At about 3PM on the 3 April, Prince Rupert’s forces began their attack on Birmingham by opening fire on the parliamentarian positions with their ordnance. When the royalist infantry charged towards the parliamentarian breastworks at the entrance to Deritend, they were repulsed when the defenders suddenly sallied out.

A second assault was also repulsed due to heavy musketry from the parliamentarians, so the royalists opted for a change of tactics. Their cavalry made their way across the meadows to the side of Deritend, forded the River Rea and managed to reach the other parliamentarian works that covered the entry points into Digbeth.

The defenders continued to hold off the royalist assaults for a short period, but were gradually overwhelmed from being attacked in both the front and the rear. Thanks in part to relentless royalist bombardment, they were forced to withdraw from their rudimentary earthworks to their even weaker barricades.

Likely around 4PM, the royalists broke into Birmingham through Mill Lane. After also setting fire to the thatched roof of a house, they forced the parliamentarians to retreat further into the town. Some of their foot fled over garden walls and hedges, and carefully hid their weapons, though others took refuge in nearby houses.

Scattered resistance continued as parliamentarian musketeers opened fire on the advancing royalists from windows and doorways. Consequently, 2 or 3 more houses were set on fire by Rupert’s men to force the defenders out.

Meanwhile, the royalist cavalry under the Earl of Denbigh relentlessly pursued Captain Greaves’s troops of horse through Birmingham, though failed to stop them regrouping. Once the parliamentarian cavalry reached a point between two woods, some miles away from the main action, they turned about and launched a surprise counter charge.

This temporarily halted the royalist advance, and resulted in the mortal wounding of Denbigh when he was knocked off his horse. The remainder of the royalist cavalry were then in turn pursued until they reached the safety of their reserves. By this time most of Greaves’s forces had escaped.

With only light losses, Rupert had successfully captured Birmingham, killed at least 14 parliamentarians and taken 40 prisoners. Following the battle, the royalists plundered the town, though the severity of the townspeople’s experiences may have been exaggerated by parliamentarian sources.