Assess the factors that lead to the defeat of Boudica and the Iceni in the Battle of Watling Street

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Ancient History

The Battle of Watling Street

“Assess the factors that lead to the defeat of Boudica and the Iceni in the Battle of Watling Street”

“Assess the factors that lead to the defeat of Boudica and the Iceni in the Battle of Watling Street”

Boudica and the Iceni were comprehensively defeated in the Battle of Watling Street for a variety of reasons. The overconfidence of the Celtic forces, in the wake of previous comprehensive victories, led them to severely underestimate the strength of the Roman forces and rely heavily on the power of numbers to achieve a victory. Roman General Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, although heavily outnumbered, made the correct tactical g decisions all but eliminated the Celtic numerical advantage.  

 The highly disciplined and well trained Roman soldiers were able to withstand wave after wave of Celtic attacks due to a combination of their superior skills and equipment. The Battle of Watling Street marked the end of a successful rebellion by the Celtic tribes in Southern Britain. It was a victory of superior tactics versus overwhelming numbers. It was perhaps the success of the earlier stages of the rebellion that lead to the Celts being complacent.

The success of the earlier stages of the Celtic rebellion led to the development of a sentiment of arrogance amongst Boudica’s forces. The Iceni had enjoyed a number of successes, having sacked three major Roman cities in a short period of time. The relative ease with which Boudica destroyed both Veralanium and Londinium, killing an estimated seventy to eighty thousand Romans, served to send create overconfidence through their forces. This consequently hampered the Celts judgment and decision making. Another contributing factor was the success which the Celts had at the beginning of the rebellion. After sacking Camuldunum (Colchester) Boudica’s forces met the ninth Roman legion, led by Quintus Petillius Ceralis, who were attempting to relieve the siege of the city. The Celts destroyed what Tacitus estimated to be eighty percent of the legion and routing the remainder. Whilst such a victory may have been good for confidence and morale at the time, in the long term it may have led to an  mindset of unhealthy disrespect of Roman potency. At the battle itself it is thought that the Celts outnumbered the Romans twenty to one. Boudica would have most likely had some idea prior to the battle of the supreme numerical advantage that her forces possessed. It was possibly the case that the leaders of the Celtic army saw such a lead as insurmountable and thought it unnecessary to develop and strong Tautology. They must have presumed that sheer numbers alone would be all that was necessary to defeat the Roman army. At Camuldunum, Londinium and Veralanium Boudica had succeeded by using her overwhelming numerical advantage to crush and overpower what little resistance was offered On the day of the battle the Celts placed their wagon train in a crescent shape at the far end on the field on which the battle took place. This was so that their families could watch what was presumed to be an overwhelming victory over the apparently far weaker Roman force. As the battle took its course it was clear that the Celts were to be easily defeated and the members of Boudica’s force began to flee and were trapped by their own wagons and subsequently destroyed. It is clear that by placing their wagons in such a position that the Boudica did not account for the prospect of defeat and therefore had the wrong approach in entering the battle. In a battle they should have won they started off on the wrong foot, but this was not the only factor to their detriment.  The strong position chosen by Suetonius was a major factor in determining the outcome. Its clear that Suetonius knew that he was heavily outnumbered. The Roman forces, according to Tacitus, consisted of about ten thousand soldiers comprising of Legionnaires, cavalry and local auxiliaries. About eighty percent of the force was infantry and the remainder was cavalry, which played into Roman favour. It is unclear what size the Celtic force was. Cassius Dio estimated the force to be a staggering two hundred and fifty thousand; it is unclear whether this is factual or just propagandist inflation on the Roman behalf. Regardless of the accuracy of various accounts it is clear to say that Boudica possessed a large numerical advantage.

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 Suetonius knew that it was imperative, if the Romans were to be successful, that he had to employ some means to minimise all possible advantages Boudica had due to her overwhelming numbers. In a move that proved to be crucial to the achievement of Roman victory Suetonius chose a good geographical position in which to place his troops. In order to mitigate the Celts numerical superiority he chose to place his troops in a narrow gorge that widened to an open plain. Tacitus describe the position as follows

“…He chose a position approached by a narrow defile and secured ...

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