Damn it Reiben,have just read this thread and its too late to answer.
Would have got this one for sure,most of Svens writing is fictional(as is my name since i've been asked by PM) but I recomend it as reading but just dont take it as historically correct.

Yes, Sven Hassell. I thought the name was familiar, he also wrote 'Panzer Leader' about an SS unit who broke out of the Stalingrad pocket. This book is immensely enjoyable, demonstating the brutality of war with its anti heros. However courtesy of Wikepedia

"A quick chronological analysis of the activities described in the books appears to show that the regiment depicted in the books fought in several places, hundreds of miles apart, at the same time. Hassel states that the characters are based on real people and events are related to historical events.....books are not taken seriously by historians or military professionals, many of the stories in them are well told, and - like much of fictional writing - some of their background material appears to be derived from authentic accounts.....

Erik Haaest, a self-styled Danish journalist, has spent many years trying to debunk Hassel's claims. Haaest writes that Sven Hassel is actually Børge Villy Redsted Pedersen, a Danish Nazi who never served on the Russian front"

This may explain why there is no trace of "Speer forest" either!

The question has not yet been answered. For the unit designation, I will accept the Army and Corps designations, or the name of the commanding General.

So for more clues:
Keitel went to their HQ to get them to try to save Hitler on April 23rd, 1945.

They deliberately mis-interpreted Keitel's orders because he had wanted them to attack two fully equipped and combat ready Soviet Tank Armies. So instead, they decided to attack east, but only to open a corridor to allow civilians and troops to get to the Elbe and the Western Allies.

They moved East on the same day.

The order to move was given while the Army in question was in heavy contact with the Americans. The orders were made public (sent in the clear) to ensure that the entire Army (actually, what was left of it) would receive them.

Dean.

Kietel visited the headquarters of XX corps at Wiesenberg. The commander was General Kohler.

Yes. He did indeed visit XX Corps, although my source says that he spoke with General Wenke, who subsequently gave the order to do an about-face to the Eastern Front. But the XX Corps was in fact the unit of the 12th Army that fought on two fronts on the same day. As far as I can tell, the other units did not actually attack until the next day. Remember that by that time, they were an army in name only.

So Reiben, once again, on to you.

Dean.

Got a good question for you all:

Whos headquarters (where was it as well) did Churchill fly out to on 11 June 1940?

Who did he meet?

What did the French want and what was Churchills counter offer?

for a bonus point - what type of plane did Churchill fly out in?

Hopefully it will even challenge Dean!

Churchill returned to France on 11 June, meeting the French War Council in Briare. The French, clearly in a panic, wanted Churchill to give every available fighter to the air battle over France; with only 25 squadrons remaining, Churchill refused, believing that the decisive battle would be fought over Britain (see Battle of Britain). Churchill, at the meeting, obtained promises from French admiral François Darlan that the fleet would not fall into German hands.

I dont care about the bonus.
http://www.****france.com/read.html?...ies=238&page=1

Originally Posted by bulldogg

I dont care about the bonus.
http://www.****france.com/read.html?...ies=238&page=1

Very close mate, but I am going to be strict about the answer. You got most of it right.

Except the exact location of the meeting, whos headquarters and what was Churchills counter offer.

I was really after the names of the french.

Couldnt read the link though

Originally Posted by Dean

The order to move was given while the Army in question was in heavy contact with the Americans. The orders were made public (sent in the clear) to ensure that the entire Army (actually, what was left of it) would receive them.

Dean.

Just out of interest my father was serving with New Zealand troops in Italy at the of the war and German communications in that area were still functioniing well enough for the Germans to inform the Allies that the war was over.

Given that I find it hard to believe orders were given in public for those reasons I would suspect it was more in the hopes they would get some support from other units and perhaps some reprieve from the western allies.

Originally Posted by MontyB

Just out of interest my father was serving with New Zealand troops in Italy at the of the war and German communications in that area were still functioniing well enough for the Germans to inform the Allies that the war was over.

Given that I find it hard to believe orders were given in public for those reasons I would suspect it was more in the hopes they would get some support from other units and perhaps some reprieve from the western allies.

Highly possible. However Beevor has another theory that is as interesting. He thought that they wanted to give the people of Berlin the idea that the Americans were supporting the German Army against the Russians. On the surface it looked to be true, as on that very same day, the Eisenhower sent his (in)famous order which stopped the Western Allies on the Elbe. At the same time, the Allied Air Forces reduced their bombing of German formations on the eastern bank of the Elbe, so this theory was believed by many. The reasons that communications were spotty was due to the fact that the sub-units had in many cases ceased to exist, and many sub-unit HQs were missing even the most rudimentary equipment, including codebooks.

Dean.

Oh, and Reiben, I don't have the foggiest.... yet!!!