The 2. Panzer-Division was formed on 15 October 1935 in Würzburg within Wehrkreis XIII as one of the original three German tank divisions of the Heer, initially commanded by Oberst Heinz Guderian and equipped primarily with Panzer I and Panzer II vehicles organized into Panzer-Regiment 3 and Panzer-Regiment 4 under Panzer-Brigade 2, supported by Schützen-Regiment 2 and other motorized elements. After participating in the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938, during which it advanced rapidly to Vienna but lost many vehicles to mechanical failures, the division was relocated there and largely manned by Austrian personnel. In September 1939 it invaded Poland as part of the 14. Armee of Heeresgruppe Süd, advancing from Slovakia toward Kraków and Warsaw. In May 1940, under XIX. Armeekorps of Gruppe Guderian, it played a key role in the Battle of France, crossing the Meuse at Sedan, reaching Abbeville on the Channel coast first among German units on 20 May, and contributing to the encirclement at Dunkirk before further advances into central France. After reorganization that transferred Panzer-Regiment 4 to help form the 13. Panzer-Division, it fought in the 1941 Balkans campaign, capturing Salonika and entering Athens. Transferred to the Eastern Front in autumn 1941 with Heeresgruppe Mitte, the division advanced nearly to Moscow during Operation Typhoon, then endured the Soviet winter counteroffensive and subsequent defensive battles around Rzhev. It participated in Unternehmen Zitadelle at Kursk in 1943 before suffering heavy losses in the ensuing retreats. Sent to France for refitting in early 1944 and equipped with Panther tanks, the division engaged Allied forces in Normandy, took part in the Mortain counterattack, and was nearly destroyed in the Falaise Pocket. Rebuilt once more, it advanced farthest toward the Meuse during the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944 before being forced back, and finally surrendered to American forces near Plauen in May 1945 after fighting in the Eifel and Rhine defenses.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Major im Generalstab Hans-Günther Stotten (1916-1945) was born on 7 October 1916 in Berlin-Charlottenburg as the son of an Oberst and entered military service in October 1934 with the 3. Kompanie of the 12. Sächsisches Reiter-Regiment at Grossenhain, later attending the Kriegsschule in Hannover before being commissioned Leutnant in Panzer-Regiment 3 on 1 January 1938. During the Polish campaign he earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 27 September and I. Klasse on 11 October 1939 after leading six Panzers near Zamosc to relieve an encircled Feldwach-Schwadron, routing a Polish battalion and capturing its commander. In the French campaign, as Führer of the 1. Kompanie of Panzer-Regiment 3 in the 2. Panzer-Division, he distinguished himself near Chalons by capturing an enemy battalion of some 900 men together with numerous machine-guns and three anti-tank guns; in a separate intense tank engagement he destroyed a 32-ton enemy tank, presumed to be a Char B1 bis, with his 37 mm gun using special ammunition, actions that brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 July 1940 and promotion to Oberleutnant. Serving as Adjutant of the I. Abteilung he took part in the Balkan campaign, advancing through Saloniki to Athens and then by sea to Brindisi, before joining the Russian campaign where on 2 October 1941 near Moscow he was severely wounded by a shell that struck his Panzer, surviving as the sole member of the crew. After recovery he was promoted Hauptmann on 1 April 1942 and served as Begleitoffizier to the Finnish General Tavela until September, when he transferred to North Africa, initially with Panzer-Regiment 5 and then leading companies and finally the I. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 8. There he particularly excelled in the defensive fighting at the Mareth-Stellung and during the opening of the Battle of Kasserine Pass on 19-20 February 1943, leading his Abteilung supported by Werfer-Regiment 71 into the pass and destroying many hostile anti-tank guns, later west of Gabes repulsing a superior enemy force with only eight Panzers and destroying five enemy tanks; though wounded by shell splinters in the head and a broken arm that necessitated his evacuation from Africa, he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 14 March 1943 and, as the 236th recipient, the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 10 May 1943 while still listed as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the I. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 8, having been promoted Major on 1 May. After convalescence he underwent Generalstabsausbildung from October 1943, briefly served with a Jäger-Division near Janina in early 1944, attended the Kriegsakademie in Hirschberg, and from August 1944 acted as Ic of Heeresgruppe Süd in the rank of Major i.G. On 4 April 1945 he was captured by Soviet forces near Vienna and was shot during an escape attempt the following day at Wolfsgraben in Niederdonau.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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