The Panzergruppe 2 was formed on 16 November 1940 from the XIX Armeekorps (mot). It was known as Armeegruppe Guderian from 28 July 1941-3 Aug 1941. It was redesignated 2. Panzerarmee on 5 October 1941.

Commanders

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (16 Nov 1940 - 5 Oct 1941)

Chief of Staff

Oberstleutnant Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein (16 Nov 1940 - 5 Oct 1941)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Oberstleutnant Fritz Bayerlein (16 Nov 1940 - 29 Aug 1941)
Major Werner Wolff (29 Aug 1941 - 5 Oct 1941)

Area of operations

France (Nov 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, central sector (June 1941 - Oct 1941)

Holders of high awards

Holders of the Knight's Cross (1)
- Oakleaves
-- Guderian, Heinz 17.07.1941 [24. EL] Generaloberst Befh. Pz.Gr. 2

Order of battle (22 June 1941)

HQ
XXIV Panzerkorps
- 3rd Panzer Division
- 4th Panzer Division
- 10th Infantry Division
- 1st Cavalry Division
XLVI Panzer Corps
- 10th Panzer Division
- SS Infantry Division Das Reich (mot.)
- Infantry Regiment Gross-Deutchland
XLVII Panzerkorps
- 17th Panzer Division
- 18th Panzer Division
- 29th (Mot.) Infantry Division
Anti-Aircraft Regiment Hermann Göring

Order of battle (27 July 1941)

HQ
VII Armeekorps
- 7th Infantry Division
- 23rd Infantry Division
- 78th Infantry Division
- 197th Infantry Division
XX Armeekorps
- 15th Infantry Division
- 268th Infantry Division
IX Armeekorps
- 263rd Infantry Division
- 292nd Infantry Division
- 137th Infantry Division
XLVI Panzerkorps
- 10th Panzer Division
- SS Division Das Reich (mot.)
- Infantry Regiment Gross-Deutchland
XXIV Panzerkorps
- 4th Panzer Division
- 3rd Panzer Division
- 10th Motorised Infantry Division
XLVII Panzerkorps
- 18th Panzer Division
- 17th Panzer Division
- 29th Motorised Infantry Division

Order of battle (30 Sep 1941)

HQ
XLVIII Panzerkorps
- 9th Panzer Division
- 16th Motorised Infantry Division
- 25th Motorised Infantry Division
XXIV Panzerkorps
- 3rd Panzer Division
- 4th Panzer Division
- 10th Motorised Infantry Division
XLVII Panzerkorps
- 17th Panzer Division
- 18th Panzer Division
- 20th Motorised Infantry Division
XXXIV Armeekorps
- 45th Infantry Division
- 135th Infantry Division
XXXV Armeekorps
- 296th Infantry Division
- 95th Infantry Division
- 1st Cavalry Division

In fiction

The 1976 board game "Panzergruppe Guderian" designed by Jim Dunnigan and published by Avalon Hill covers the capture of Smolensk in 1941.

Panzer IV Ausf D of Panzergruppe 2

(Courtesy of Joe Imwalle)

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian inspecting a Panzer-Regiment in August 1941

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Sources used

Research by Shawn Bohannon
François de Lannoy & Josef Charita - Panzertruppen: German armored troops 1935-1945
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -