Battle of Worcester

Battle of Worcester
Part of the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652)
Battle of Worcester, print by James Caldwall c. 1760 – c. 1770[1]
Date 3 September 1651 Location Worcester, England 52°11′19″N 2°13′15″W / 52.18861°N 2.22083°W / 52.18861; -2.22083 Result Parliamentarian victory
Belligerents
Parliamentarians	Royalists  Kingdom of Scotland
Commanders and leaders
Oliver Cromwell Charles Fleetwood John Lambert Major Mercer	Charles II Earl of Derby Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Cleveland Edward Massey Lord Newark
Strength
28,000	16,000
Casualties and losses
700 killed[2]	3,000 killed 10,000 captured
Worcester class=notpageimage| Worcestershire

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell defeated a largely Scottish Royalist force of 16,000 led by Charles II of England.^[2][3]

The Royalists took up defensive positions in and around the city of Worcester. The area of the battle was bisected by the River Severn, with the River Teme forming an additional obstacle to the south-west of Worcester. Cromwell divided his army into two main sections, divided by the Severn, in order to attack from both the east and south-west. There was fierce fighting at river crossing points and two dangerous sorties by the Royalists against the eastern Parliamentary force were beaten back. Following the storming of a major redoubt to the east of the city, the Parliamentarians entered Worcester and organised Royalist resistance collapsed. Charles II was able to escape capture.