Operation Clausewitz (ii)

(German major military theorist)

'Clausewitz' (ii) was a German plan for the defence of the city of Berlin against the Soviet 'Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation' (April/May 1945).

The plan was created by Generalleutnant Hellmuth Reymann, the commander of the Berlin garrison between 6 March and 22 April 1945, and was posited on the provision of a six-hour warning of any Soviet attack so that a state of emergency could be declared to start the evacuation of all offices of the armed forces and SS in the city, trigger the start of tougher criminal laws and truncated criminal proceedings, and begin the destruction of all official papers and documents of the state.

Adolf Hitler ordered the implementation of 'Clausewitz' (ii) on 20 April, four days after the start of the 'Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation', whereupon Berlin was deemed to be a front-line city.