5th Panzer Army The 5th Panzer Army , also known as Panzer Group West and Panzer Group Eberbach ( German : " 5 . Panzer - Armee " , " Panzergruppe West " , " Panzergruppe Eberbach " ) was a panzer army which saw action in the Western front and North Africa . The remnants of the army surrendered in the Ruhr pocket in 1945 . History . North Africa . The 5th Panzer Army was created on 8 December 1942 as a command formation for armoured units forming to defend Tunisia against Allied attacks which threatened after the success of the Allied Operation " Torch " landings in Algeria and Morocco . The army fought alongside the Italian First Army as a part of Army Group Afrika . The army capitulated on 13 May 1943 , along with its commander Hans - Jürgen von Arnim . The army was officially disbanded on 30 June 1943 . Normandy . The army was reformed on 24 January 1944 as Panzer Group West , the armoured reserve for OB West . The new army was placed under the command of Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg . The method of employment of Panzer Group West in the event of an allied invasion was the subject of much controversy , with OB West commander Gerd von Rundstedt and Army Group B commander Erwin Rommel favouring different methods . Rundstedt believed that the panzer group should be held in reserve some distance from the front , to counterattack Allied penetrations . However , Rommel was convinced that Allied airpower and artillery would not allow the Germans the freedom to move large formations , and so insisted that the panzers should be deployed much closer to the frontline . In the event , Hitler refused to allow his commanders to commit the panzer group without his explicit authorisation , and so when the Allied Invasion began on 6 June 1944 , Panzer Group West remained immobile . By June 8 Geyr had been able to rush three panzer divisions northward to defend Caen against British and Canadian forces advancing on that city from their beachheads . Geyr planned to launch these divisions in a full - scale counterattack that would drive the British and Canadians back into the sea . On June 10 , Schweppenburg was wounded in an air raid on his field headquarters . Geyr ’ s reinforced tank units managed to prevent the British advance for another month , but he was nevertheless relieved of his command on July 2 , after seconding Rundstedt ’ s request that Adolf Hitler authorize a strategic withdrawal from Caen . On July 2 , he was replaced by Heinrich Eberbach . The panzer group fought against the Allied forces in Normandy , suffering heavy losses and eventually finding many of its divisions trapped in the Falaise Pocket . After the shattered remnants of the panzer group escaped from Falaise , it began a retreat towards the German border . Retreat - Ardennes . In August , the remaining elements of Panzer Group West were reorganized as Fifth Panzer Army , with a combat formation remaining in action under the title Panzer Group Eberbach . After a brief period under Sepp Dietrich , command of the army passed to Hasso von Manteuffel . The army saw heavy combat on the German border against Allied forces , the panzer divisions suffering heavily from Allied ground attack aircraft . In November , the 5th Panzer Army began forming up in the Ardennes , alongside the newly formed 6th SS Panzer Army under Dietrich . Both formations took part in the Battle of the Bulge , the Fifth Panzer Army suffering heavy losses in battles around Bastogne and in the armour battles around Celles and Dinant , the furthest - west points of advance . After the offensive was cancelled , it continued its fighting withdrawal to the German border . In March , it was involved in efforts to eliminate the American bridgehead over the Rhine at the Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen . The 5th Panzer Army was encircled and trapped in the Ruhr Pocket , and surrendered on 17 April 1945 .