SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

FeaturesHistory

Stories of the Stuarts: The New Model Army

The Battle of Naseby was the first proper battle of the New Model Army.

The Battle of Naseby was the first proper battle of the New Model Army.

The New Model Army was established by the Parliamentarians in February 1645 during the height of the English Civil War. They felt that a professional army would be more successful when pitted against the army of King Charles I. the New Model Army made the decision after the Battle of Marston Moor. Though the battle was a major victory for Parliament, it was not entirely decisive in the sense that King Charles I was able to recover from it.

The New Model Army not only changed the force of the Parliamentarians, but it also changed their tactics. General Fairfax became its Commander-in-Chief whilst Oliver Cromwell himself was put in charge of the cavalry, owing to the damage that Cromwell’s army had caused to the King’s men at Marston Moor.

Rather than your position in society, The New Model Army took on soldiers based on their military ability, in simple terms if you were good enough, you could be an officer in the army. Like Cromwell, many of the soldiers in the New Model Army were firm believers and became Puritans, knowing that they would succeed because God was on their side.

Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who was commander of the Royalist cavalry, described the New Model Army as the Ironsides because of the way they cut through their enemy with ease. One of the keys to the New Model Army’s success was horses. An attack by the army was based on speed. Surprising the enemy with the speed of their attack, hitting them hard and then moving on, was the tactic of the New Model Army, much different than those of the Royalists.

The New Model Army’s first proper battle came at Naseby in June 1645. The Battle of Naseby was the decisive battle of the entire English Civil War and took place near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Royalist army was severely beaten, losing nearly 1000 soldiers with a further 4500 taken prisoner.

The New Model Army captured the majority of the Royalists guns, and ammunition and King Charles and his army never recovered from the disastrous defeat at Naseby.

Photo Credit: [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons