Cromwell dies at Naseby

On June 14th, 1645, Parliament's New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, met and, in OTL, defeated and effectively destroyed the main army of Charles I. Leading troops in battle is very dangerous, though. A guy could get killed, and many have.

So, lets say that Cromwell dies somewhat early in the battle, during the charge of the Norther Horse. Would the death of their leader cause the right wing of Parliaments cavalry to collapse, or to fight that much harder, to avenge him? Would the King's men win the battle, or manage a draw, or just lose less?

What effect does this have on the War, and on later events? What would Great Britain and the world be like, today?
 
Well there would be no Cromwell led Irish campaign, maybe a more Catholic Ireland that is more independent?
 
Well there would be no Cromwell led Irish campaign, maybe a more Catholic Ireland that is more independent?

You don't need a military genius to conduct a bloody-minded counter-insurgency. You just need to be bloody-minded, and there were enough competent Roundhead commanders who fit that mold.

On the POD, I think that Cromwell loss will be felt in terms of political history more than military. The Roundheads were superior in military terms, and once they win the Battle of Naseby (if they still win) then the war will still end with Charles defeated on the battlefield. The New Model Army probably still ends up seizing power from the Long Parliament, but I have a deep hope that the Levellers can end up in power.
 

Thande

Donor
Besides, regardless of Cromwell's role or otherwise in the Protectorate's interventions against Ireland, if those didn't happen then the island would end up more in the grip of English landowners. Old English, that is, those descended from Catholic Normans, but still. They were, after all, mostly the ones the Puritans were fighting.
 
Cromwell's loss is going to do interesting things to the New Model Army's leadership. I think Cromwell's death will have little effect in the mop-up of Royalist resistance following a New Model Army victory at Naseby. The changes are going to come when the NMA needs a unifying leader to guide it through the plotting once Charles I is captured. The Putney Debates, Pride's Purge, and the execution of Charles I could all proceed far differently if Cromwell is not pulling the strings.
 
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