Capture of Hamburg
The Western Front collapsed in the spring of 1945. Army Group B, led by Walter Model, fell to American forces near the Rhine River. This defeat left only scattered pockets of resistance across northern Germany. The British Second Army moved north under Lieutenant General Miles C. Dempsey. They advanced rapidly with little opposition compared to their southern allies. German high command in Berlin refused to send reinforcements as the Red Army besieged the capital. The last organized defense lay in Bremen and Hamburg. After capturing Soltau, the 7th Armoured Division prepared to assault the city.
British troops reached Harburg on the 18th of April 1945. Elements of the XII Corps attacked from the northwest while the 7th Division pushed toward the River Elbe. On the 20th of April, the division captured Daerstorf west of the city. Forward Observation Officers directed artillery fire at trains crossing the river that same day. The 131st Infantry Brigade took Vahrendorf two miles south of Harburg. A counter-attack began on the 26th of April when the 12th SS Reinforcement Regiment struck back. Hitler Youth and sailors supported this assault alongside 88 mm guns. British tanks arrived to push them back into Harburg. Sixty Germans died during the fighting and seventy became prisoners.
The 5th Royal Tank Regiment entered Jesteburg on the 28th of April 1945. German defenders included a mix of SS units, paratroopers, and Volkssturm members. Regular Wehrmacht soldiers fought alongside sailors, police, and firemen. Hitler Youth also joined the defense efforts. Eighty-eight millimeter guns once used for air defense now targeted advancing infantry. A tank destroyer battalion hid in woods south of Hamburg. Hungarian SS units operated there as well. The 53rd Welsh Infantry Division cleared these woods with support from the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. They captured two thousand men total who had been bypassed earlier.
Shelling of the Phoenix Rubber Works began on the 28th of April 1945. This bombardment triggered a white flag delegation to emerge. A city deputation arrived to discuss surrender terms on the 29th of April. General Alwin Wolz drove his staff car under a white flag toward D Company of the 9th Durham Light Infantry on the 1st of May. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz had ordered Wolz to negotiate after Adolf Hitler committed suicide in Berlin. Wolz and his small delegation reached Division HQ on the 2nd of May. He formally surrendered Hamburg on the 3rd of May. That afternoon the 11th Hussars led the 7th Armoured Division into the ruined city.
Surviving troops of the 1st Parachute Army fled northward after the city fell. Most retreated to Kiel where they met soldiers of Army Group Vistula. These German forces were fleeing Soviet advances on the Eastern Front. The British 7th Armoured Division advanced unopposed to Lübeck. News of the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath arrived on the 4th of May. The Instrument of Surrender followed on the 8th of May. The remnants of Army Group Northwest became sealed off within the Jutland Peninsula.
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Common questions
When did the British Second Army capture Hamburg during World War II?
The British Second Army captured Hamburg on the 3rd of May 1945. General Alwin Wolz formally surrendered the city to Division HQ on that date after negotiations began on the 2nd of May.
Who led the German defense forces in Hamburg before surrendering on the 3rd of May 1945?
General Alwin Wolz commanded the German defenders and drove under a white flag to negotiate with British troops. He received orders from Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz following the suicide of Adolf Hitler in Berlin.
Which British divisions fought in the Battle of Hamburg between April and May 1945?
The 7th Armoured Division, 53rd Welsh Infantry Division, and 1st Parachute Army units engaged German forces in northern Germany. The 11th Hussars entered the ruined city alongside the 7th Armoured Division on the afternoon of the 3rd of May 1945.
What happened to the German high command in Berlin during the collapse of the Western Front in spring 1945?
German high command in Berlin refused to send reinforcements as the Red Army besieged the capital while Adolf Hitler committed suicide. This refusal left scattered pockets of resistance across northern Germany including Bremen and Hamburg.
How many prisoners did British forces take after fighting counter-attacks in Harburg on the 26th of April 1945?
British tanks pushed back a counter-attack by the 12th SS Reinforcement Regiment resulting in seventy Germans becoming prisoners. Sixty Germans died during the fighting that occurred when Hitler Youth and sailors supported the assault with 88 mm guns.