The
New Model Army was a newly-formed "professional"
English army led by trained generals in an era when most armies were led by aristocrats with little or no military training. It formed from the existing
Roundhead forces on
February 15,
1645 to fight in the
English Civil War, after
Oliver Cromwell passed the
Self-denying Ordinance to remove the former leadership of the Roundhead forces. It was led by
Thomas Fairfax and won important victories at
Marston Moor,
Naseby and
Preston.
Douglas Haig re-introduced the term for his units of the British Expeditionary Force. This army was soon decimated at the Somme, and the term became something of a joke.
See also: New Model Army (band)[?]