Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 was a late

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

panzer division A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffe ...

. Commanded by Franz Bäke, it was formed in March 1945 of the remnants of other divisions and stationed with a home base at

Wehrkreis XX The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

. It was moved to

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

in 1945, where it fought its only battles (Slovakia and the upper Danube). It was later disbanded.

History

The Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 was formed in March 1945 as successor to the

13th Panzer Division The 13th Panzer Division ( en, 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940. The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On O ...

, from the Replacement and Training Brigade Feldherrnhalle, which had been forced out of Danzig early that year. The new division was sent to join the 8th Army, which was located in

at the time. In April 1945 the division fought its only battles, in Slovakia and on the upper

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. On 8 May 1945, the division was given the order to surrender.

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Butler, commander of an American unit, was contacted about accepting the surrender of the division. The Americans desired to hand the German troops over to the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

in the area, however the Germans fooled Butler by taking him to see a HQ which the Germans placed forward of their main lines. This allowed the German unit to move into the captivity of the Americans as they headed in the opposite direction.

Units

*Panzer Regiment Feldherrnhalle 2 *Panzer Grenadier Regiment Feldherrnhalle 2 *Panzer Artillery Regiment Feldherrnhalle 2 *13th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion *Panzerjager Battalion Feldherrnhalle 2 *Motorized Engineer Battalion Feldherrnhalle 2 *Motorized Signal Battalion Feldherrnhalle 2 *Army Flak Artillery Battalion Feldherrnhalle

Commander

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

Franz Bäke - 9 March 1945 - 8 May 1945

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Book review of "The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders"
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* ttp://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=428629/ Picture of Major General Franz Bäke and other generals* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldherrnhalle German panzer divisions Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945