Battle of Langport and four infantry regiments from their New Model Army, to relieve Taunton. They raised the siege on 11 May 1645, but were themselves besieged by Goring's returning army (although there was no longer any danger of the Royalists storming the town). On 14 June 1645, the main body of the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax, with Oliver Cromwell as Lieutenant General of Horse, won the decisive Battle of Naseby, destroying Charles's main army. After the Royalist garrison of Leicester surrendered four days later, the New Model Army was free to march to the relief of Taunton. The army
Worcester city walls withstand the artillery bombardments – the surrender in 1646 was mainly the result of a shortage of food and the collapse of the wider Royalist position across the south-west of England. Following further fighting between 1648 and 1649, the Third English Civil War broke out in 1651. Royalist forces under the command of Charles II advanced as far as Worcester, where the army paused to reinforce the walls further and await reinforcements in relative safety. The Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell attacked in early September; the ensuing battle of Worcester saw the Royalist forces pushed steadily back into the city.