The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was an armored division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany that existed from August 1939 to May 1945. The Das Reich division took part in the invasions of France and the Soviet Union, and the division fought on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1944. The division was devastated by the 5th Guards Tank Army at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, and it was subsequently sent to France, where it fought against the Allied Powers. Das Reich massacred the villages of Oradour-sur-Glane and Tulle, and it was one of the last German units to retreat over the Seine River. In May 1945, the division ended the war in Austria and Hungary, surrendering to the US Army.