| Capture of Hamburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWestern Allied invasion of Germany in theWestern Front of theEuropean theatre ofWorld War II | |||||||||
 A BritishSherman Firefly tank in the city centre after the battle. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Germany | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Miles Dempsey Evelyn Barker Lewis Lyne | Kurt Student Alwin Wolz (POW) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| VIII Corps (7th Armoured Division) XII Corps (elements) | 1st Parachute Army (elements) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 3 divisions | 2 divisions (understrength) (~3,000 troops) | ||||||||
TheCapture of Hamburg was one of the last battles of theWestern Front of theSecond World War, where the remaining troops of the German1st Parachute Army fought the BritishXII Corps inLower Saxony for the control ofHamburg,Germany, between 18 April and 3 May 1945. British troops were met with fierce resistance when they advanced toward the city as Hamburg was the last remaining pocket of resistance in the north. When the British troops reached the outskirts of Hamburg, Germany eventually surrendered the city. Once the British had captured the city, they continued their advance north-east and sealed off the remnants of the 1st Parachute Army andArmy Group Northwest in theJutland peninsula.
After theWestern Allies crossed theRhine River, the German armies in the west began to fall apart.Army Group B, under the command ofWalter Model, was the last effective German defence in the west. The Army Group, consisting of three armies, was encircled and captured by the1st and9th American Armies.[2] After the defeat of Army Group B, the Germans were only able to organize resistance in a few cities and were not able to communicate with each other very well. The Allied armies started a general advance across Germany, with the Americans pushing the centre and the British holding the north. The main British thrust came from theBritish Second Army, under the command ofLieutenant GeneralMiles C. Dempsey.
The objective of the army was to advance across northern Germany and push on toBerlin. The British came across little resistance compared with the Americans further south and advanced at a steady and fast pace. The1st Parachute Army and the new Army Group Northwest were the last German forces in the north. As the British continued their advance,Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the German high command in Berlin, which was under siege by theRed Army, refused to send reinforcements. The Germans managed to resist the British inBremen for a week; the surviving troops retreated to theJutland peninsula.[3] The last remaining defence was of the city of Hamburg and the Germans sought to make their stand there. After capturingSoltau, the7th Armoured Division of theVIII Corps was poised to assault the city.
The British advance to Hamburg was spearheaded by the 7th Armoured Division, attackingHarburg and advancing to theRiver Elbe across from Hamburg, with the15th (Scottish) Infantry Division assaulting the town ofUelzen to the south of the city. Elements of theXII Corps attacked Hamburg itself from the northwest. On their way to Harburg, the 7th Division capturedWelle andTostedt on 18 April and advanced intoHollenstedt the next day. By this time, the Germans had built up defences in Harburg as the British moved closer. On 20 April, the 7th Division capturedDaerstorf, 13 km (8 mi) west of the city. TheRHA Forward Observation Officers (FOOs), reached the Elbe and began to direct artillery fire upon troops and trains on the other side of the river. On the same day, theBritish 131st Infantry Brigade took Vahrendorf just two miles south of Harburg.[4] The 7th Division halted the advance for five days just short of Hamburg; it set up a perimeter and prepared for its assault on the city. On 26 April, the12th SS Reinforcement Regiment (12. SS-Verstärkungsregiment), supported byHitler Youth and assorted Hamburg sailors and policemen, counter-attacked at Vahrendorf. They were supported by88 mm guns and75 mm howitzers and reached the town centre, but were pushed back once British tanks arrived. The battle continued until the next day, when the Germans retreated back to Harburg, leaving 60 dead and losing 70 men as prisoners.[5]
On 28 April the British began their assault on the city. The5th Royal Tank Regiment,9th Durham Light Infantry and1st Rifle Brigade capturedJesteburg and Hittfeld, reaching theautobahn. Nevertheless, the Germans blew up parts of the autobahn at Hittfeld, slowing the British advance.
As the British advanced on the city, it was clear that the Germans would still not give up. The troops of the 1st Parachute Army were now a mix of a few SS, paratroopers,Volkssturm, along with regularWehrmacht soldiers, supported by sailors, police, firemen, and Hitler Youth. They were supported by 88 mm guns, which were no longer needed for air defense.
Many German units, including atank destroyer battalion, a Hungarian SS unit and manyPanzerfaust anti-tank troops were also still located in the woods south of Hamburg, as the British had bypassed the area and were now mopping it up. The53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, supported by the1st Royal Tank Regiment assaulted the woods and captured all remaining German troops, a total of 2,000 men.
On 28 April, the3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery began shelling thePhoenix Rubber Works in Hamburg. The shelling eventually brought about awhite flag delegation. On 29 April, a deputation from the city came out to discuss surrender. On 1 May, GeneralAlwin Wolz's staff car, under a white flag, approached D Company of the 9th Durham Light Infantry. On 30 April,Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in Berlin and Grand AdmiralKarl Dönitz, who was commanding the forces in the north, had ordered Wolz to discuss surrendering the city to the British. Wolz, along with a small German delegation, arrived at Division HQ on 2 May and formally surrendered Hamburg on 3 May. That same afternoon, the11th Hussars led the 7th Armoured Division into the ruined city.[6][5]
Hamburg was the last remaining defence for the Germans in the north. After the British had captured the city, the surviving troops of the 1st Parachute Army along with Army Group Northwest retreated into the Jutland Peninsula. Most of them retreated toKiel, where they met soldiers ofArmy Group Vistula, who were fleeing from the Soviets on theEastern Front. The 7th Armoured Division advanced unopposed toLübeck, where news of theGerman surrender at Lüneburg Heath came on 4 May, followed by theGerman Instrument of Surrender on 8 May.
