Osprey Men-at-Arms 110 : New Model Army 1645-1660

Many authorities quote the Restoration of 1660 as the birth date of our modern British Army. While this may be true as far as continuity of unit identity is concerned, it is untrue in a far more fundamental sense. The evidence of history shows that the creation of an efficient military machine, and its proving on the battlefield, predates the Restoration by 15 years. It was on the fields of Naseby, Dunbar and the Dunes that the foundations of the British professional army were laid. To talk of this New Model Army is to talk of Oliver Cromwell; and to talk of Cromwell is to talk of politics. In the mid-17th century the army was a much more powerful force, relatively speaking, than it is today, both in its monopoly of physical power and in its political influence. In the absence of any type of civil police the army ruled, and represented what law and order there was. To be a senior commander was automatically to wield political power. On more than one occasion generals marched their men down to a Parliament with which they disagreed, and either expelled selected Honourable Members, or closed the House down altogether. The New Model owed its birth to what was essentially a political decision. Stuart Asquith presents the New Model Army's history, organisation, weapons and equipment, accompanied by illustrations, museum photographs and eight full page colour plates by Chris Warner.

Contents

• Introduction
• Uniforms and Equipment
• Army Life
• Campaigns
• The Plates