2nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

2nd Infantry Division
2nd Motorized Infantry Division
12th Panzer Division

The German 2nd Infantry Division was created from components of the Reichswehr's old 2nd Division in 1934, at first under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Stettin and later Artillerieführer II; it did not take its real name until October 1935. It was upgraded to 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in 1937, and fought under that name in Heinz Guderian's XIX Corp during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, first in the cut across the Polish Corridor to reach East Prussia, and then as support for the push on Brest-Litovsk. It was then transferred to the west, where it took part in the 1940 Battle of France.

German 2nd Infantry Division
2. Infanterie-Division (1 October 1934 - 12 October 1937)
Components Infantry Regiment 2
Infantry Regiment 25
Infantry Regiment 92
Divisional units 2
German 2nd Motorized Infantry Division
2. Infanterie-Division (mot.) (12 October 1937 - 10 January 1941)
Components Motorized Infantry Regiment 5
Motorized Infantry Regiment 25
Motorcycle Battalion 22
Motorized Engineer Battalion 32
Divisional units 2
German 12th Panzer Division
12. Panzer-Division

Active 10 January 1941 - 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
Branch Army
Type Armor
Size Division
Insignia
Insignia of 12th Panzer Division in Summer 1943
German 12th Panzer Division
12. Panzer-Division (10 January 1941 - 8 May 1945)
Components Panzer Regiment 29
Panzergrenadier Regiment 5
Panzergrenadier Regiment 25
Motorcycle Battalion 22
Motorized Engineer Battalion 32
Divisional units 2

In October 1940 the division was reorganized as the 12th Panzer Division, and in June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa, fighting in the battles of Minsk and Smolensk. It fought the rest of the war on the Russian Front, notably at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943, and surrendered to the Soviets in the Courland Pocket at the end of the war.

Famous quotes containing the word division:

    In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge.
    Victor Hugo (1802–1885)