Rather than surrender his command, Field Marshal Walter Model dissolved Army Group B on 15 April. Already on 7 April the extent of the American advance to Central Germany had made any breakout impossible. Model's chief of staff Karl Wagener urged him to save the lives of German soldiers and civilians by capitulating. Model refused, as he knew Hitler would not authorize it. In addition, he could not reconcile surrender with the demands he placed on his officers and men throughout the war and his career. But he also wanted to save as many lives as possible for the post-war rebuilding. He decreed the discharging of all youths and older men from the army. By 17 April ammunition supplies would be exhausted, so the non-combatant troops would be allowed to surrender on that day. All combat troops were to either break out in organized formations or drop their weapons and go home, an implicit authority to surrender.