Battle of Worcester

Battle of Worcester, engagement which saw the destruction of King Charles II's Scottish army by the army of the English republic on September 3, 1651. With his supporters divided among themselves after their defeat at the Battle of Dunbar, and his army outnumbered by Oliver Cromwell's rapidly growing English forces based at Edinburgh, Charles decided to risk an invasion of England in August 1651. This gamble proved to be a mistake; his Scottish troops quickly began to desert, and few English royalists came to his aid due to the republic's swift action in raising militia forces to counter any risings. The Scots, pursued by nearly three times their number of English troops, eventually took refuge in Worcester. The battle took place on September 3, when, having defeated the king's forces outside the city, Cromwell's troops stormed the ramparts at dusk. While Charles II's army was completely destroyed, the king himself managed to escape to the Continent with the assistance of Catholic sympathisers.