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

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Formation

It origins were in the Panzer Group Guderian (Panzergruppe Guderian), named after its commander Heinz Guderian

Heinz Guderian

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...

, and Panzergruppe 2 which played a significant role in the initial success of blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...

 during Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

.

1941

The Army was renamed as the 2nd Panzer Army in October 1941, attached to Army Group Centre

Army Group Centre

Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...

 and fought in the Battle of Moscow

Battle of Moscow

The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...

 and later in the defensive battles of the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

 central sector.

1942

The Army later served with the Army Group F

Army Group F

Army Group F was a strategic command formation of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The commander of Army Group F served also as the Oberbefehlshaber Südost ....

 and transferred to the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

 for anti-partisan operations.

Commanders

• Generaloberst Heinz Guderian
  Heinz Guderian
  Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
  
   (October 5, 1941 - December 25, 1941)
• Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt
  Rudolf Schmidt
  Rudolf Schmidt was a Panzer General in the German army during World War II who served as the Commander of the 2nd Panzer Army which was a huge armoured formation that operated on the Eastern Front. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
  
   (December 25, 1941 - April 10, 1943)
• General der Infanterie Heinrich Clößner (April 11, 1943 - August 6, 1943)
• Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model
  Walter Model
  Otto Moritz Walter Model was a German general and later field marshal during World War II. He is noted for his defensive battles in the latter half of the war, mostly on the Eastern Front but also in the west, and for his close association with Adolf Hitler and Nazism...
  
   (August 6, 1943 - August 14, 1943)
• Generaloberst Dr Lothar Rendulic
  Lothar Rendulic
  Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...
  
   (August 14, 1943 - June 24, 1944)
• General der Infanterie Franz Böhme
  Franz Böhme
  Franz Friedrich Böhme was an Austrian who later went on to become a military officer...
  
   (June 24, 1944 - July 17, 1944)
• General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis (July 18, 1944 - May 8, 1945)