German 2nd Light Division - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2nd Light Division was created in November 1938. In 1939 it fought in the Invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

. Afterwards it was reorganized as the 7th Panzer Division afterward, in October 1939.

As the 7th Panzer Division it participated in the 1940 Battle of France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

under the command of the soon-to-be-famous Erwin Rommel

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....

, earning its nickname Gespenster-Division ("Ghost Division",) because it advanced so rapidly into and beyond the French front lines that higher headquarters lost track of where it was. It remained in France on occupation duty until early 1941.

In June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

and fought on the Eastern Front until the spring of 1942, when it was shipped back to France for rehabilitation. It returned to the east in early 1943 and was used in the attempt to shore up the front line after the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...

and continued with Army Group South

Army Group South

Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...

as the Germans were pushed back through the Ukraine. In July 1944 it was transferred to Army Group Center and moved northward to fight in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

and Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

. It continued to be driven westward along with the front lines until it surrendered to the Soviets at Schwerin

Schwerin

Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...

in Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

at the war's end in May 1945.

War Crimes

Soldiers from the division took part in atrocities against Polish citizens during September Campaign.
On the 12th of September in the village of Kozłowice, soldiers of the division killed 5 Polish prisoners of war.
Near Opatowiec 45 Polish prisoners of war were killed by the soldiers of the division.

War Crimes

See also