The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

after the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...

and then participated in the campaigns in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

(1939) and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(1940) before it returned to Poland for occupation duties (1940–1941). It took part in the Balkans campaign (1941) and then transferred to the Eastern Front in September 1941. The division fought with

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...

in the battles of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(1941) and

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German str ...

(1943). After heavy losses on the Eastern Front it was sent to France for rehabilitation (1944). It fought in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and was almost completely destroyed in the Falaise Pocket (1944). It was rebuilt once more and fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

(1944) and in the defence of the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

(1945), surrendering to US forces at war's end.

History

Formation

The 2nd Panzer Division was formed on 15 October 1935 and was headquartered in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. It was one of three tank divisions created at the time, the other two having been the

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and 3rd Panzer Division. Germany had renounced the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

earlier in the year which had forbidden the country, among other things, from having tank forces, a treaty Germany had violated almost from the start by secretly developing tanks and operating a covert tank school in the Soviet Union. Under the command of

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

the division participated in the

of Austria in 1938, covering in 48 hours but in the process losing 30 percent of its tanks to accidents and mechanical failures. It formed part of the garrison in Vienna, Austria's capital with most of its personnel now recruited from former Austria.Mitcham, p. 46.

Invasion of Poland

In early September 1939, the 2nd Panzer Division took part in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

, crossing the Polish-Slowak border and advancing towards

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

. The division suffered heavy losses while fighting in central Poland.Stoves, p. 19.

Battle of France

In May 1940, the unit took part in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

as a part of the XIX Army Corps under the command of Guderian. The division was involved in fighting in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and the

Mosel River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

valley. It arrived in the town of

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...

on the 20th. The division advanced on

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

and was involved in a battle with the under-equipped French 48th Regiment on 22 May. Having overcome the defenders, the 2nd Panzers made a direct attack on the port itself which was in complete chaos. Later, the division formed the armoured element which flanked the British Expeditionary Force and forced their

evacuation from Dunkirk The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the n ...

. The 2nd Panzer Division then advanced along the River Aisne into the interior of

. At the end of the campaign in the last months of 1940, the division lost its 4th Panzer Regiment which was used as the basis for the soon-to-be-formed 13th Panzer Division.Mitcham, p. 47.

Invasion of Greece

The division was reassigned to the XVIII Mountain Corps of the 12th Army on 6 April 1941 to play a role in Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece. The German army pushed through the south of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, reaching the Greek border, where they made contact with the 19th Greek Mechanized Division in the area of Lake Dojran. On 9 April the division took the city of

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and forced the surrender of the Greek Eastern Macedonia Army Section. The division, together with the 5th Mountain Division, the 6th Mountain Division and the 72nd Infantry Division, formed an attack group with the mission of advancing into the south of Greece. After the 6th Division had taken

Verroia Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

and formed a river crossing beachhead on the other side of the River Haliacmon, the 2nd Panzer Division crossed, taking

Katerini Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, a ...

on 14 April. After the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label= Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Las ...

, the 2nd Panzer Division entered Athens together with the 6th Mountain Division. At the end of the campaign the 2nd Panzer Division returned to Vienna for refitting, with parts of the division transported by sea and suffering heavy losses when the transport ships ''Marburg'' and ''Kybfels'' hits mines (laid by HMS ''Abdiel'') and sank.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

In October 1941, the 2nd Panzer Division was sent to the Eastern Front, reinforcing

in their push towards Moscow,

Operation Typhoon The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive e ...

. It was attached to the XL Panzer Corps (later to the V Army Corps of the 4th Panzer Army during the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

). On November 16, the units of the division attacked the soviet positions where " Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen" were supposed to be. The division retreated following a counterattack of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in the winter of 1941, taking part in various battles as a component in the 9th German Army during the first months of 1942. In 1943 the 2nd Panzer Division took part in

Operation Citadel Operation Citadel (german: Unternehmen Zitadelle) was a German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein during the Second World War on ...

, as part of the XLVII Panzer Corps of the 9th German Army of Army Group Centre. Following the operation's failure, the Red Army launched Operation Kutuzov in Army Group's Center's sector. The division retreated, suffering heavy losses, having also lost two of its three tank battalions earlier in 1942 when they were send to the southern sector of the front to assist with the German push towards the Volga and Caucasus.Stoves, p. 20.

Battle of Normandy

In late 1943 the 2nd Panzer Division was sent to France for refitting after the heavy losses it suffered on the Eastern Front. The division was equipped with

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern Front (World War ...

s. Following the invasion of Normandy, the division was moved to Normandy in June 1944; it engaged British troops of the 50th Infantry Division and the 7th Armoured Division. From June 6 until mid July the division stood in the Caumont area engaged in daily skirmishes with British units. During

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the German-occupied ci ...

a group of six Panther tanks of the Pz.Rg.3 was used for a counterattack to take Cheux but that attack failed and five of their tanks were lost. Although the 2nd Panzer Division was very experienced the German doctrine overall was flawed and could not be exploited in Normandy. All German Panzer divisions in Normandy suffered severe defeats when counterattacking. The division was relieved at Caumont by the 326th Infantry Division and sent to the Verrières ridge southwest of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Operation Spring a Kampfgruppe from the division (Kampfgruppe Sterz) was sent to reinforce the 272nd Infantry division at St. Andre sur Orne and St. Martin. The Kampfgruppe took St. Martin, destroying

The Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

in the process and got involved in street fighting in St. Andre sur Orne. Kampfgruppe Zollhöfer of the 9th SS Panzer Division took over and struck towards Point 67. After Operation Spring 2nd Panzer was sent to the US sector to help in halting

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take ...

. They could stop the drive of the US 2nd Armored for a moment but were too weak to cover the whole front. The division retreated and with its last 25 tanks it took part in Operation Luttich, the failed German counterattack at Mortain. It was later encircled in the Falaise pocket, but broke out with heavy losses in materiel and troops. At Falaise it was responsible for taking and holding St-Lambert-sur-Dive but was only able to take one part of the village. Nevertheless due to the efforts of the 2nd Panzer Division other German units, notably the

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

and the 12th SS, were able to cross the bridge over the Dives and escape eastwards. The division was reorganised in Germany, absorbing the depleted

352nd Infantry Division The 352nd Infantry Division (''352. Infanterie-Division'') was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Deployed on the Western Front, the division defended Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. History Formation and strength ...

. Due to the shortage in materiel, the division's complement of tanks was significantly reduced. Some tank companies only had

assault gun Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed ...

s, although one battalion received Panther tanks.Mitcham, p. 48.

Battle of the Bulge

The division was sent to the Western Front and attached to XLVII Panzer Corps, 5th Panzer Army which was preparing for the German offensive in the Ardennes region of Belgium (the

in December 1944). On the eve of battle, 2nd Panzer was about full strength, with 27

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panz ...

s, 58 Panthers, and 48 StuG III assault guns in the division tank parks. During the attack, 2nd Panzer drove towards the crucial road junction of

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne ...

. However, Bastogne was quickly reinforced by the veteran

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...

. Attacks against the town failed. On 18 December, in accordance with the original plan, 2nd Panzer was directed toward the Meuse River, but was unable to reach the Meuse, as American reinforcements threatened its flanks and supply line. Its vanguard got to 4 km from the Meuse, where on 24 December they were stopped by the

U.S. 2nd Armored Division The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium ...

and the British

3rd Royal Tank Regiment The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army in existence from 1917 until 1992. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It originally saw action as C Battalion, Tank Corp ...

. 2nd Panzer was forced to retreat by fierce American counterattacks and lack of petrol.

Battle of the Rhine

Now operating at an extremely reduced effectiveness, in the spring of 1945 the 2nd Panzer Division took part in the Battle of the Rhineland. In this, the Wehrmacht tried to halt the passage of the Allies across the River Rhine, and the division assisted as a component of the XIII Army Corps, of the 7th German Army, Heeresgruppe B. The final engagement of the unit was at the city of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

in April 1945. The division surrendered in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and north-western Czechoslovakia to the US forces on 7 May 1945.

Commanders

The commanders of the division:Mitcham, p. 48–52. *Oberst

(Creation - 31 January 1938) *Generalleutnant Rudolf Veiel (1 February 1938 - 17 February 1942) *Generalleutnant

Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (10 July 1892 – 5 January 1955) was a German general who commanded the 15th Panzer Division in the Afrika Korps. Esebeck had knowledge of and was sympathetic to the anti-Hitler conspiracy in the military. He was a ...

(17 February 1942 - 31 May 1942) *Generalmajor Arno von Lenski (1 June 1942 - 30 June 1942) *Generalleutnant

(1 July 1942 - 10 August 1942) (Wounded) *Oberst (5 September 1942 - 30 September 1942) *Generalleutnant Vollrath Lübbe (1 October 1942 - 31 January 1944) *Generalleutnant Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (1 February 1944 - 4 May 1944) *Generalleutnant

Franz Westhoven __NOTOC__ Franz Westhoven (7 December 1894 – 9 October 1983) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several panzer divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Westhov ...

(5 May 1944 - 26 May 1944) *Generalleutnant Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (27 May 1944 - 31 August 1944) *Oberst (1 September 1944 - 4 September 1944) *Generalmajor

Henning Schönfeld __NOTOC__ Henning Schönfeld (19 May 1894 – 11 March 1958) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 2nd Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorati ...

(5 September 1944 - 14 December 1944) *Generalmajor

Meinrad von Lauchert __NOTOC__ Meinrad von Lauchert (29 August 1905 – 4 December 1987) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. On the eve of the Battle ...

(15 December 1944 - 19 March 1945) *Generalmajor

Oskar Munzel __NOTOC__ Oskar Munzel (13 March 1899 – 1 January 1992) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II and in the Bundeswehr of West Germany who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the I ...

(20 March 1945 - 3 April 1945) *Major i.G. Waldemar von Gazen (3 April 1945 - 4 April 1945) *Oberst Karl Stollbrock (4 April 1945 - 8 May 1945)

Organisation

The organisation of the division:

References

Bibliography

;Books * * * * * ;Websites * {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=Tanks , portal3=World War II , commons=y , commons-search=2nd Panzer Division (Germany) 0*02 German units in Normandy Military units and formations established in 1935 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945