Viktor Kuehne

General Viktor Kuehne

Otto Viktor Kühne (born March 28, 1857 in Mogilno ; † February 9, 1945 in Ellingshausen near Meiningen ) was a Prussian general of the artillery and commanding general of the XI. Army Corps during the First World War .

Life

Kühne was born the son of a district administrator and in 1876, after graduating from high school, joined the 1st Kurhessian Field Artillery Regiment No. 11 as an avantageur . Promoted to lieutenant in 1877 , he remained a department adjutant for several years . In 1888 he was assigned to the War Academy and then transferred to the 2nd Lorraine Field Artillery Regiment No. 34 , where he was promoted to captain . In 1893 he became a teacher at the field artillery shooting school in Jüterbog . From 1897 to 1903 Kühne worked in the War Ministry , where he became a major . On July 3, 1902, he became the commander of the 1st division of the field artillery regiment "von Scharnhorst" (1st Hannoversches) No. 10 and on April 24, 1904 he took over as commander of the 2nd Hanoverian field artillery regiment No. 26 . In this function he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 18, 1905 . In 1907 he was appointed commander of the teaching regiment of the field artillery shooting school, where he was promoted to colonel in 1908 . He was transferred to Jüterbog in 1910 as commander of the field artillery shooting school. With his promotion to major general followed on July 2, 1913, Kühne was appointed commander of the 30th Field Artillery Brigade in Strasbourg .

First World War

With the mobilization Kühne was commander of the XVIII. Army Corps ( 4th Army ) belonging to the Grand Ducal Hessian Division . The division penetrated via Belgium into Champagne and took part in the Battle of the Marne in September . After the retreat from the Marne , the division was engaged in trench warfare for Roye . Here he was promoted to lieutenant general on January 27, 1915 . A shrapnel wounded him on May 29, 1915. The division was one of the attack divisions of the 5th Army that began the attack on Verdun on February 21, 1916 .

On August 23, 1916, he was temporarily with the guidance it from Reims lying General Command of the XII. Army Corps instructed. On September 4, 1916 it appointed emperor to Commanding General of the newly formed General Command (eg V.) no. 54 . This was first used in Verdun , but was transferred to Hungary on October 12th .

16 days later the lieutenant general received the order to take over the leadership of a newly formed army group near Petroszény . It consisted of the 41st , 109th , 11th Bavarian and 301st infantry divisions and the “Schmettow” cavalry corps ( 6th and 7th cavalry divisions ). On December 2, 1916, the Kühne group fought in the Battle of the Argesch . On December 6th, his divisions were in front of Bucharest . In recognition of the triumphal march, he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on December 11, 1916 . In January 1917 she fought in the Battle of the Putna .

On 2 February 1917, he became the commanding general of the prior Ypres lying IX. Reserve Corps appointed. But already on March 13th he took over the XI. Army Corps. In the Battle of the Aisne he led the group "Vailly" for their leadership on July 12th, he received the star for the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class with oak leaves and swords. After he had taken over part of the Verdun front, the "Ornes" group, as commanding general of the 5th Reserve Corps on August 27, 1917 , on November 21 he was again headed the XI. Army Corps. At the beginning of January 1918, he was responsible for training divisions for the planned spring offensive . In February he was deployed on the left wing of the 17th Army near Cambrai . At the end of the war he was commissioned by the Supreme Army Command to explore the eastern half of Belgium for defense.

Weimar Republic

After the armistice , the General Command of the XI. Army corps relocated to Kassel , its place of peace. The government responded to his resignation , submitted in July 1919, with a request to remain in service until the General Command was dissolved. On September 30, 1919, he was then with the character as a general of artillery to the disposition made and retires.

He retired to Berlin-Wilmersdorf back and dealt after his defection in retirement with foreign languages and cultural history studies.

family

Kühne married Maria von Eschwege (1862–1935), a great-granddaughter of Ludwig Emil Grimm , in 1882 . The marriage resulted in daughter Therese (1895–1961), among others, who in 1919 married the intelligence officer Herbert von Bose (1893–1934) , who was later murdered by the SS . By marriage, Kühne was also related to the Lejeune, Riedel, Thesing and Eschwege families.

literature

• Hanns Möller: The history of the knights of the order “pour le merite” in World War 1914–1918. Volume 1: A-L. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 636–638.
• For the 100th birthday. In: Soldatenzeitung. Volume 7. No. 5, May 1957, p. 9.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ General Viktor Kühne. For the 50th anniversary of the service of the last commanding general of the XI. Corps. In: Reichsgruppe Industrie: Zeitschrift. Issue 56, 1927, p. 107.
2. ↑ Bernd Heidenreich: Culture and Politics. The Grimms. 2003, p. 265.
3. ↑ Saxony and Anhalt. Issue 11, 1935.