The 2nd Panzergrenadier Division (''2. Panzergrenadierdivision'') was a
West German mechanized infantry formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
. It was part of the
III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to:
France
* 3rd Army Corps (France)
* III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...
of the
Bundeswehr, which also incorporated in 1985 the
5th Panzer Division and
12th Panzer Division.
[Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.196] III Corps was part of NATO's
Central Army Group
Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg) was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was hea ...
(CENTAG), along with the Bundeswehr's II Corps and the American V and VII Corps. In the wake of military restructuring brought about by the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division was disbanded in 1994.
The division was constituted as the 2nd Grenadier Division in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
on 1 July 1956 as part of the II Corps (then called "Army Staff II") of the Bundeswehr. At that time, it commanded the "A2" and "B2" battle-groups. In 1957, the division was subordinated to the German III Corps and one year later it received a third battle-group, "C2". The battle-groups later became the 6th Panzer, 5th Panzergrenadier, and 4th Panzergrenadier Brigades. As part of an army reorganization in 1959, the division was renamed the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and division headquarters was quartered at
Marburg.
In 1970, the division was renamed the 2nd ''Jäger'' (light infantry) Division. In 1974, the division headquarters was moved back to Kassel. The division once again became the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division in 1980. Following the end of the Cold War, the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division was disbanded in 1994.
Commanders
References
Literature
* ''Erinnerungsbuch 2. Panzergrenadierdivision'', Herausgeber: 2. Panzergrenadierdivision (Major i. G. Dr. phil. Gert-Detlef Feddern), erschienen beim Verlag Moritz Diesterweg, Frankfurt am Main, 1962
* ''2. Panzergrenadierdivision/Die "Zwote"/Eine Chronik der Geschichte der "Hessischen Division"'', 1. Auflage 1994, Herausgeber: Kameradschaft 2. Panzergrenadierdivision e. V.
External links
Die Geschichte der „Hessischen Division“ 2. Panzergrenadierdivision die „Zwote“auf Kameradschaft 2. PzGrenDiv Stand 3. Februar 2008
{{Bundeswehr divisions
Mechanized divisions of the German Army
Military units and formations established in 1956
Military units and formations disestablished in 1994
1956 establishments in West Germany
1994 disestablishments in Germany