July 1944, the division was transferred north to the Baltic States and the northern area of Army Group Center in response to the Soviet Baltic Offensive. The division participated in defensive fighting in Lithuania. Late in the summer the 1st Baltic Front attempted to reach the Baltic Sea through the Third Panzer Army. On 21 September, the division moved more than 100 km north to an area east of Memel where there was heavy fighting. The German forces were forced to fall back during the follow-up Memel Offensive, to a defensive perimeter around the coastal town of Memel. With the Memel bridgehead isolated, the division was relieved by an infantry division and was loaded onto ships and transported by sea out of the pocket, leaving its heavy equipment behind with the German forces still holding. On 7 November 1944, the remainder of the division was gathered at the Aryes training area in East Prussia and the division was partially reorganized. Here it formed a reserve for the 2nd Army of Army Group Center. Germany In January 1945, the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front mounted a massive attack and broke through the defenses of the 2nd Army, which was forced back north and west. The Kampfgruppe of the division fought a rearguard action through north Poland at Elbląg and to the east of Grudziądz. The division crossed the Vistula and then continued in defensive battles for and around Chojnice. In mid-February 1945, the division was pushed back into northern Pomerania. In March 1945 the division was fighting a delaying action at Gdynia, north and west of Danzig. On 19 April 1945, the surviving men were again taken off by sea, evacuating from the Hel Peninsula. Only a small remnant of the division came back from the Hel Peninsula. This remnant assembled at the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in western Pomerania and retreated west through Prussia until finally surrendering to the British Army at Schwerin north and west of Berlin in May 1945. Allegations of war crimes Historian Raffael Scheck says, "Although there is no evidence incriminating Rommel himself, his unit did fight in areas where German massacres of black French prisoners of war were extremely common in June 1940." According to some authors, during the fighting in France, the division, alongside troops from 5th Panzer Division, committed numerous atrocities against French troops, including the murder of 50 surrendering officers and men