The battle for Britannia began slowly and quietly. Firstly, Germanus commanded that small groups of bucellarii (in the pay of the few rich landowners still left in the west of Britannia) position themselves in the small townships surrounding both Verulamium and Londinium. This was easier said than done, for not only were these places loyal (to a man and woman) to the Vortigern, but they also put up fierce resistance to the opposing forces. The Vortigern’s people eventually retreated from these outposts and headed towards one or other of the two cities, depending upon which was the easiest to reach, given that Germanus had stationed soldiers along the roads into the capital, forcing most of those who were retreating to head for Verulamium.

Secondly, coordinated by Constantius (who had also been feeding Germa...

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