Realizing that the Soviets would attack Army Group Centre following the surrender of Berlin, on 5 May Field Marshal Schörner devised a plan ("Blumen-Operation") in which the units of Army Group Centre would attempt a fighting withdrawal to the west where they would be in a position to surrender to U.S. forces versus those of the Soviet Union. Schörner envisioned withdrawal phase lines (given the names of flowers) and intended for the 4th Panzer Army to hold off the 1st Ukrainian Front long enough for the other field armies of the army group to fall back to the west.