Conquest: The Roman Invasion of Britain by John Peddie lands on the shelves of my shop, where it will be found in my History British section.
Thrupp: Alan Sutton, 1987, (First Edition) Hardback in dust wrapper.
Contains: Black & white photographs; Black & white plates; Diagrams; Maps; Tables;
From the cover: The story of the Claudian Conquest of Britain was only partly recorded by ancient historians. Tacitus Annals breaks off at the death of Tiberius, while the narrative of Cassius Dio survives only as a collection of selected pieces. Much of this missing knowledge has been recaptured by archaeological research. As a result, we have a better understanding of the tribal society which then existed in Britain, and this can help us to appreciate the courses of military action open to Aulus Plautius, the commanding Roman general.
There are important, if infrequently considered, military factors which would have affected Plautius choice of options: logistical, geographical, political. In this innovative and much acclaimed study John Peddie argues that the organisation and supply problems of a task force of some 40,000 men and several thousand animals would broadly have dictated Roman tactics. He discusses what these may have been, examines the reasons for Vespasians 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.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Price Clipped.
Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [XVI] 214 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9¾” x 7″.
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