Battle of Hamburg ( 1945 ) The Battle of Hamburg was one of the last battles of World War II , where the remaining troops of the German 1st Parachute Army fought the British VIII Corps for the control of Hamburg , between 18 April and 3 May 1945 . British troops were met with fierce resistance inside the city as Hamburg was the last significant remaining pocket of resistance in the north . Once the British had captured the city , they continued their advance north - east and sealed off the remnants of the 1st Parachute Army and Army Group Northwest in the Jutland peninsula . Background . After the Western Allies crossed the River Rhine , the German armies in the west began to fall apart . Army Group B , under the command of Walter Model , was the last effective German defence in the west . However the Army Group , consisting of three armies , were encircled and captured by the 1st and 9th American armies , thus ending effective German resistance in the west . 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 their northern flank . The main British thrust came from the 2nd Army , under the command of Miles Dempsey . The army ' s objective was to advance across northern Germany and push onto Berlin . The British came across little resistance , compared to the Americans further south and advanced at a steady and fast pace . The 1st Parachute Army and the newly formed Army Group Northwest , were the last German forces in the north . As the British continued their advance , 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 . The last remaining defence was the city of Hamburg and the Germans sought to make a final 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 towards Hamburg was spearheaded by the 7th Armoured Division , attacking Harburg and advancing to the River Elbe across from Hamburg , with the 15th Division assaulting the town of Uelzen to the south of the city . Elements of the XII Corps attacked Hamburg itself from the northwest . On their way to Harburg , the 7th Division captured Welle and Tostedt on 18 April and advanced into Hollenstedt the next day . By this time , the Germans had built up defenses in Harburg as the British moved closer . On 20 April , the division captured Daerstorf , eight miles west of the city . The RHA Forward Observation Officers ( FOOs ) , reached the Elbe and began to direct fire upon troops and trains on the other side of the river . On the same day , the 131st Infantry Brigade took Vahrendorf just two miles south of Harburg . The Division halted the advance for five days just short of Hamburg ; it set up a perimeter and prepared for its assault on the city . However on 26 April , the 12th SS Regiment , supported by troops of the Hitler Youth , sailors and policemen , counter - attacked at Vahrendorf . They were supported by 88mm guns and 75mm 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 . 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 , where the autobahn was . Nevertheless the Germans blew up parts of the autobahn , slowing the British advance . Once the British entered Harburg , they were met with fierce resistance and house to house combat as the Germans would not surrender . By this time the troops of the 1st Parachute Army were a mix of SS , paratroopers , " Volkssturm " , along with regular " Wehrmacht " soldiers , supported by sailors , police , firemen and Hitler Youth . As the advance through the city continued , German resistance grew fiercer ; they were desperately fighting to re - cross the autobahn back into Hamburg . Later that day , the first British troops crossed the Elbe into Hamburg itself . 88 mm guns were spread around the city but became ineffective as the battle progressed . Many German units included a Tank destroyer battalion , a Hungarian SS unit and many " Panzerfaust " troops were still located in the woods south of Harburg , as the British had bypassed the area and were now mopping it up . The 53rd Division , supported by the 1st Royal Tank Regiment assaulted the woods and captured all remaining German troops , a total of 2 , 000 men . As the battle continued , the German defences started to disintegrate . On 30 April , Hitler committed suicide in Berlin and Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz , who was commanding forces in the north , ordered General Alwin 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 the 3rd . The same day the 7th Division entered the devastated city . Aftermath . Hamburg was the last remaining defence for the Germans in the north . After the battle , 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 the ailing 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 came on 4 May .