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Berlin Offensive
Schwedt
Clausewitz
Race to Berlin
Oder–Neisse
Stettin–Rostock
Seelow Heights
Encirclement of Berlin
Cottbus–Potsdam
Spremberg–Torgau
Oderberg
Pankow
City of Berlin
Reichstag
Bautzen
Halbe
Brandenburg–Rathenow
Operation Clausewitz (Fall Clausewitz) was the code word initiating the defence of Berlin by Nazi Germany during the final stage of the European Theatre of World War II. Clausewitz was established in the 9 March 1945 document, Basic Order for the Preparations for the Defense of the Reich Capital (German: Grundsätzlicher Befehl für die Vorbereitungen zur Verteidigung der Reichshauptstadt), a 33-page document containing 24 separate points. The second point of the document, in full (translated) is: "The Reich capital will be defended to the last man and to the last bullet." It has been referred to as the Nazis' last stand against the Soviets.[1]
The document divided the city of Berlin into nine operational defense zones (A through H, as slices of the outer city of Berlin and Z, its center, corresponding to the government district).[2]: 87 It further divided the region into four concentric rings: an outer exclusion zone, extending well past Berlin's city limits; an outer defense zone extending roughly to the city limits; an inner defense zone extending out to the Berlin Ringbahn; and the Citadel (German: Zitadelle), again, zone Z.[2]: 87 [3] In addition to the establishment of defense zones, this document also described the overall mechanism by which Berlin would be converted to a front line city. This included:[4]
The evacuation of all Wehrmacht and SS offices in Berlin[5]
Evacuation of the central command post of the capital from General Command on Hohenzollern to L-Tower of the Zoo bunker no more than six hours after the issuance of Clausewitz[4]
The imposition of martial law for the civilian populace, and offences under which the death penalty was authorized[4]
The document also outlined the destruction of thousands of documents that were deemed "essential" to the Nazi war machine, this including documents pertaining to military and civilian logistics and installations, medical research, and other technological research.[6]
Adolf Hitler ordered the execution of Fall Clausewitz on 20 April 1945. This set into motion preparations according to the Basic Order plan, and would have been followed later by the code word Kolberg, meaning full preparations should have been completed and the battle would have started.[4][7][8]
^McGee, Mark. Berlin: A Visual and Historical Documentation from 1925 to the Present, p. 91
^ abGermany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg. "DIE RUSSEN IN BERLIN 1945 - DER SPIEGEL 19/1965 (pdf)". www.spiegel.de. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Wires, Richard. Terminology of the Third Reich, 1985. p. 12
^ abcdGermany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg (4 May 1965). "DIE RUSSEN IN BERLIN 1945 - DER SPIEGEL 19/1965". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Fischer, Thomas. Soldiers Of the Leibstandarte, 2008. p. 42
^Kershaw, Ian (1991). Hitler. W. W. Norton Company. pp. 782–784. ISBN 0393067572.
^Kuby, Erich. The Russians and Berlin, 1945, p. 31
^Ziemke, Earl. The Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich, p. 40
and 26 Related for: Operation Clausewitz information
OperationClausewitz (Fall Clausewitz) was the code word initiating the defence of Berlin by Nazi Germany during the final stage of the European Theatre...
Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (German pronunciation: [ˌkaʁl fɔn ˈklaʊ̯zəvɪt͡s] ; 1 July 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general...
9 March, Germany established its defence plan for the city with OperationClausewitz. The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were...
Blue II) were renamed to OperationClausewitz and Operation Dampfhammer. Clausewitz detailed the beginning of the operations of Army Group A in July 1942...
the city. On 20 April, Hitler ordered and the Wehrmacht initiated OperationClausewitz, which called for the complete evacuation of all Wehrmacht and SS...
which suggested an invasion at the Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy. Clausewitz defined the 'order of battle' as "that division and formation of the different...
Medenine, Tunisia OperationClausewitz 1942 - German second phase of the German summer offensive in the Caucasus region of Southern USSR Operation Cottbus 1942...
ˈkʁiːɡə]) is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and...
coalition including the United Kingdom and the United States. Carl von Clausewitz once called the "essential mass of the enemy" his "centre of gravity"...
even retrograde operations is measured, in order to achieve mass at decisive points elsewhere on the battlefield. Carl von Clausewitz once said that "Every...
intelligence to scent out the truth. — Carl von Clausewitz It has been pointed out that von Clausewitz does not use the exact phrase "fog of war", and...
of the enemy. The father of Western modern strategic studies, Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), defined military strategy as "the employment of battles to...
Jacques Etienne Macdonald, pp. 169–171 [ISBN missing] Clausewitz 1906, pp. 230–252. Clausewitz 1906, p. 53. Adam (2005) [1990], Napoleon's Army in Russia...
and Clausewitz's On War have diametrically opposed views. Sun Tzu emphasizes military deception and considers it the key to victory. Clausewitz argues...
version 1, "Didactic Resume" and "Maxims" for war version 2. Carl von Clausewitz wrote his version in 1812 building on the work of earlier writers. There...
ISBN 978-1849086967. von Clausewitz, Carl (August 22, 1995). The Campaign Of 1812 In Russia. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0306806506. von Clausewitz, Carl (March 1...
di civiltà. Rimini: Museo dell'Aviazione. Montemaggi, Amedeo (2008). CLAUSEWITZ SULLA LINEA GOTICA. Imola: Angelini Editore. Montemaggi, Amedeo (2010)...
that reinforces their army at a higher speed will normally win the war. Clausewitz called it the exhaustion of the adversary. A side that perceives itself...
Clausewitz and his 1832 posthumously published work On War, in which he distinguished between 'absolute' and 'limited' wars. But even for Clausewitz absolute...
G. W. (2015) [2010]. On Waterloo: Clausewitz, Wellington, and the Campaign of 1815 (online scan ed.). Clausewitz.com. ISBN 978-1-4537-0150-8. Retrieved...
despite his many diatribes about Clausewitz and 'the Clausewitzians' – reflects any reading whatsoever of Clausewitz's own writings." The political scientist...
forces. Clausewitz also forwarded the issue of casus belli. Wars had been fought for social, religious, or even cultural reasons, and Clausewitz taught...
2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013. "SOME JUICY QUOTES FROM CLAUSEWITZ, ON WAR". The Clausewitz Homepage. Retrieved December 13, 2013. Toppe, Alfred (June...
attainment of a strategic goal. A counter-offensive as considered by Clausewitz to be the most efficient means of forcing the attacker to abandon offensive...
was formulated by the Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz in his book On War published in 1832 (Book 7, Chapter 5). Defence in depth...
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