Oliver Cromwell as a Soldier

Oliver Cromwell as a Soldier

Cromwell, a small land owner, stood proudly amongst the pack of highest of the blue-blooded aristocrats in the British Parliament and made his presence felt. For some, his keen eye and incisive perception of human nature was the key to his success, for others, his shrewd political maneuverings and almost-fanatic religious views. At this point, it is important not to discount his excellence as a soldier and as a military leader as the chief contributors towards his success and immense popularity. Historians today are fascinated with Cromwell’s mercurial rise to power and his military leadership still continues to fascinate a serious Cromwell student. How effective was Cromwell in his war strategies? How efficient as a leader? How quick a learner as a soldier was he? How brave a cavalry leader? Were his war strategies sound enough to have helped in the victories at Drogheda, Naseby, Marston and Dunbar?

The answer to most of these seems to be in the affirmative if one were to take into account the opinion of his peers or the careful studies conducted by historians centuries later. What is perhaps astonishing about his military skills is the fact that he took up soldiering at the age of 43, after bidding farewell to a life of respectable country living. His most positive attribute as a military leader was the fact that he inspired undivided loyalty in his troops and his soldiers were ready to die at his call. He reciprocated their feelings by being extremely protective of their interests and deeply concerned about their well-being. His concern for his soldiers is frequently evidenced in his correspondence when one can see him appealing for their wages and other benefits from time to time to the concerned authorities.

Cromwell was a stickler for discipline and is known to have maintained the same rigorous disciplined routine in post-war times as in the days of war. His laws were tough and rules unbending. Attempted desertion on the part of a soldier was punishable by public whipping (Ashley 1962, p.110). His army was trained well and equipped well. He always provided his regiments with the best weaponry and the best armor. He always recruited religious men in his army and invariably insisted that his soldiers be men of spirit and determination. Soon after the battle of Edgehill, Cromwell had in fact told his cousin, Colonel Hampden, that he thought the reason why the Parliamentary troops had been beaten ‘on every hand’ was because they were wanting in spirit. “You must get men of a spirit, a spirit that is likely to go on as far as gentlemen will go, or else I am sure you will be beaten still” (Ashley 1962, p.108-109). That was the first principle he followed in raising his own ‘Ironside’ regiment and a principle that served him well throughout his career as a military General.

Cromwell will go down in history not just as a politician par excellence and a shrewd genius who understood the needs of his nation and the challenges of his age but will always be remembered as an ideal soldier and a field commander gifted with a simple but profound tactical and strategic insight that he employed fearlessly to gain victory in the field of war.

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