[The following takes place during Boudicca’s Rebellion, at what would later be known as the Battle of Watling Street. According to the author, a small and beleaguered force of 10,000 retreating Romans turned and formed battle lines, facing their pursuers, an estimated 230,000 British Celts. It was by far the largest army to do battle on Britain’s shores, ever.]
Against such massive odds of perhaps twenty-three to one, most Roman troops were only thinking of survival. Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a 19-year-old junior tribune on governor Paulinus’ staff this day, would alter tell son-in-law Tacitus that ‘they had to fight for their lives before they could think of victory’ in this battle. Yet the Roman commander was confident of success. He too addressed his troops, riding to each of the three divisions. Paulinus’ speeches had a common core: ‘Close up the ranks, and having discharged your javelins, then with shields and swords continue the work of bloodshed and destruction.’
And then the British chariots were lumbering forward. Celtic warriors advanced at the walk behind them, roaring out their battle cries. The Roman formations stood their ground, waiting. The chariots gathered speed. As they charged the Roman wedges, their passengers let fly with a volley of spears, which Roman shields parried. The legionaries then let fly with their first flight of javelins, then another. As Roman missiles found targets, wounded chariot horses went down, spewing out passengers. Surviving vehicles swung away and made way for the British infantry.
’At first, the legion kept its position,’ Tacitus wrote of the 14th Gemina. Then, Roman trumpets sounded ‘Charge’. With a roar, the men of the 14th ‘rushed out in a wedge formation’, and the two tight-knit wedges either side of them did the same. The two enemy forces crashed together. With shields pumping in and out and swords jabbing over the top, the Roman wedges were like machines. One the flanks, the roman cavalry also became engaged, using their javelins as lances.
Romans and Britons ‘contended for a long time,’ said Dio, ‘both parties being animated by the same zeal and daring. But finally, late in the day, the Romans prevailed’. Britons, trying to retreat, created a crush that met the semicircle of their own wagons, which penned them in. Tens of thousands of Britons were trapped, and fell victim to legionary blades as the Roman force pressed all the way to the wagon line. The immense slaughter during this battle was to include British women at the wagon line; it was estimated that 80,000 British warriors and civilians died. Even baggage animals perished in the maelstrom. Total Roman casualties were an estimated 400 dead, and a similar number wounded.
Source:
Dando-Collins, Stephen. “Boudicca’s British Revolt.” Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012. 311-12. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Tac., A, XIV, 36-7.
Dio, LXII, 12.
Further Reading:
I'm going to have that tattooed on my thigh.
;-)