The German campaigns in Panzer Commander represent three major thrusts by German armor, covering the period between 1939 and 1944. The first campaign features the 21st Panzer Division, led by the legendary Erwin Rommel, which spent most of its time in the North African desert, scoring major victories against the British, but also suffering substantial casualties.

Rommel's division arrived in northern France in the summer of 1943, where it met up with the 125th Panzer Grenadiers. Major General Edgar Feuchtinger took over the 21st, but he was unable to restore its once-glorious reputation. Rommel resumed command and the division moved to Caen, west of Normandy, as a precaution in the event of an Allied invasion. When the Allies invaded Normandy, the 21st was reinforced and sent to the seacoast of eastern France, where it met heavy resistance. Although Rommel had some success against the British, stopping Patton's 3rd Army was another story. By August, the 21st Division was a shell of its once-powerful desert force. After heated battles against American armor at Lorraine, the 21st Panzer Division ended its tour on the eastern front, where it was eventually destroyed by the Soviet army near Berlin.

The second German campaign involves the 2nd Panzer Division, which was one of the original German armored divisions, led by tank pioneer General Heinz Guderian. In Panzer Commander, the 2nd appears first in southern Poland, followed by the Yugoslavia-Greece campaign Operation Marita. After seeing action in Greece, the 2nd Panzer's vehicles traveled by sea to Italy. When the Allies found out about the transfer, a submarine attack destroyed the combined forces of the 2nd and 5th Panzer Divisions.

Reformed and rearmed, the 2nd Panzer reached the eastern front and took part in the drive to Moscow. Turned back by Soviet forces, the 2nd was moved in 1944 to France, where it fought American armor at Normandy and eventually the Ardennes.

The third German campaign centers around Grossdeutschland, an elite infantry division sent to the western front to fight the French in 1940. The France and Belgium missions recount the division's successes and heavy casualties early in the war. Grossdeutschland was expanded to include an armored formation and later moved to the eastern front and participated in the ill-fated attacks on Moscow in 1941. After being turned back, the division moved to Belgorod and Kirovograd in the Ukraine. Although Grossdeutschland stopped several Soviet counterattacks, it suffered heavy losses, and the division was eventually transferred to the Ardennes, where it fought American forces at the Ourthe River.

Next: The 21st Panzer Division Campaign