Having lost contact with its units, the German 15th Army capitulated the same day. Model dissolved his army group on 15 April and ordered the "Volksturm" and non-combatant personnel to discard their uniforms and go home. On 16 April the bulk of the German forces surrendered "en masse" to the U.S. divisions. Organized resistance came to an end on 18 April. Unwilling to surrender with his rank of Field Marshal into Allied captivity, Model committed suicide on the afternoon of 21 April.