2nd Panzer Division
| 2nd Panzer Division | |
|---|---|
| 2. Panzer-Division | |
Unit insignia
|
|
| Active | 15 October 1935 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Wehrkreis XIII: Würzburg (1935–38) Wehrkreis XVIII: Vienna (1938–45) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Heinz Guderian |
| Insignia | |
| 1939–1940 | |
| 1940–1945 (variant) |  |
| 1940–1944 |  |
| 1944–1945 |  |
The 2nd Panzer Division (English: 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II.
Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss and then participated in the campaigns in Poland (1939) and France (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 in the battles of Moscow (1941) and Kursk (1943). After heavy losses on the Eastern Front it was sent to France for rehabilitation (1944). It fought in Normandy and was almost completely destroyed in the Falaise Pocket (1944). It was rebuilt once more and fought in the Battle of the Bulge (1944) and in the defence of the Rhine (1945), surrendering to US forces at war's end.
The 2nd Panzer Division was formed on 15 October 1935 and was headquartered in Würzburg, Bavaria. It was one of three tank divisions created at the time, the other two having been the 1st and 3rd Panzer Division. Germany had renounced the Treaty of Versailles 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.
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