Design Overview & Tactical Role
Conceived as an interim light combat vehicle while Germany awaited the heavier Panzer III and IV, the Panzer II became the numerical spearhead of the Wehrmacht's campaigns in 1939 and 1940. Mounting a rapid-firing 2 cm KwK 30 autocannon capable of spewing 280 armor-piercing rounds per minute, its high speed and radio interoperability enabled rapid flanking movements.
Combat History & Battle Records
Accounting for nearly a thousand tanks in the Polish campaign and serving in North Africa with Rommel's Afrika Korps, the Panzer II was gradually retired from frontline service as anti-tank weaponry advanced, its reliable chassis living on as the Wespe self-propelled howitzer and Marder II tank destroyer.
Related Armored Vehicles (WWI & Interwar)
Modern
2014
Modern
2001
Cold War
1965
World War II
1942