The analogy compares Dover's small patrol stations with Roman frontier forts occupied by limited auxiliary forces. A local fort could tempt rebels into attacking a visible, lightly held objective rather than dispersing or striking deeper targets. Roads and communications then allowed a provincial governor to gather stronger forces and suppress the threat before it expanded. The Dover Barrage was likewise intended first to reveal and delay mass movement, with the increasingly demanding anti-submarine role added as the war developed.
Notable Point · 27:29-29:23
Roman frontier forts as an analogy for Dover's tripwires
A Roman frontier analogy explains how small local positions could attract and delay an attacker while a governor concentrated mobile forces against the threat.