THE NEW MODEL ARMY

“The soldiers of the New Model Army had proven themselves to be a highly skilled and dangerous force”

Before the Civil Wars, England had no permanent standing army. Each county had its own local militia that could be called upon during times of conflict, but these weren’t professional soldiers.

In 1644, the parliamentarians suffered one of their biggest losses at Lostwithiel in Cornwall, where their main field army was destroyed. In the wake of the defeat, Oliver Cromwell argued that Parliament