The 2nd Infantry Division of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

was created from components of the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'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 Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the " blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in t ...

's XIX Corps during the 1939

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, first in the cut across the

Polish Corridor The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, easter ...

to reach

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

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 The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. In October 1940 the division was reorganized as the 12th Panzer Division.

Commanding officers

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

Hubert Gercke (10 October 1935 – 1 April 1937) * Generalleutnant

Paul Bader Paul Bader (20 July 1883 – 28 February 1971) was a '' General der Artillerie'' (lieutenant general) of the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in the invasions of Poland and France then served ...

(1 April 1937 – 1 October 1940)

References

Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history. * * Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand: ''Das Heer 1933–1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues.'' Vol.III: ''Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1969, p. 285. * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945''. Vol. II: ''Die Landstreitkräfte 1 – 5''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1966. * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945''. Vol. III: ''Die Landstreitkräfte 6 – 14''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*002 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 bg:12-та танкова дивизия (Вермахт) de:12. Panzer-Division (Wehrmacht) ko:독일 12 기갑사단 it:12. Panzer-Division (Wehrmacht) sv:12. Panzer-Division