Who commanded the German 2nd Panzer Army?

The 2nd Panzer Army was a major German armoured formation during World War II, created from the 2nd Panzer Group in October 1941. General Rudolf Schmidt commanded this army on the Eastern Front. Notably, Schmidt was the older brother of Hans-Thilo Schmidt, an intelligence leak source who provided Enigma machine secrets to the French.

What we know

• The 2nd Panzer Army was formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. [2]
• General Rudolf Schmidt served as a commander of the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. [3]
• Rudolf Schmidt was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. [3]

Where to go next

• what caused itWhen was the 2nd Panzer Group formed?
• what followedWhat was the role of the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front?
• how it workedHow did the Wehrmacht operate its panzer armies?
• compared withWhat other panzer armies fought in the Soviet Union?
• whoWho was Heinz Guderian?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a family secret connect to French intelligence?Rudolf Schmidt's younger brother, Hans-Thilo Schmidt, sold vital secrets about the Enigma encryption machine to the French.

Sources

• [1]2nd Panzer Army (Wikidata Q210404) · CC0 1.0
• [2]2nd Panzer Army · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Rudolf Schmidt · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]4th Panzer Army · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Battle of Białystok–Minsk · CC BY-SA 4.0