On April 15th, 1945, Field Marshal Model, Commander-in-Chief of German Army Group B, ordered all young soldiers and old soldiers to be discharged from the army. As civilians they were to make their own way home.

On April 15th, 1945, Field Marshal Model, Commander-in-Chief of German Army Group B, ordered all young soldiers and old soldiers to be discharged from the army. As civilians they were to make their own way home.

Born January 24, 1891, Walter Model was the son of a music teacher in Genthin, Saxony. Seeking a military career, he entered an army officer cadet school in Neisse in 1908.

A middling student, Model, graduated in 1910 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 52nd Infantry Regiment. Though possessing a blunt personality and often lacking tact, he proved a capable and driven officer.

Having angered Hitler for failing to capture Antwerp, Army Group B was directed to hold every inch of ground. Despite this proclamation, Model's command was steadily pushed back to and across the Rhine.

The Allied crossing of the river was made easier when German forces failed to destroy the key bridge at Remagen.
By April 1, Model and Army Group B were encircled the Ruhr by the US Ninth and Fifteenth Armies. Trapped, he received orders from Hitler to turn the region into a fortress and destroy its industries to prevent their capture.

While Model ignored the latter directive, his attempts at defense failed as Allied forces cut Army Group B in two on April 15. Though asked to surrender by Major General Matthew Ridgway, Model refused.

Unwilling to surrender, but not wishing to throw away the lives of his remaining men, Model ordered Army Group B dissolved.

After discharging his youngest and oldest men, he told the remainder that they could decide for themselves whether to surrender or attempt to break through the Allied lines. This move was denounced by Berlin on April 20, with Model and his men being branded as traitors.
Already contemplating suicide, Model learned that the Soviets intended to prosecute him for alleged war crimes pertaining to concentration camps in Latvia.
Departing his headquarters on April 21, Model attempted to seek death at the front with no success.

Later in the day, he shot himself in a wooded area between Duisburg and Lintorf. Initially buried there, his body was moved to a military cemetery in Vossenack in 1955.