Capture of Hamburg
| Capture of Hamburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany in the Western Front of the European theatre of World War II | |||||||||
 A British Sherman 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) | ||||||||
The Capture of Hamburg was one of the last battles of the
Background
After the
The objective of the army was to advance across northern Germany and push on to Berlin. The British came across little resistance compared with the Americans further south and advanced at a steady and fast pace. The 1st 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 the Red Army, refused to send reinforcements. The Germans managed to resist the British in Bremen for a week; the surviving troops retreated to the Jutland peninsula.[3] The last remaining defence was of the city of Hamburg and the Germans sought to make their stand there. After capturing Soltau, the 7th Armoured Division of the VIII Corps was poised to assault the city.
Battle
Preliminary moves
The British advance to Hamburg was spearheaded by the 7th Armoured Division, attacking
Entering the city
On 28 April the British began their assault on the city. The 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 9th Durham Light Infantry and 1st Rifle Brigade captured Jesteburg and Hittfeld, reaching the autobahn. 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 regular Wehrmacht 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 a tank destroyer battalion, a Hungarian SS unit and many Panzerfaust 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. The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, supported by the 1st Royal Tank Regiment assaulted the woods and captured all remaining German troops, a total of 2,000 men.
On 28 April, the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery began shelling the Phoenix Rubber Works in Hamburg, which brought about a white flag delegation. On 29 April, a deputation from the city came out to discuss surrender. On 1 May, General Alwin 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 Admiral Karl 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, the 11th Hussars led the 7th Armoured Division into the ruined city.[6][5]
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Neue Elbbrückein Hamburg, 3 May 1945 -
Universal carriers of 1/5th Queen's Regiment, 7th Armoured Division in Hamburg -
Incomplete German U-boats abandoned at the Blohm and Voss shipyard
Aftermath
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 to Kiel, where they met soldiers of Army Group Vistula, who were fleeing from the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The 7th Armoured Division advanced unopposed to Lübeck, where news of the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath came on 4 May, followed by the German Instrument of Surrender on 9 May.
References
- ^ "Royal Artillery".
- U.S. Government Publishing Office. p. 369.
- ISBN 0-16-048136-8. CMH Pub 72-36. Archived from the originalon 22 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Battles 1945". desertrats.org.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ a b Paterson, Ian A. (30 July 2012), Engagements - 1945: Hamburg The Final Push to Hamburg, retrieved 17 January 2013
- ^ Ortwin Pelc, Kriegsende in Hamburg, Hamburg 2005
Further reading
- Ellis, Lionel; Warhurst, A. E. (2004) [1968]. ISBN 1-84574-059-9.