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| - Walther Wenck (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was the youngest general in the German Army during World War II. At the end of the war, he commanded the German Twelfth Army. Wenck ordered his army to surrender to forces of the United States in order to avoid capture by the Soviets. Before surrendering, Wenck played an important, if unsuccessful, part in the Battle of Berlin, and through his efforts aided thousands of German refugees in escaping the Red Army. He was known during the war as "The Boy General".[citation needed]
- Walther Wenck (September 18, 1900 – May 1, 1982) was a German general who commanded the 12th Army during the Battle of Berlin. Wenck was the youngest general in the German Army during World War II. From 15 February 1945, at the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, Wenck commanded the German forces involved in Operation Solstice ('Unternehmen Sonnenwende') on the Eastern Front. With General Felix Steiner commanding the 11th SS Panzer Army, this was one of the last major German tank offensives of the war. Approximately 1200 German tanks attacked Soviet positions in Pomerania. The operation was poorly planned and poorly supported, and ended in Soviet victory on 18 February.
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| abstract
| - Walther Wenck (September 18, 1900 – May 1, 1982) was a German general who commanded the 12th Army during the Battle of Berlin. Wenck was the youngest general in the German Army during World War II. From 15 February 1945, at the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, Wenck commanded the German forces involved in Operation Solstice ('Unternehmen Sonnenwende') on the Eastern Front. With General Felix Steiner commanding the 11th SS Panzer Army, this was one of the last major German tank offensives of the war. Approximately 1200 German tanks attacked Soviet positions in Pomerania. The operation was poorly planned and poorly supported, and ended in Soviet victory on 18 February. After Felix Steiner declined to attack the Red Army formations closing in on the city - thus managing to REALLY piss Hitler off, bringing about the classical three-minute rant - Wenck's army was Berlin's last hope. As his attempt to reach Berlin started to look impossible, Wenck developed a plan to move his army towards the Forest of Halbe. There he planned to link up with the remnants of the Ninth Army, Hellmuth Reymann's "Army Group Spree," and the Potsdam garrison. Wenck also wanted to provide an escape route for as many citizens of Berlin as possible. Arriving at the furthest point of his attack, Wenck radioed the message: "Hurry up, we are waiting for you." Despite the attacks on his escape path, Wenck brought his own army, remnants of the Ninth Army, and many civilian refugees safely across the Elbe and into territory occupied by the U.S. Army. Estimates vary, but it is likely the corridor his forces opened enabled up to 250,000 refugees, including up to 25,000 men of the Ninth Army, to escape towards the west just ahead of the advancing Soviets. Wenck was captured and put in a prisoner of war camp. He was released in 1947. In 1982, Wenck died in a car accident in Bad Rothenfelde.
- Walther Wenck (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was the youngest general in the German Army during World War II. At the end of the war, he commanded the German Twelfth Army. Wenck ordered his army to surrender to forces of the United States in order to avoid capture by the Soviets. Before surrendering, Wenck played an important, if unsuccessful, part in the Battle of Berlin, and through his efforts aided thousands of German refugees in escaping the Red Army. He was known during the war as "The Boy General".[citation needed]
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