Roman Britain: Claudius' Invasion of Britain (AD 43-60)

An Unopposed Landing – The Battle of the Medway – Crossing the Thames – The Capture of Camulodunum – The Pacification of Britain – The Battle of Caer Cadoc – The Subjugation of Wales – The Menai Massacre – The Eve of Boudicca’s Revolt

The Tribes of Britain, ca AD 40

In the wake of Julius Caesar’s two failed invasions of Britain, more Roman rulers had their eyes set on the island. Augustus planned three invasions of Britain; two were called off because the allotted troops were needed elsewhere, and the third was cancelled because the Britons seemed ready to come to terms. Ancient sources tell us that two British kings fled to Rome to curry favor with Augustus, and Roman economists determined that Rome made more money off customs and duties from Britain than they would from taxation if Britain were captured. By the 40s AD, the political situation in Rome was marked my turmoil: the Trinovantes, who had been restored by Caesar, had once more fallen under the heel of the Catuvellauni. The Catuvellauni captured the Trinovantian capital, Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester) and had set their teeth against the Atrebates, who were ruled by descendants of Rome’s former ally, Commius. Emperor Caligula planned an invasion in AD 40, but he was content to simply march his troops to the coast and have them collect seashells as “plunder from the ocean.” In AD 43, Caligula’s successor, Claudius, planned an invasion—and his would have more mettle to it.

Verica, former king of the Roman-friendly Atrebates, had been sent into exile. The Catuvellauni, hostile to Rome, were building a British kingdom. Claudius determined to invade the island and reinstate Verica on the Atrebatian throne. A notable senator named Aulus Plautius was given command of four legions totaling close to 20,000 men; the same number of auxiliaries bolstered the Roman forces to around 40,000. The four legions were the II Augusta, IX Hispana, XIV Gemina, and the XX Legion. The forces sailed across the Channel in three divisions and landed on the British coast (the landing sites are disputed by modern historians, though landings in Kent and Southampton are preferred). British opposition was led by Togodumnus and Caratacus, sons of Cunobeline, the late king of the Catuvellauni. Aulus Plautius abandoned the beachhead and aimed his forces for Camulodunum.

The Hero Caratacus Rallying the British Locals

The first pitched battle against the Roman invaders took place at a river crossing, likely on the River Medway. The British had fortified the crossing and were formed up on the opposite bank to oppose the Romans as they waded across. Specially-trained Roman soldiers crossed the river farther upstream and attacked the British charioteers from their flank; at the same time, legionaries pushed through the river for a frontal attack against the British troops. The flanking maneuver caught the British by surprise, but it didn’t break them, and by the end of the day’s fighting, the Romans hadn’t pushed the British back. On the second day, Gnaeus Geta led a daring attack and was nearly captured; he rallied his troops, however, and put the British to flight. Geta was awarded a triumph for the victory, a rare award for someone of Geta’s social standing. Thus the Battle of the Medway had been won, the British were put to flight, and Rome continued its advance towards Camulodunum. Only one more river crossing lie in their path, that of the Thames (on which modern London now rests).

Roman Troops on the March

British forces harassed the Romans on their march. The British, knowing how to skirmish in the swampy marshes around Essex, wreaked havoc on the Roman columns. The British had been severely whipped at the Battle of Medway, however, and were unable to put up any staunch resistance at the Thames. The Romans crossed the river (whether they built a bridge or used pontoons is unknown, but at least one group of Batavian auxiliaries swam across like it was nothing), and Plautius sent word for Claudius to join him for the final assault. Since this was Claudius’ operation, after all, it made sense for him to be present in the forthcoming Roman victory. Claudius showed up with shock and awe, bringing with him a number of fierce war elephants to strike fear in the heart of the British resistance. The Roman troops continued their march on Camulodunum, and the British—made ragged by their bloodying at the Medway and outdone by the Roman war elephants—promptly surrendered without resorting to futile bloodshed. Eleven British tribes submitted to Rome, and Claudius made Camulodunum the Roman base of operations for the further stages of the conquest. Claudius returned to Rome to celebrate his victory; Togodumnus had been slain, probably at the Medway; and Caratacus had escaped to fight another day.

Vespasian Subduing Southwest Britain

Having secured Camulodunum and broken the back of the Catuvellaunian resistance, Plautius went about orchestrating the next steps of the invasion. The future emperor Vespasian commander the II Augusta legion, and Plautius sent him west to subdue any rebellious tribes. The II Augusta fought a series of battles and captured the Iron Age fort of Oppidium before reaching Exeter and establishing a semi-permanent base. The IX Hispana headed north, encamping at modern-day Lincoln. The Romans, though met with hostility, triumphed. Caratacus, however, hadn’t given up, and he remained a thorn in their sides. In AD 47 Plautius ceded his governorship to Publius Ostorius Scapula, who set about doing what Plautius had failed to do: bringing Caratacus to Roman justice.

Caratacus led a force of Britons composed mainly of warriors from the tribes of the Ordovices and Silures. He begged the Romans to attack him on a ragged hilltop; where the slope was shallow, he fortified it with stone bulwarks staffed by picked warriors. The Romans had to cross the Severn River before making an attack on the hilltop. Scapula was hesitant to assault, since the steep slopes would be difficult for the Roman legionaries, and he didn’t like giving the enemy the advantage of height. His troops were thirsting for a battle, however, and Scapula resigned to the fates. They crossed the river and marched on the fortified hill. The Roman troops approached in testudo formation, with their fronts, sides, and heads covered by raised shields, to protect them from enemy missile fire. They attacked the stone bulwarks, slaying their defenders and disassembling them, and then they pushed up onto the hill to engage in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting against Caratacus’ forces. The British troops broke and fled down the opposite side of the hill, but there they were cornered by Scapula’s auxiliaries. Caratacus escaped, but his family was captured.

The Battle of Caer Caradoc spelled the end of Caratacus’ rebellion, and he fled to the nearby tribe of the Brigantes, who were a client-kingdom to Rome. The Queen of the Brigantes, Cartimandua, was unwilling (or, at least, unable) to give him sanctuary due to her submission to Rome. She handed him over to the Romans, and he was transported across the Channel to Rome to be sentenced to death and made a public spectacle before the Roman masses. At the last moment he made an inspiring plea before Claudius, asking him if his fame wouldn’t be greater if he showed mercy, and Claudius denied the execution and had Caratacus imprisoned for the rest of his life. Back in Britain, the loss of Caratacus had ripped the spine out of much local resistance.

The Menai Massacre

Scapula died and was replaced by Aulus Didius Gallus, who continued Scapula’s campaigns against the rebellious Silures. He pacified the Welsh borders but didn’t press any further. In AD 54 Emperor Claudius died to be replaced by Emperor Nero. Nero replaced Gallus with Quintus Veranius, who had shown himself adept at dealing with local insurgencies in Anatolia. Veranius, and his successor Gaius Seutonius Paulinus, picked up where Gallus had left off, pushing deeper into Wales. In AD 60 they marched on the island of Anglesey, the stronghold of the Druidic resistance, and massacred each and every Druid to a man in what would be known by historians as the Menai Massacre. The historian Tacitus tells us of the massacre:

"[Paulinus] prepared to attack the island of Mona which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives. He built flat-bottomed vessels to cope with the shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses. On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies, with hair disheveled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralyzed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds. Then urged by their general’s appeals and mutual encouragement not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails."

The campaign against the Druids on modern Anglesey had ended in a smashing victory for Rome, but unbeknownst to the victors, things were getting hairy in the south: Roman savagery had prompted what would come to be known as “Boudicca’s Rebellion.” Boudicca, an enraged Queen of the Iceni, would shatter Roman confidence in Britain.