Page 26 - MS Year in Review 2020

advantage of Boudica’s army. Specifically, it was a place where he could not be

attacked either from the flanks or the rear, and because of the narrowness of the
location Boudica’s army could only attack frontally with a limited number of
troops. Having neutralized Boudica’s advantage in size, the Romans now has the

advantage in fighting because they were better armored than the lightly armored
Celts, and were trained to fight as a unit rather than as a band of individuals.

Under Boudica’s leadership, her army made a frontal assault on the better

positioned but much smaller army led by Suetonius. Estimates vary, but Suetonius’
legion numbered about 10,000 troops, while Boudica’s army is thought to have
ranged upwards of 50,000. However, it was now Suetonius’ troops who decimated

the heroic yet outmaneuvered Celts.

The fate of Boudica and her warrior daughters is not known for certain but it is
thought to be likely that they took poison rather than being captured by the

Romans. Nevertheless, there is now a statue in London as tribute to Boudica as a
heroic (if defeated) Britannic warrior.

What is the lesson from this historic encounter? Boudica seemed to adopt a “Ready-
Fire-Aim” approach, while Suetonius adopted a “Ready-Aim-Fire” approach.

Specifically, comparing the strategy of Suetonius and Boudica, we see a glaring
difference. Aware that he was vastly outnumbered, Suetonius chose not to fight

until he had a strategic advantage in location and withdrew from Londonium--
leaving the city unprotected to Boudica’s army. He retreated until he found a
location which could neutralize the size advantage of Boudica’s army. Boudica must

have been aware of the strategic advantage that the location which Suetonius
selected for battle gave his troops. Nevertheless, she chose to attack with her
overwhelming numbers rather than either position her troops for siege warfare or

wait for Suetonius to be forced out of his protected niche. The result was a
massacre and overwhelming defeat for the Celts.

This was a classic confrontation of strategy versus action. Clearly, planned strategy

was superior to action without a clearly defined strategy.

What might have caused Boudica to attack in the face of an opponent that had
positioned itself in a very favorable place? It is likely that Boudica was impelled to

act by several by factors affecting any Alpha--notably a bias for action.

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