New Army

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For the British World War I force, see Kitchener's Army.

The New Armies (Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: Ice cooha) were the modernized Qing armies, trained and equipped according to western standards. The first of the new armies was founded in 1895 with German arms.

In December 8, 1895, Empress Dowager Cixi appointed Yuan Shikai the commander of the 4,000 men who formed the basis of the first New Army. Further expanded to 7,000, this New Army became the most formidable of the three army groups stationed near Beijing and proved effective against the Boxers in Shandong province. Yuan showed his loyalty to the Qing's court, nevertheless nothing more than a symbolic gesture, by committing only a detachment to relieve Beijing from foreign hands.

The New Army was gradually expanded and upgraded in the following years, becoming the only militia that the Qing court could rely on amidst revolutionary uprisings throughout China. Yuan became increasingly disrespectful of the dynasty and only loyal to the party from which he benefited; his defection to Cixi against Guangxu Emperor was a major blow to the Hundred Days Reform.

The successful example of the new army was followed in other provinces. The New Army of Yuan was renamed the Beiyang Army on June 25, 1902 after Yuan was officially promoted to the "Minister of Beiyang". By the end of the dynasty in 1911, most provinces had established sizable new armies; however, Yuan's army was still most powerful, comprising six groups and numbering more than 75,000 men.

Yuan kept a tight grip on the command of the army after its establishment by installing officials only loyal to him; however, after his death in 1916, the army groups were quickly fragmented into four major forces of combative warlords, according to the locations of garrisons. These army groups and generals played different roles in the politics of China until the establishment of the People's Republic of China following the Communist Party of China's victory in the Chinese Civil War.

Notable figures of Beiyang