Caradoc

Roman Invasion
Govenorship
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My Speculation
Opposing Forces
The Battle
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My Own Speculative Site.

Let us now examine the ground on which Caradoc formed his forces for battle. The Rivers Teme and Redlake become separated by less than a mile of ground between the village of Bucknell and Lingen Bridge, an old Iron Age fort on Coxall Knoll, which sits between the two rivers at this point would not have been occupied because of its isolation, and therefore easily surrounded and cut off. Caradoc's right flank is well guarded, not only by the Teme, but also by the steep gradient, which stretches back to Holloway Rocks. His left flank is similarly safeguarded by the marshy ground of the Redlake valley, which also becomes steeper on both sides as it cuts its way past Bucknell Wood and Bucknell Hill.Caradoc would most probably have placed a screen of skirmishers to contest the river crossing, as here the Romans would have been constricted in their deployment until they could gain enough ground to extend their battle line. Here the defending Britons would have poured-in a hail of missile fire as the legions attempted to shake themselves out and form their customary dispositions; we may be sure that they also returned fire using their deadly accurate artillery pieces, the "ballista". These bolt-firing machines, resembling a huge crossbow had enough force to pass through steel, wood, flesh and bone and come out the other side.

The crossing would only have been contested for a short time as Caradoc would then have pulled back all his forces to the rising ground at the foot of Bucknell Wood (the wood is modern, and the hillside here would probably have been cleared to allow a clear view from the Caer Caradoc Hill fort). Here the British army would be able to contest the whole front of their position with maximum strength. The fallback line to the crest of the hill becomes progressively steeper and at the summit near Stow Hill a fighting withdrawal could be made to Caer Caradoc. All in all one may say that the site chosen fulfils all the criteria of a sound military position. Not only did Caradoc rely on the natural defenses of the terrain, he also strengthened them with the addition of dry stonewalls, from behind which the defenders could seek protection from Roman missile fire.¹⁹

19 Tacitus,'The Annals of Imperial Rome', XII.33