The Roman tactics and discipline won the day and when they turned the native army, Boudicca’s warriors were caught amongst their watching families and the carts they had brought to witness the anticipated victory. Tacitus reports that over eighty thousand Britons died that day compared to only four hundred Romans.
Emperor Nero
Nero was the Emperor at the time and he seriously contemplated abandoning Britannia. If Boudicca had prevailed in the final battle, it is likely Roman occupation would have ended and our history would have been vastly different.
The Roman Chronicles
Roman – The Fall of Britannia
Roman II – The Rise of Caratacus
Roman III – The Wrath of Boudicca
Find out more
First published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by Silverback Books Ltd
This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by
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Copyright © K. M. Ashman, 2013
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ISBN 9781788639316
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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