Friedrich Kühn (General)

Friedrich Fritz Kühn (born August 7, 1889 in Eutin , † February 15, 1944 in Berlin ) was a German general in the armored force in World War II . As head of the Wehrmacht motor vehicle system, he was also the authorized representative for motorization and for German motor vehicle systems in the four-year plan .

Life

Kühn began his military career on March 3, 1909 with the 2nd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 32 , where he was promoted to ensign on November 19, 1909 . With the outbreak of World War I , he came to the front in 1914 and received several awards.

After the end of the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr and deployed in the 21st Rifle Regiment in the spring of 1920 . At the stage of the formation of the Reichswehr, he was used from October 1, 1922 as the chief of a company in the 17th Infantry Regiment . As a cavalry master he was active from October 1, 1922 in training with the 3rd (Prussian) cavalry regiment near Rathenow . From 1925 to at least the end of 1926, he served as the head of a company in Motor Vehicle Department 6 near Hanover . In the first half of 1927 he was squadron chief of the 4th (Prussian) cavalry regiment near Potsdam .

In the course of the cooperation with the Red Army he was commanded on October 1, 1928 as head of a course in Kazan in Russia, where he was supposed to gain experience with the Russian armored forces. After his return from Russia he came to the Reichswehr Ministry in early 1930 to inspect the transport troops (Inst. 6). From July 1, 1931, he was part of the staff of the 1st Division of the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment near Schweidnitz .

When the 4th Panzer Regiment was set up at the Ohrdruf military training area on October 15, 1935 , he was the first commander to take command of the new unit. On November 10, 1938 he was appointed commander of the armored forces school near Wünsdorf .

Second World War

After he had received the order to take over the 3rd Panzer Brigade on February 10, 1940 , he took command on March 1, 1940. In September 1940 he was given command of the 3rd Panzer Division . In 1940 he took command of the 33rd Infantry Division for a month from October 5th to November 1st. After the establishment of the 15th Panzer Division on November 1, 1940, he commanded the division until March 21, 1941. From March 22, 1941 to July 1, 1942, he led the 14th Panzer Division . After moving to Hungary, he commanded the division on the Balkans campaign .

Plenipotentiary of the German Reich

After being transferred to the reserve, he was appointed General for Army Motorization at the Army High Command on September 10, 1942 . In this position he performed tasks for the entire armed forces . On February 23, 1943, by a Führer order, he was appointed head of the Wehrmacht's motor vehicle system and army motorization. In this position he was also in the position of authorized representative for German motor vehicles in the four-year plan. According to the above-mentioned Fuehrer's order, he was supposed to ensure the provision of motor vehicles on the Eastern Front.

Kühn was killed on February 15, 1944 in the Hotel Bristol in an Allied aircraft bombing raid on Berlin.

Rank

Ensign on November 19, 1909
Lieutenant with patent on August 22, 1910
First lieutenant on February 24, 1915
Rittmeister on January 27, 1918
Major on February 1, 1931
Lieutenant Colonel on July 1, 1934
Colonel on August 1, 1936
Major General July 1, 1940
Lieutenant General on July 1, 1942
General of the armored forces on April 1, 1943

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords
Wound badge (1918) in black
Hanseatic Cross Hamburg
Knight of Honor 2nd Class of the Grand Ducal Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig with the silver crown
Grand Ducal Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross II. And I. Class
Knight's Cross 2nd class of the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order with swords
Princely Schwarzburg Cross of Honor III. Class with swords
Wehrmacht service award 1st to 4th class
Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
Tank battle badge in silver
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 4, 1940
German cross in gold on April 22, 1942

Individual evidence

↑ in: Geheime Kommandosache from January 16, 1943, in: Martin Moll, "Führer-Erasse" 1939-1945: Edition of all handed down, not printed in the Reichsgesetzblatt, written by Hitler during the Second World War in the areas of state, party, Economy, occupation policy and military administration, Stuttgart 1997, p. 314 and p. 321
↑ Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945, Volume 7, Bissendorf 2004, p. 283
↑ Manfred Zeidler, Reichswehr and Red Army 1920-1933: Paths and stations of an unusual collaboration, Munich 1993, p. 193
^ In: Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945, Bissendorf 2004, p. 283: deputy leadership of the division
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 130
↑ ^a ^b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 480.

personal data
SURNAME	Kühn, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kühn, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German General of the Armored Force and Chief of the Wehrmacht Force System
DATE OF BIRTH	August 7, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH	Eutin
DATE OF DEATH	February 15, 1944
Place of death	Berlin

[1] : Geheime Kommandosache from January 16, 1943, in: Martin Moll, "Führer-Erasse" 1939-1945: Edition of all handed down, not printed in the Reichsgesetzblatt, written by Hitler during the Second World War in the areas of state, party, Economy, occupation policy and military administration, Stuttgart 1997, p. 314 and p. 321

[2] Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945, Volume 7, Bissendorf 2004, p. 283

[3] Manfred Zeidler, Reichswehr and Red Army 1920-1933: Paths and stations of an unusual collaboration, Munich 1993, p. 193

[4] In: Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945, Bissendorf 2004, p. 283: deputy leadership of the division

[Rangliste-5] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 130

[Scherzer-6] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 480.