1942
On 1 January 1942, the 4th Panzer Group was redesignated 4th Panzer Army. The 4th Panzer Army held defensive positions in the spring of 1942 and then was heavily re-enforced and re-fit and was transferred to Army Group South for its offensive in Southern Russia. As Operation Blue progressed, Hitler divided the Army Group South into two Army groups. Army Group A which was composed of the German 17th Army and 1st Panzer Army and Army Group B which was composed 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army.
Army Group B's objective was to anchor itself on the Volga while Army Group A drove into the oil fields of the Caucasus. The 4th Panzer Army approached Stalingrad from the South while the 6th Army approached it from the west. Their aim was to meet up at Stalingrad and encircle the Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies outside the city. However, the 6th Army was faced by a strong counterattack by the Soviet forces and failed to meet up with the 4th Panzer Army for 3 crucial days, allowing the two armies to withdraw into Stalingrad.
The 4th Panzer Army guarded the outside perimeter of Stalingrad and the 6th Army was engaged in the battle to capture the city. For over two months, the 6th Army was embroiled in vicious fighting in the city; though it was able to take over 90% of the city, it was unable to destroy the last pockets of resistance in time. The Soviets launched their counter-offensive on 19 November 1942 which resulted in the encircling of the entire 6th Army and the 24th Panzer Division of the 4th Panzer Army. Under General Hermann Hoth, the 4th Panzer Army tried and failed to break the encirclement of Stalingrad in Operation Wintergewitter, and withdrew, forcing the surrender of the encircled troops.
Read more about this topic: 4th Panzer Army