Battle of Watling Street The Battle of Watling Street took place in Roman - occupied Britain in AD 60 or 61 between an alliance of indigenous British peoples led by Boudica and a Roman army led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus . Although heavily outnumbered , the Romans decisively defeated the allied tribes , inflicting heavy losses on them . The battle marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in Britain in the southern half of the island , a period that lasted until 410 AD . Historians are dependent on Roman sources for accounts of the battle . The precise location is not known , but most historians place it between Londinium and Viroconium ( Wroxeter in Shropshire ) , on the Roman Road now known as Watling Street . This name for the road originated in Anglo - Saxon times , thus the modern name of the battle is anachronistic as well as being somewhat speculative . Background . In AD 43 , Rome invaded south - eastern Britain . The conquest was gradual . While some kingdoms were defeated militarily and occupied , others remained nominally independent as allies of the Roman empire . One such people was the Iceni in what is now Norfolk . Their king , Prasutagus , secured his independence by leaving his lands jointly to his daughters and to the Roman emperor , Nero , in his will . But when he died , in 61 or shortly before , his will was ignored . The Romans seized his lands and violently humiliated his family : his widow , Boudica , was flogged and their daughters raped . Roman financiers called in their loans , which must have placed an increased burden of taxation on the Iceni . When the Roman Governor of Britain , Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , was campaigning on the island of Mona ( Anglesey , north Wales ) , the Iceni , led by Boudica , revolted . The Iceni allied with their neighbours the Trinovantes , whose former [ [ Capital capital , Camulodunum ( Colchester ) , was now a colony for Roman veterans . To add insult to injury , the Romans had erected a temple to the former emperor Claudius in the city , built at local expense . The rebels descended on Camulodunum and destroyed it , killing all those who could not escape . Boudica and her army headed for Londinium ( London ) . So did Suetonius and a small portion of his army , but , arriving ahead of the rebels , concluded he did not have the numbers to defend the city and ordered it evacuated before it was attacked . It , too , was burnt to the ground and the Roman historian Tacitus claims every inhabitant who could not get away was killed . While Boudica ' s army continued their assault in [ [ Verulamium ] ] ( [ [ St Albans | St . Albans ] ] ) , Suetonius regrouped his forces . According to Tacitus , he amassed a force including his own [ [ Legio XIV Gemina | Legio XIV " Gemina " ] ] , parts of the [ [ Legio XX Valeria Victrix | XX " Valeria Victrix " ] ] , and any available auxiliaries , a total of 10 , 000 men . A third legion , [ [ Legio II Augusta | II " Augusta " ] ] , near Exeter , failed to join him ; a fourth , [ [ Legio IX Hispana | IX " Hispana " ] ] , had been routed trying to relieve Camulodunum . Battle . Hugely outnumbered , Suetonius would have chosen his battleground carefully . He selected a narrow gorge with a forest behind him , opening out into a wide plain . The gorge protected the Roman flanks from attack , whilst the forest would impede approach from the rear . This would have prevented Boudica from bringing considerable forces to bear on the Roman position , and the open plain in front made ambushes impossible . Suetonius placed his legionaries in close order , with lightly armed auxiliaries on the flanks and cavalry on the wings . [ [ File : boudiccastatue . jpg | thumb | 300px | " [ [ Boadicea ] ] " by [ [ Thomas Thornycroft ] ] , depicting Boadicea with her daughters in their chariot as she addresses troops before the battle . ] ] As their armies deployed , the commanders would have sought to motivate their soldiers . Tacitus , who wrote of the battle more than fifty years later , claims to relate Boudica ' s speech to her followers : " " But now , " she said , " it is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry , but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom , my scourged body , the outraged chastity of my daughters . Roman lust has gone so far that not our very persons , nor even age or virginity , are left unpolluted . But heaven is on the side of a righteous vengeance ; a legion which dared to fight has perished ; the rest are hiding themselves in their camp , or are thinking anxiously of flight . They will not sustain even the din and the shout of so many thousands , much less our charge and our blows . If you weigh well the strength of the armies , and the causes of the war , you will see that in this battle you must conquer or die . This is a woman ' s resolve ; as for men , they may live and be slaves . " " Although the Britons gathered in considerable force , they are said to have been poorly equipped , their military strength having been impaired by an Iceni disarmament that had preceded the rebellion . They placed their wagon train in a crescent at the large end of the field , from which point their families could watch what they may have expected to be an overwhelming victory . Two Germanic leaders , [ [ Boiorix ] ] of the [ [ Cimbri ] ] and [ [ Ariovistus ] ] of the [ [ Suebi ] ] , are reported to have done the same thing in their battles against [ [ Gaius Marius ] ] and [ [ Julius Caesar ] ] respectively . Tacitus also wrote of Suetonius addressing his legionaries : " " Ignore the racket made by these savages . There are more women than men in their ranks . They are not soldiers - they ' re not even properly equipped . We ' ve beaten them before and when they see our weapons and feel our spirit , they ' ll crack . Stick together . Throw the javelins , then push forward : knock them down with your shields and finish them off with your swords . Forget about plunder . Just win and you ' ll have everything . " " Although Tacitus , like many historians of his day , was given to invent stirring speeches for such occasions , Suetonius ' s speech here is unusually blunt and practical . Tacitus ' s father - in - law , the future governor [ [ Gnaeus Julius Agricola ] ] , was on Suetonius ' s staff at the time and may have reported it fairly accurately . Boudica led her army forward across the plain and into the narrowing field in a massive frontal attack . As they advanced , they were channelled into a tightly packed mass . At approximately forty yards , their advance was staggered by a volley of Roman " [ [ pilum | pila ] ] " , the Roman javelin . The " pilum " was designed to bend when it hit a shield , making it impossible to pull out ; the enemy would either be encumbered with a heavy iron spear weighing down his shield , or have to discard it and fight unprotected ; A second volley followed , as each Roman legionary carried two " pila " . This tactic destroyed any organised advance by the Britons . With the Britons in disarray , Suetonius ordered his legionaries and auxiliaries to push forward in small units . With their superior discipline , the Romans were able to continue fighting as fiercely as ever . With a clear advantage in armour , weapons , and discipline , this gave them a decisive edge in the close quarters fighting against the tightly packed Britons . The cavalry , lances extended , then entered the fray . As their losses mounted , the Britons tried to retreat , but their flight was blocked by the ring of wagons and they were massacred . The cavalry also attacked the Britons from the flanks as the Roman infantry advanced . The Romans killed not only the warriors but also the women , children , and even pack animals . Tacitus relates a rumour that 80 , 000 Britons fell for the loss of only 400 Romans . However the figures quoted for the campaign in the ancient sources are regarded by modern historians as extravagant . Boudica is said by Tacitus to have poisoned herself ; Cassius Dio says Boudica fell ill and died and was given a lavish burial . [ [ Poenius Postumus ] ] , prefect of the 2nd legion , which had failed to join the battle , having robbed his men of a share of the glory , committed suicide by falling on his sword . Location . The site of the battle is not given by either historian , although Tacitus gives a brief description . A wide variety of sites , all consistent with an army attacking from the area of London toward the Roman forces concentrating from the direction of Cornwall and Wales , has been suggested . One legend places it at Battle Bridge Road in [ [ King ' s Cross , London ] ] , although from reading Tacitus it is unlikely Suetonius returned to the city . Most historians favour a site in the Midlands , probably along the Roman road of Watling Street between Londinium and Viroconium ( [ [ Wroxeter ] ] in Shropshire ) , now the [ [ A5 road ( Great Britain ) | A5 ] ] . Plausible suggestions include [ [ Manduessedum ] ] ( [ [ Mancetter ] ] ) , near [ [ Atherstone ] ] in Warwickshire , a site close to [ [ High Cross , Leicestershire | High Cross ] ] in Leicestershire , and a small dip at Cuttle Mill , two miles south - east of [ [ Lactodorum ] ] ( Towcester ) in Northamptonshire . In 2009 [ [ Arbury Banks , Hertfordshire | Arbury Banks ] ] , near [ [ Ashwell , Hertfordshire | Ashwell ] ] ( Herts . ) was suggested as a location . In March 2010 evidence was published suggesting the site may be located at [ [ Church Stowe ] ] , Northamptonshire . The Kennet valley , close to Silchester has also been suggested as a candidate site for the battle . Aftermath . It is said that the emperor Nero was so shaken by these events that he considered withdrawing from Britain altogether , but with the revolt brought to a decisive end , the occupation of Britain continued . Fearing Suetonius ' punitive policies would provoke further rebellion , Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory [ [ Publius Petronius Turpilianus ] ] . The defeat of Boudicca ensured Roman rule in southern Britain , however northern Britain remained volatile . In AD 69 a [ [ Brigantes ] ] noble [ [ Venutius ] ] would lead another less well documented revolt , initially as a tribal rivalry but soon becoming anti - Roman in nature . References . [ [ Category : 1st - century conflicts ] ] [ [ Category : Battles involving the Roman Empire | Watling Street ] ] [ [ Category : Battles involving the Britons | Watling Street ] ] [ [ Category : Military history of Roman Britain ] ] [ [ Category : Julio - Claudian dynasty ] ] [ [ Category : 61 in Europe ] ] [ [ Category : 1st century in Europe ] ]