2nd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

2nd Panzer Division
2. Panzer-Division
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 Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Greece Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kursk Invasion of Normandy Battle of the Bulge
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 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.