The 2nd Panzer Army was a German armored formation that existed from 5 October 1941 to 8 May 1945, originating as "Panzer Group Guderian" on 5 June 1940. Guderian commanded the army until 25 December 1941, when the advance on Moscow during Operation Barbarossa had been ground down to a standstill. The panzer army was responsible for razing villages in Russia, killing 1,000 people (including forcing Soviet partisans and Jews to drag ploughs through minefields), and deporting over 18,500. In August 1943, the panzer army was sent to the Balkans to fight against the Yugoslav Partisans after suffering heavy losses at the Battle of Kursk, and it essentially became an infantry division. In March 1945, the army took part in the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills against Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia in Hungary, and Maximilian de Angelis surrendered the army in Austria on 8 May 1945.