- For the Steel Division: Normandy 44 unit see SD:Panzer II Luchs
Panzer II Luchs is a German Tank unit in Steel Division II.
Background[ | ]
Sd.Kfz. 121 (VK 6.22 before adoption) was intended to be a stop-gap tank, to give Germany's fledgling panzer units proper fighting tanks immediately, due to delays in Panzer III and Panzer IV production. It was an evolution of the Panzer I, equipped with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon (KwK 38 in later versions) and a coaxial MG 34, light armor (later severely thickened due to the experiences of the Spanish Civil War), decent mobility and range. Though intended to be a stopgap model, it eventually became the principal light tank of the Reich for most of World War II, with production ceasing in 1943. Nearly 1 900 tanks were manufactured by that point, and the Panzer II together with its various conversions remained in service until the end of the war.
The L variant, named Luchs (Lynx), was an overhaul of the Panzer II created after production ceased. Envisaged as a recon vehicle, 100 Lynxes were created between September 1943 and January 1944. It was a powerful light reconnaissance tank, with a Schachtellaufwerk road wheel arrangement, a powerful engine allowing it to reach 60 km/h, solid armor for a light tank, and a 2 cm KwK 38 paired with a single 7.92mm MG 34 machine gun allowing it to engage targets in accordance with Germany's aggressive recon doctrine.
Along with the Sturmgeschütz-Begleitkompanie, StuG-Brigade 325 which supported 5 Cavalerie Motorizata had a Begleit Panzer Batterie which had 14 Panzer II in a three platoon of 4 Panzer II along with a command element of two Panzer II.
Stug.Brig. 667 which supported 14. Infanterie had two Begleit Panzer Batteries to escort their StuG III.