Battle of Worcester
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 1639 to 1653 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.
| Battle of Worcester | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652) | |||||||
Battle of Worcester, print by James Caldwall c. 1760 – c. 1770 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| England | 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 |
3,000 killed 10,000 captured | ||||||
Worcester Worcestershire | |||||||
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.