2nd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

The 2nd Panzer Division (2. Panzer-Division) was a German armored division. Created 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. It fought with Army Group Center 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 defense of the Rhine (1945), surrendering to the Americans at war's end.

Division history

Construction

The 2nd Panzer Division was created by the Wehrmacht in the city of Würzburg on 15 October 1935 from two armoured regiments, the 3rd Panzer Regiment and the 4th Panzer Regiment under the control of Oberst Heinz Guderian.

Panzer division

The term panzer division (German: Panzerdivision) as commonly used in English language refers almost exclusively to the armored (tank) division in the army branch of the Wehrmacht and of Nazi Germany during World War II. The panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the Blitzkrieg operations of the early years of the war. Later the Waffen-SS formed panzer divisions, and even the Luftwaffe fielded a panzer division, the Herman Goring Division. The term Panzerdivision is still used in today's Heer of the Bundeswehr (for example 1. Panzerdivision). It is not automatically associated with the old Wehrmacht units in German speaking countries.

A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks (German Panzerkampfwagen, "armored fighting vehicle", usually shortened to "Panzer") and infantry as organic components, along with artillery, anti-aircraft, signals, etc. However, the proportions of the components of a panzer division changed over time.

2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich

The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was an elite division of the Nazi Waffen-SS during World War II. It was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS; its symbol was the wolf's hook, or Wolfsangel.

Das Reich served during the invasion of France and took part in several major battles on the Eastern Front (particularly in the Battle of Prokhorovka against the 5th Guards Tank Army at the Battle of Kursk). It was then transferred to the West and took part in the fighting in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, ending the war fighting in Hungary and Austria. Das Reich committed the Oradour-sur-Glane and Tulle massacres.

History

Early war and the SS-VT – 1939/1940

Division

Division or divider may refer to:

Mathematics

Science

Society

Panzer

Panzer /ˈpænzər/ (German pronunciation: [ˈpantsɐ]) is a German word that means armour. It is also used by the Germans as abbreviation meaning "armored fighting vehicle" or tank (the military vehicle). The full German word for "armoured combat vehicle" is Panzerkampfwagen. The word Panzer is occasionally used in English and some other languages as a loanword in the contexts of German military.

Use

It is mostly used in the proper names of military formations (Panzerdivision, ‘panzer division’, 4th Panzer Army, etc.), and in the proper names of tanks, such as Panzer IV, etc.

Origin

The dated but official German term is Panzerkampfwagen, ‘tank’ or literally ‘armoured combat vehicle’ (the modern commonly used synonym is Kampfpanzer, or just Panzer). The first German tank, the A7V of 1918, was referred to as Sturmpanzerwagen (roughly, "armoured assault vehicle").

The German word Panzer refers to any kind of armour, as in Plattenpanzer, ‘plate armour’, Kettenpanzer, ‘mail’, or generally gepanzert, ‘armoured’. The word also refers to an animal's protective shell or thick hide, as in Schildkrötenpanzer, ‘turtle shell'. Steel electrical conduit is called Stahlpanzerrohr, literally "steel armour pipe". Bulletproof glass is called Panzerglas, literally "armoured glass". It derives through the French word pancier, ‘breastplate’, from Latin pantex, ‘belly, paunch’, and is possibly related to panus, ‘swelling’.