Caradoc

Roman Invasion
Govenorship
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Opposing Forces
The Battle
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The Opposing Forces

Before we look at the battle itself, we must first take into account the fighting qualities of both armies. Centuries of conquest and civil wars had made the Roman Army an awesome fighting machine. Its discipline was second to none, and its morale and confidence wren of the highest order. Each legion contained about 5,000 men, arranged into ten cohorts of around 500 troops each. The drill and battle movements were 'a series of time-saving and orderly movements of line into column, and of echelons and squares, and in battle of the replacements of exhausted units and men by fresh ones'.²⁰ The tools of war consisted of one or two throwing javelins,'pilums', a short thrusting sword,'gladius', and a rectangular semi-cylindrical shield, which was made of two layers of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather; their upper and lower edges were rimmed with iron to resist the enemy sword blows, and they had a metal boss at the center. The shield measured two and a half feet wide by four feet in length.²¹

The auxiliary troops attached to each legion numbered about 4,000-5,000 men, but they were not just there to bolster the legion numbers. These, 'auxilia', as they were known played an important role on the battlefield, and helped avoid a dilution of the citizen manpower of Rome.²² Their main job was to act as light infantry and cavalry, engaging the enemy in skirmishing, information gathering and general hit and run tactics on the battlefield; they could also however be used in a full scale assault alongside their heavy brothers in the legions when the need arose. They were armed in a similar fashion to the legionaries, but the sword was larger and the shield could be oval. They also specialized in the use of various light infantry weapons such as the bow and arrow and the slingshot.

Much criticism has been leveled at the numbers and use of the Roman cavalry.²³ Suffice it to say that, allowing for the fact that the Roman's never did master the art of cavalry tactics as they did for their infantry, their mounted troops were nevertheless a formidable force when dealing with the pursuit of a defeated enemy, or for sudden strikes against a disorganized flank.

Roman command structure, at least on the battlefield, was of a high order. Writing around A.D.60 Josephus tells us that,' At Dawn the private soldiers reported to their tribunes to salute them, and the tribunes accompany all their superior officers to headquarters, where the commander-in -chief, in accordance with routine, gives them the password and other orders to communicate to their subordinates. They act in the same orderly way on the battlefield changing direction promptly as required, and whether attacking or retreating move as one man.'²⁴

The Romans also had one great advantage over the Britons, and that was the fact that their soldiers knew what to expect if they were wounded or became ill while on campaign. They could rely on a very advanced medical system, which was so sophisticated, that it could extract wounded men from the battlefield, and had the ability to apply tourniquets and restorative medicines. These factors enabled the Romans to maintain a high level of morale.

The Britons, or Celts still used war chariots, but we may say with some certainty that Caradoc would not have burdened himself with many of these owing to his need to effect a quick getaway and further concentration once any initial misfortune had overtaken part, or all of his army. The main strength of Caradoc's force was its foot soldiers, and although some Celtic tribes used light cavalry, these would not amount to more than a few hundred in Caradoc's army; not because they were not valuable for recognisance work and light raids, but that they required large amounts of forage which would necessitate scattering troops over a wide area in order to requisition (or steal) enough for their needs in all seasons, this in turn would slow down any chance of a rapid concentration.

When forced to give battle on the open plain the Celtic tribes were no match for the Roman legions, but if they could catch the legions strung-out on the march, or without the protection of their marching camps the Romans could come-off far worse against a rapid and well-planned surprise attack. Caradoc's plan would be to lure the legions onto ground that would cause them to concentrate their attack on a constricted front, while having to assault against a hill position from where the Celtic missile fire could be used to greatest effect.

Caradoc was also aware of the uselessness of the Celtic hill fort. Time and again the Roman's had demonstrated their ability to surround these massive constructions and either smother them with such a concentration of fire as to render movement inside them all but impossible, or just sit outside and starve the defenders into surrender. The fact that Caradoc took-up a position near his base of operations (Caer Caradoc), and not inside it shows how much he had learned from the disasters that had befallen other such attempts at checking the Roman advance by withdrawing into one of these death traps.²⁵

The warrior army of Caradoc would have carried a wide selection of weapons; these included the large Celtic sword and shield, both of excellent workmanship. The quality of their metalwork was also seen on their horse harness and other accoutrements. It has long been thought that the Celts ran around semi-naked with their bodies covered in wode; however, depending on the time of year and the conditions under which they were fighting, most of Caradoc's army would have worn some form of woolen cloak and baggy trousers. They were not hairy like the Germans, but wore their hair long and shaved their bodies. The moustache was worn but not the beard and helmets of very ornate design would sometimes protect their heads. Like other European tribes, the British Celts were expert in the use of the bow and arrow and the sling-shot; however they do not seem to have developed a throwing spear that was compatible to the Roman "pilum", and in the main their heavier and longer weapons were used to thrust at the enemy. One of the most terrifying sounds on the battlefield would come from the Celtic horns (carnyx), which were sounded en-mass together with the ferocious yells of the warriors, many of whom were probably well fortified with strong beer and wine.²⁶

20 General J.F.C. Fuller, 'Julius Caesar, Man, Soldier and Tyrant', page 81

21 Ibid, page78

22 Edward Luttwark,'The Grand Strategy of the Roman Army', page 40

23 General J.F.C.Fuller,'Julius Caesar, Man, Soldier and Tyrant', page 74

24 Josephus,' The Jewish War', III.87

25 Phil Baker, 'The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome', page 4

26 Derek Williams,' Romans and Barbarians', page 12-13