The 2nd Infantry Division of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

was created from components of the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

's'' old 2nd Division in 1934, at first under the cover name ''Wehrgauleitung Stettin'' and later ''Artillerieführer II''; it did not take its real name until October 1935. It was upgraded to 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in 1937, and fought under that name in

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

's XIX Corps during the 1939

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, first in the cut across the Polish Corridor to reach

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

and then as support for the push on

Brest-Litovsk Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...

. It was then transferred to the west, where it took part in the 1940

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. In October 1940 the division was reorganized as the 12th Panzer Division.

Commanding officers

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Hubert Gercke (10 October 1935 – 1 April 1937) * Generalleutnant

Paul Bader Paul Bader (20 July 1883 – 28 February 1971) was a ''General der Artillerie'' (lieutenant general) of the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in the invasions of Poland and France then served as ...

(1 April 1937 – 1 October 1940)

References

Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history. * * Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand: ''Das Heer 1933–1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues.'' Vol.III: ''Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1969, p. 285. * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945''. Vol. II: ''Die Landstreitkräfte 1 – 5''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1966. * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945''. Vol. III: ''Die Landstreitkräfte 6 – 14''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*002 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 bg:12-та танкова дивизия (Вермахт) de:12. Panzer-Division (Wehrmacht) ko:독일 12 기갑사단 it:12. Panzer-Division (Wehrmacht) sv:12. Panzer-Division