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
Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein) that were previously uncompetitive, now grew extensively. The citizens of Hamburg were driven to make use of articles of German origin much more freely than before, as many of them were cheaper than corresponding foreign articles which were now weighted with a Customs duty. As predicted, the new conditions favoured the development of manufactures in Hamburg itself. With the free port, Hamburg became the leading port in continental Europe and the world's fourth largest after New York, London and Liverpool. This continued the increase of trade prior to the accession, which in 1873- 1887 grew by 44.2%. Nevertheless, outside the