Battle of Naseby, June 14, 1645, the English Civil War
v.1.0 March 31, 2002

Ravi Rikhye

This is only a preliminary orbat in the hope others, better informed, will enhance it. As with many other orbats, details in plenty are available, but in books, some obscure.

Naseby was the decisive battle of the English Civil War.  After June 14, 1645, the defeat of the English king Charles I was only a matter of time. The battle is significant also because it was the first for Cromwell’s New Model Army. The methods of training were purely his own, and he had, just in the past year, obtained permission from Parliament to train troops on the patterns he had established for his Ironsides. 

Assembling an orbat is not easy because many regiments were led in action by their lieutenant colonels, and not by their colonels – who might be major generals, or in Cromwell’s case, even lieutenant generals. These officers would very much be on the scene, but might be leading a brigade that included their regiment. The situation is not eased by the English habit of giving different names to the same person, so that John Smith and Lord So-and-So might actually be the same. So just because we have a reference to John Smith leading a regiment doesn’t necessarily mean we can call it Smith’s Regiment.

Royalists

12,000 troops, including 1,500 cavalry, in particular the infantry was experienced.

Senior Commanders

Charles I, King of England, present

Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, actual army commander, cavalry commander

Prince Maurice, younger brother of Rupert

Lord Langdale, cavalry commander

Lord Astley, foot commander

Battle formation

Traditional Swedish pattern, with cavalry on the flanks, infantry between, and a reserve.

Left wing: Langdale

Right wing: Rupert

Center: Astley

Reserve: Charles

Regiments identified

• The Lifeguard, the King’s personal regiment, severely under strength, perhaps 300 men; including one mounted troop.
• Prince Rupert’s Bluecoats, a crack brigade, in reserve.
• Sir Marmaduke Rawdon’s Northern Horse
• Duke of York’s Regiment (cavalry?)
• UI Brigade, composed of:

-         Lisle’s Regiment

-         Sir Henry Bard’s Regiment

-         Sir Bernard Astley’s Regiment

Parliamentarians

15,000, including 3,500 cavalry; balance in the main impressed, inexperienced infantry.

Senior Commanders

Sir Thomas Fairfax, Lord General,  army commander, a professional soldier

Oliver Cromwell, Lieutenant General of Horse in the NMA, cavalry commander

Ireton, cavalry commander, soon Cromwell’s son-in-law

Skippon, Major General of the New Model Army’s infantry, infantry commander

Battle Formation

Standard:

Right wing – cavalry, Cromwell

Center – infantry, Skippon

Left wing – cavalry, Ireton

Reserve- presumably Fairfax

Regiments identified

• Ironsides, cavalry, 2 battalions; one commanded nominally by Fairfax, actually by Disbrowe, and the other by Edward Whalley
• Okay’s Dragoons
• Rosseter’s Horse (8^th Horse) Colonel Edward Rosseter

• Green Trained Band New Model infantry
• Yellow Trained Band New Model Infantry
• Skippon’s Regiment, infantry, actually commanded by Lt.-Colonel Francis
• Pickering’s Regiment
• Montague’s Regiment, infantry (a cousin of the Earl of Manchester, who had the same name)
• Hammond’s Regiment

The last three may have been part of a brigade commanded by Montague. 

Ireton, the left wing cavalry commander, had three regiments in his first line and three more in his second.

The Royalists may have had 3-4 cavalry and ten infantry regiments, mostly under strength to some degree. Their cavalry regiments had a TO of about 400 each, in six troops of 60-70 men, at full strength.  Infantry regiments had 1200 men at full strength, with ten companies.  Parliamentarian cavalry had 600 men at full strength (Dragoon regiments had 500 each), and infantry regiments had 1200 men each at full strength