On the request from the local commanders to obtain consent from Hitler and the high command to retreat out of Vitebsk and with the urgent message from Ernst Busch that 24 June was the last day where this operation might be possible, Kurt Zeitzler personally flew to the Berghof in Berchtesgaden, where he was instead instructed to confirm Hitler's original command that 3rd Panzer Army was to stand its ground to the last.