The Parliamentarians who ruled England from 1653 until 1660 implemented many hitherto unforeseen changes in the island nation.
They abandoned the concept of absolute monarchy (unthinkable at the time), instituted parliamentarian rule, and united England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales under the banner of the Protectorate. They also instituted Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, making him England’s first (and, to date, only) non-royal head of state.
Another first that the Parliamentarians instituted was a fully professional standing army, with complete separation from both church and state. This army – which came to be known as the New Model Army – was founded to service the whole of England, and to be commanded by a professional officer class with no ties whatsoever to Parliament.
And while many have heard of the New Model Army, not many know much more than the name. In this article we’ll aim to correct that, by giving an insight into many lesser-known facts about this fascinating army and how it operated in the harsh and uncompromising years of the Protectorate.
The New Model Army Was A Meritocracy
The word “meritocracy” gets thrown around a lot, particularly in structures and institutions that are anything but meritocratic and are, in fact, much more cronyist or nepotistic than anything else. But the New Model Army was that rarest of things – a genuinely meritocratic institution.
Officers within the New Model Army were not chosen based on their pedigree or their connections, whether religious or secular.
”This was no rapacious, rowdy gang of capricious cutthroats, but orderly professional troops who didn’t break ranks, didn’t loot and pillage, and remained focused on the task at hand.”
Instead, they were chosen based purely on ability and skill, meaning that the best soldiers became part of the officer class.
Moreover, they were forbidden from holding office in the House of Parliament or Lords, meaning that they were pure of purpose and held no conflicts of interest.
This was a massively radical move given the social and political mores of the time, but it was a move that certainly paid off…
The New Model Army Was Extremely Well Disciplined
Something that further distinguished the New Model Army from its contemporary counterparts (and, specifically, its Royalist enemy) was just how well-disciplined it was.
This was no rapacious, rowdy gang of capricious cutthroats, but orderly professional troops who didn’t break ranks didn’t loot and pillage and remained focused on the task at hand.
This was particularly epitomized by the New Model Army’s dragoons, whom Cromwell forbade from pursuing routing enemy soldiers unless expressly ordered to do so.
Instead, Parliamentarian dragoons reformed and held their position, refocusing on new objectives and working to secure the battlefield as a whole.
This self-discipline was present even if they were ordered to run down routing enemy formations; while Royalist cavalry would often break ranks to engage in loot and pillage, Parliamentarian dragoons stuck to their task, ignoring everything else to the point of abstemiousness.
It Was The First Truly Modern Army
The New Model Army certainly lived up to its name; it was both new – as in completely different to anything that had come before – and it served as a model for many professional armies that came after it.
The first huge change that the New Modern Army ushered in was the concept of a truly national army. Any of its soldiers (or officers) could be deployed anywhere in the country – a stark departure from conventional martial practice, in which armies were garrisoned regionally.
This centralized command structure made for a more responsive and well-organized army that could be deployed as and when needed.
Further to this, the New Model Army had much fewer regiments than traditional armies. These regiments were, as a result, much larger, and required a smaller officer class to manage. This enabled greater scrutiny of potential officers, which – coupled with the meritocratic approach to officer selection – resulted in a well-oiled machine of an army that was able to strike anywhere in the country with precision and discipline.
It Was Highly Religious
One thing that surprises many people about the New Model Army was, despite the fact that Cromwell was careful to keep it politically agnostic, it was deeply religious.
Cromwell’s Puritan tendencies are well documented, and an integral part of the Parliamentarians as a whole, but no soldier was required to be Protestant (or a Puritan) to serve. So how did the New Model Army come to be religious to the point of fanaticism?
Simple: a lot of the men drawn to fight in Cromwell’s army were not there because of the pay or the glory but because they believed. They were Puritan zealots, committed fully to the cause of Parliamentarianism and full-throated enemies of the king-in-exile.
This zealotry was best embodied in the book that many recruits carried – the “Soldier’s Catechism” – which urged New Model Army soldiers to fight in the name of God.
The Catechism (a word that refers to a manual of religious instruction) was full of spiritual justifications for warfare in general and the life of a soldier specifically and aimed to ensure that New Model Army soldiers were unwavering in their dedication to the Protectorate.
It Was The First English Army With A Standardized Uniform
One other way in which the New Model Army distinguished itself from its somewhat sloppy Cavalier counterparts was in the establishment of a standardized uniform for all of its soldiers. It was a professional outfit, and as such, Cromwell wanted them to look professional.
For regular foot infantry – e.g. pikemen and musketeers – that uniform featured the iconic red coat so emblematic of British soldiers.
The red coat was not, contrary to popular belief, chosen to hide bloodstains – rather, it was a question of expedience. Namely, producing uniforms for tens of thousands of men was expensive, and Venetian red – the dye used in the production of these coats – was the cheapest available.
Armor differed from unit to unit. Pikemen, who were expected to fight on the front line – and to engage in the frankly horrific Push of Pike, should it become necessary – had steel breast- and backplates and tassets (thigh armor) to protect them as they advanced.
Musketeers wore no armor, the rationale being that they wouldn’t be on the front line and, in any event, a breastplate would do little to stop musket shots. Cavalry could either be harquebusiers (elite shock cavalry) or dragoons (light cavalry), with the former wearing armor and the latter wearing only buff leather coats.
Their Commanders Were Adept At Exploiting Royalist Flaws
As mentioned, the New Model Army were disciplined soldiers who obeyed the instructions of their commanding officers and held the line. This was in stark contrast to the capricious, ill-disciplined forces fighting for King Charles, and particularly his cavalry (then simply called “horse”), who were notorious for leaving the field to ride down routing enemy forces or loot their baggage.
This became apparent to Parliamentarian commanders at the Battle of Marston Moor, where Royalist horses left the field for over an hour and returned to a battle lost.
With this in mind, Sir Thomas Fairfax – commander of the New Model Army and, for a long time, Oliver Cromwell’s superior – was able to defeat King Charles’ men at the decisive Battle of Naseby.
Charles’ entire right flank of horse, elated after breaking their Parliamentarian counterpart, rode from the field in pursuit. The Parliamentarians, who had wisely kept half of their horse in reserve, were thus able to turn Charles’ right flank. This was coupled with wise positioning on their right flank (Charles’ left), which saw his remaining horse forced to charge uphill through rough terrain.
These tactical blunders cost Charles and his commanders the field, and his army was completely shattered – never to recover.
They Were Responsible For Multiple Atrocities In Ireland
While the New Model Army is often lauded for being an example of how meritocracy ought to work in practice, there are also some dark aspects of the Parliamentarian armed forces that often escape scrutiny. The most egregious is easily their role in Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland.
At the Siege of Drogheda in 1649, Cromwell commanded the commander of the eponymous town garrison to lay down arms and surrender. When this was not forthcoming, Cromwell ordered an attack on the town – and instructed his men to give no quarter. And no quarter did they give – civilians were murdered alongside the garrison, and the commander of the garrison was beaten to death with his own wooden leg.
Atrocities continued apace with the Sack of Wexford (1500 townspeople killed and most of the town razed), and the New Model Army quickly garnered a reputation among the Irish for cruelty and brutality.
This compelled some to surrender quickly for fear of the consequences of resistance; for others, however, it spurred them on to resist even more fiercely, with the rationale that Cromwell’s Protestant fanatics would slaughter Catholics whether they surrendered or not.
Egalitarianism and meritocracy Blended With Fanatacism and Cruelty
Though there is much to admire about the force that Cromwell and Fairfax created during the First English Civil War, the fact is that religious fanaticism has a price, and it is a price that the Irish paid dearly for during Cromwell’s campaign.
And while the New Model Army stands as an example of what egalitarianism and meritocracy ought to look like, it is a sinister reminder of the capacity for cruelty that religious fanatics have.
