Invasion : the Roman invasion of Britain in the year AD 43 and the events leading to their occupation of the West Country /
A military reappraisal of the Claudian Conquest of Britain, helping to appreciate the military action open to Aulus Plautius, the invasion force commander.
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
St. Martin's Press,
1987.
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| Summary: | A military reappraisal of the Claudian Conquest of Britain, helping to appreciate the military action open to Aulus Plautius, the invasion force commander. "The story of the Claudian Conquest of Britain was only partly recorded by ancient historians. Tacitus' Annals break off at the death of Tiberius and his pages dealing with the events of the vital invasion years are missing. The narrative of Cassius Dio survives only as a collection of selected pieces. Much of this missing knowledge has been recaptured by painstaking archaeological research. As a result, we now have a better conception of the type of tribal society which then existed in Britain, with its probable division of loyalties; this understanding helps us to appreciate the courses of military action open to Aulus Plautius, the invasion force commander, and his final choise of an operational plan. But there are important, if infrequently considered, military factors which would have affected Plautius' choice of options: logistical, geographical, political. John Peddie argues that the organisation and supply problems of a task force of some 40,000 men and several thousand animals, would probably have dictated Roman tactics. He discusses what these may have been, examines the reasons for Vespasian's seemingly isolated foray into the West Country, and suggests that Caratacus' guerrilla campaign (AD 43-52) denied the Romans their hope of a speedy conquest. Invasion is a military appraisal of the Claudian invasion; it takes a fresh look at the known facts and explores several new ideas. It should appeal to a wide readership interested in archaeological, historical and military matters." -- Book jacket |
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| Physical Description: | xvi, 214 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-206) and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 0312012128 9780312012120 |