Hermann von Kuhl

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General von Kuhl, 1914

Hermann Josef Kuhl , von Kuhl since 1913 , (born November 2, 1856 in Koblenz , † November 4, 1958 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a Prussian infantry general and military historian .

Life

origin

Hermann was the son of Matthias Joseph Kuhl (1830-1906) and his wife Juliane Amalie, née Boecking (1830-1901). His father was a professor, later rector of the Progymnasium and an honorary citizen of the city of Jülich .

education

After taking his Abitur exam in 1873, Kuhl first studied philosophy, classical philology, German studies and comparative linguistics in Leipzig , Tübingen , Marburg and Berlin and graduated in 1878 with his dissertation De Saliorum carminibus with the grade magna cum laude . During his studies he became a member of the Leipzig University Choir St. Pauli .

Military career

He then joined the 5th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 53 of the Prussian Army on October 1, 1878 as a flag boy . There he was on 12 August 1879 second lieutenant , and on February 16, 1889 First Lieutenant promoted. From there he moved as an adjutant to the Wesel district command , then to the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm I." (2nd East Prussian) No. 3 in Königsberg . He then attended the War Academy in Berlin and then moved to the General Staff as head of department . There he was promoted to major general on June 4, 1912 . For the 25th anniversary of Wilhelm II's reign , Kuhl was raised to the hereditary Prussian nobility on June 16, 1913 . The last position before the First World War he was chief quartermaster in the General Staff until August 2, 1914 .

During the First World War, from August 2, 1914, Kuhl initially worked as the Army Chief of Staff in the Army High Command of the 1st Army on the Western Front . His promotion to lieutenant general took place on April 18, 1915. On September 22 of the same year he became chief of staff of the 12th Army and since November 24th he was in the same position in the 6th Army . On August 28, 1916, he moved to the "Kronprinz Rupprecht" Army Group on the Western Front, where he was Chief of Staff until the end of the war. During this time he worked closely with Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff , who were his superiors and predecessors in office.

After the end of the war, he led the troops under his command back home and was then transferred to the army officers on January 4, 1919. Kuhl then submitted his departure, which he was granted on January 12, 1919. On September 10, 1919, he received the character of General of the Infantry with seniority from January 12, 1919.

Civil life

In retirement, Kuhl pursued military science studies on the First World War and published a number of books and essays on the subject. He was a member of the historical commission of the Reichsarchiv and from 1924 to 1938 also editor of the German officers' journal.

The German military historian Hans Meier-Welcker assesses his writings as follows: "He made a significant contribution to the historical understanding of the world war, even if it was not free from apology for the time being."

Kuhl died in 1958 at the age of 102 in Frankfurt am Main in the house of his nephew Heinrich Schlusnus , with whom he had lived since 1951.

family

Kuhl married Helene Richter (1865–1933) on September 24, 1889 in Wesel. The couple had the following children:

  • Hilda (* 1890), teacher
  • Hermann (1895–1925)

Awards

Hermann von Kuhl was one of the few owners who was awarded both the "military class" and the "peace class" of the Pour le Mérite.

Fonts

literature

  • Hans Meier-Welcker :  Kuhl, Hermann von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 251 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Wolfgang Schütz: Koblenz heads. People from the city's history - namesake for streets and squares. 2nd Edition. Publishing house for advertising papers, Mülheim-Kärlich 2005.
  • Hans Möller: General of the Infantry v. Kuhl 96 years old. In: Wehrwissenschaftliche Rundschau. Volume 2, 1952, Issue 11, p. 550.
  • Hanns Möller : Festschrift for the 100th birthday of the General of the Infantry AD Dr. phil. Hermann von Kuhl. (Secondary title: A life of 100 years). Mittler & Sohn, Frankfurt / Main 1956.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Meißner (Ed.): Alt-Herren-Directory of the German Singers. Leipzig 1934, p. 76.
  2. ↑ Hans Meier-Welcker: Kuhl, Hermann von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, pp. 251 f., Here p. 251.
personal data
SURNAME Kuhl, Hermann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kuhl, Hermann Josef von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian infantry general and military historian
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH Koblenz
DATE OF DEATH 4th November 1958
Place of death Frankfurt am Main