Cassivellaunus had now given up all hope of fighting a pitched battle. He disbanded most of his forces, keeping only some 4,000 charioteers with whom he kept a close watch on our line of march. He kept a short way from our route, concealing himself in the woods and thickets, and when he discovered the areas through which we should be marching, he drove the inhabitants and their cattle out of the fields there and into the woods. Then, whenever our cavalry had ventured any distance into the fields to get plunder or devastate the country, he sent his charioteers out of the woods by every road and track to attack them. Our men were in great danger from such clashes, and fear of them prevented us from ranging far afield. The result was that I could not allow the cavalry to go any distance from the column of infantry; thus the damage our cavalry could inflict on the Britons by burning and ravaging their land was limited by the capacity of our infantry, when they were tired from strenuous marching, to give them protection. In the meantime the Trinovantes sent a deputation to me. They are perhaps the strongest tribe (civitas) in the southeast of Britain, and it was from them that young Mandubracius had come to me in Gaul to put himself under my protection, having had to flee for his life after his father, the king of the tribe, was killed by Cassivellaunus. This piece has fascinating tactical information. Firstly, Caesar appears to know of only one ford, while archaeologist have located a number of possible fords: at Westminster, Battersea, and Brentford for example. This may suggest that the Roman forces were deliberately fed disinformation in order to make them attempt their crossing at the most heavily defended point! It also suggests that the boundary of the territory of Cassivellaunus (leader of the Catevellauni) was along the Thames. This is important as it suggests a strong reason for the absence of a large settlement here: a boundary between warring tribes is not the best place for a settlement. The tactics of the British appear to have inflicted real damage on the Romans, and reflect rather better on the Celts that classical sources normally suggest. Although the Romans were able to win one more set-piece engagement at Cassivellaunus's stronghold, the Romans left Britain, and did not return for 90 years. The noise of battle is described evocatively in an Irish story 'The raid of Cuailnge': The noise and the tumult, the din and the thunder, the clamour and the outcry ... the shock of shields and the smiting of spears and the loud striking of swords, the clashing of helmets, the clangour of breastplates, the friction of the weapons and the vehemence of the feats of arms, the straining of ropes, the rattle of wheels, the trampling of the horses' hooves and the creaking of the chariots, and the loud voices of heroes and warriors. The hard-fought `victory' won by Caesar did not entirely convince his fellow Romans as Cicero reveals in a letter to Atticus. Cicero has just received correspondence from the war zone from his brother and Caesar himself. He writes: It is known that the approaches to the island are "fenced about with daunting cliffs" and it has also become clearer that there is not a scrap of silver on the island; there's no prospect of booty except slaves - and I don't suppose you are expecting any knowledge of literature or music among them. In another letter he reports: The campaign in Britain is over; hostages have been taken and although there's no booty a tribute has been levied. The geographer Strabo repeats the suggestion that Britain was not worth the effort to invade: Although the Romans could have possessed Britain, they scorned to do so, for they saw that there was nothing at all to fear from Britain, since they are not strong enough to cross over and attack us. No corresponding advantage would arise by taking over and holding the country. For at present more seems to accrue from the customs duties on their commerce than direct taxation could supply if we deduct the costs of maintaining an army to garrison the island and collect the tribute. ...The deified Caesar crossed over twice to the island, but came back in haste, without accomplishing much or proceeding very far inland. Roman propaganda aside it is clear that the Britons scored a notable success. But the campaign also sowed the seeds of their eventual defeat. The Romans could now claim jurisdiction over the island, and could intervene in internal affairs - a fact exploited by displaced aristocrats who fled to Rome for help in regaining lost territories. Although the Romans claimed to have no interest in following up Caesar `visit' Augustus, and Caligula both made preparations for invasion, but were prevented by internal affairs from proceeding. The above is an extract from Kevin Flude's 'And Did Those Feet' Download it free now! It is inAdobe Acrobat (PDF) format. This requires you to have the Adobe Acrobat reader. However, most computers built within the past few years have the Acrobat reader included with the software that came installed on your computer. If you don't have it, it is free for download at: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html In Their Own words PDF (222kb) Buy it by post price �3.00 including postage and packaging. Please send cheque to: Kevin Flude 249 Evering Road London E5 8AL