Battle of Hamburg (1945) siege by the Soviet 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 British 7th Armoured Division of the VIII Corps was poised to assault the city. 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 (Scottish) Infantry Division assaulting the town of
SMS Hamburg 07:40, at which point "Hamburg" and "Stuttgart" were detached to sink their pursuers. At 08:02, "Roon" signaled the two light cruisers and ordered them to abandon the pursuit and retreat along with the rest of the High Seas Fleet. On 21 April 1915, "Hamburg" collided with the German torpedo boat "S21" in the North Sea off the mouth of the Weser river. "Hamburg" was assigned to the IV Scouting Group during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. The IV Scouting Group, under the command of Commodore Ludwig von Reuter, departed Wilhelmshaven at 03:30 on 31