The ship then returned to Gotenhafen, before escorting a convoy of ships evacuating German soldiers from Finland. The convoy, consisting of six freighters, sailed on 15 September from the Gulf of Bothnia, with the entire Second Task Force escorting it. Swedish aircraft and destroyers shadowed the convoy, but did not intervene. The following month, "Prinz Eugen" returned to gunfire support duties. On 11 and 12 October, she fired in support of German troops in Memel. Over the first two days, the ship fired some 700 rounds of ammunition from her main battery. She returned on the 14th and 15th, after having restocked her main battery ammunition, to fire another 370 rounds. While on the return voyage to Gotenhafen on 15 October, "Prinz Eugen" inadvertently rammed the light cruiser amidships north of Hela. The cause of the collision was heavy fog. The light cruiser was nearly cut in half, and the two ships remained wedged together for fourteen hours. "Prinz Eugen" was taken to Gotenhafen, where repairs were effected within a month. Sea trials commenced on 14 November. On 20–21 November, the ship supported German troops on the Sworbe Peninsula by firing around 500 rounds of main battery ammunition. Four torpedo boats—"T13", "T16", "T19", and "T21"—joined the operation. "Prinz Eugen" then returned to Gotenhafen to resupply and have her worn-out gun barrels re-bored. The cruiser was ready for action by mid-January 1945, when she was sent to bombard Soviet forces in Samland. The ship fired 871 rounds of ammunition at the Soviets advancing on the German bridgehead at Cranz held by the XXVIII Corps, which was protecting Königsberg. She was supported in this operation by the destroyer "Z25" and torpedo boat . At that point, "Prinz Eugen" had expended her main battery ammunition, and critical munition shortages forced the ship to remain in port until 10 March, when she bombarded Soviet forces around Gotenhafen, Danzig, and Hela. During these operations, she fired a total of 2,025 shells from her 20.3 cm guns and another 2,446 rounds from her 10.5 cm guns. The old battleship also provided gunfire support, as did "Lützow" after 25 March. The ships were commanded by "Vizeadmiral" Bernhard Rogge.