The Oder Front 1945 Volume II  breaks new ground in its operational level detail of the German defense of the Oderfront between January-May 1945. Volume II pieces together the various orders, directives, and command guidance issued by the Führer, OKW, OKH and Heeresgruppe Weichsel commanders to examine who drove military decisions and how they shaped Germany’s final defense in the east. Previous works have placed significant blame for the failures of Heeresgruppe Weichsel to defend Pomerania on the shoulders of its first commander Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. While Himmler’s lack of professional military training did have an adverse effect on military operations, documents reveal that Heinz Guderian, Chief of OKH, was responsible for issuing the orders that led to many of the costly offenses and overall lack of preparedness in the defense of Pomerania. Guderian, and not Himmler, was responsible for the hastily executed Operation Sonnenwende, the withdrawal of key combat formations from the frontline in Pomerania just before the Soviet assault, and the desperate attack plans out of the Altdamm and Frankfurt-an-der-Oder Bridgeheads that led to confusion and dismay among the commanders of the 3.Panzer-Armee and 9.Armee.