2nd Panzer Army

2nd Panzer Army (2.Panzerarmee)
Insignia of the German Second Panzer Army
Active	October 5, 1941 - May 8, 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Type	Tank Army
Engagements	Eastern Front and the Balkans, World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Generaloberst Heinz Guderian

The 2nd Panzer Army (German: 2.Panzerarmee) was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II.

Formation

It origins were in the Panzer Group Guderian (Panzergruppe Guderian), named after its commander Heinz Guderian, and Panzergruppe 2 which played a significant role in the initial success of blitzkrieg during Operation Barbarossa.

Service history

1941

The Army was renamed as the 2nd Panzer Army in October 1941, attached to Army Group Centre and fought in the Battle of Moscow and later in the defensive battles of the Eastern Front central sector.

1942

The Army later served with the Army Group F and transferred to the Balkans for anti-partisan operations.

1944

The 2nd Panzer Army also fought in Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria.

Commanders

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (October 5, 1941 - December 25, 1941)
Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt (December 25, 1941 - April 10, 1943)
General der Infanterie Heinrich Clößner (April 11, 1943 - August 6, 1943)
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model (August 6, 1943 - August 14, 1943)
Generaloberst Dr Lothar Rendulic (August 14, 1943 - June 24, 1944)
General der Infanterie Franz Böhme (June 24, 1944 - July 17, 1944)
General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis (July 18, 1944 - May 8, 1945)

References

Wendel, Marcus (2004). 2.Panzer-Armee. Retrieved May 5, 2006.