| 2nd Panzer Division | |
|---|---|
| 2. Panzer-Division | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:2nd_Panzer_Division_logo3.svg){kind=logo} Unit insignia | |
| Active | 15 October 1935 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  German Army |
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Wehrkreis XIII: Würzburg (1935–38)Wehrkreis XVIII: Vienna (1938–45) |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Heinz Guderian |
| Insignia | |
| 1939–1940 | |
| 1940–1945 (variant) | &sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:2nd_Panzer_Division_logo2.svg){kind=logo} |
| 1940–1944 | &sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:2nd_Panzer_Division_logo.svg){kind=logo} |
| 1944–1945 | &sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Ww2_GermanDivision_Panzer_2-c.png){kind=small} |
The 2nd Panzer Division (English: 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, 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)[1] 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.
- ^ During the French campaign, this division was the first German division to reach the English channel on 20 May 1940. See Bauer, Eddy (1983). Young, Peter (ed.). The History of World War II. London, UK: Orbis Publishing. p. 156.