Invicta

Units of History: War Chariots of Britannia

Added 2022-10-14 20:03:32 +0000 UTC

In this Units of History Documentary, we turn to the isles of Britannia and their War Chariots. To the Romans, these represented an exotic and ancient way of fighting dated back to the Bronze Age and stories of the Trojan War. In this video, we seek to shed light on their history.

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The documentary begins with a discussion of the origins of the War Chariots of Brittania. This had its roots in the spread of chariots across the Celtic world. Yet while this trend would die out in the mainland around the 3rd century BC, it would live on in the relative isolation of the British Isles. Thus, when Julius Caesar first launched an expedition onto the island, he would be surprised to find hundreds of these war chariots bearing down upon him.

Based on the records of Caesar and other historians, we can present a reconstruction of equipment, training, and tactics of war chariots. Even though the Romans saw them as relics of the past, they nonetheless feared and admired them for their ability to mix the mobility of cavalry with the staying power of infantry.

We then cover the service history of these War Chariots of Britannia. It begins with Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain, where they fought in both pitched and guerilla-style battles. The largest of these encounters was the Battle of the River Medway, which lasted two days. Next, the war chariots would be encountered during Claudius' invasion of Britain and in the ensuing Boudicca's Rebellion. They helped run down the ninth legion and likely featured in the Battle of Watling street. The last major instance of war chariots taking the field would be in the Roman Invasion of Scotland, where they were deployed en-masse at the Battle of Mons Graupius.