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Otto Viktor Kühne
(28.03.1857 - 09.02.1945)
place of birth: Mogilno, Posen (Poznan,
Poland)
Königreich
Preußen: KG,
Generalleutnant (Art)
Artillery specialist Generalleutnant Kühne commanded Imperial
German troops at both the divisional and corps level during the Great
War. Viktor was born into the family of a Landrat
(District Administrator) and entered the military service in 1876. He
attended the Prussian Military Academy and taught at the Field Artillery Gunnery
School in Jüterbog. He also worked for
several years in the Field Artillery Section (A4) at Prussia's War
Ministry. Kühne
was selected in 1910 as Director of the Field Artillery Gunnery School.
Prior to the Great War,
Generalmajor Kühne
was in command of 30th Field Artillery Brigade headquartered in Strasbourg. As Germany
mobilized, he was selected to command 25th Infantry Division in support
of Duke Albrecht's Fourth Army. Those forces made their initial push
into Belgium and were also participants in the First Battle
of the Marne in September 1914. After his division pulled
back to the trenches near Roye, Kühne
was promoted to Generalleutnant in early 1915 and was also injured by
grenade shrapnel later that spring. His division was transferred to Verdun
in February 1916 to join the attack forces supporting Fifth Army.
Following a temporary stint in command of XII. Army Corps near Reims,
OHL (German High Command) named him the head of the newly-formed
Generalkommando Nr.54. This unit was first engaged at Verdun
but was transferred in October 1916 to the Eastern Theater in
Hungary.
Soon after arriving in Hungary, however, OHL
established Army Group Kühne,
headquartered in Petroszeny and consisting of four infantry divisions
(41.ID, 109.ID. 301.ID, and 11.Bav.ID) along with the 6th and 7th
Cavalry Divisions. This force was first engaged during the December
1916 Battle of the River Arges and successfully
pushed through to the Romanian capital of Bucharest. It was for his
leadership during this event that Generalleutnant Kühne
received the Pour le Merite. In February 1917, he
was sent back to the Western Front to take command of IX. Reserve Corps
headquarters in Flanders, but found himself in command of XI. Army
Corps exactly one month later. Kühne
led this corps as Gruppe Vailly during the Second
Battle of the Aisne in April 1917. He was sent back to Verdun
in August to command V. Reserve Corps but soon returned to XI. Corps
headquarters. Soldiers under his command were involved in the
Spring Offensive of 1918, and as the War came
to a close, Kühne was charged
with heading the defensives of eastern Belgium. After the Armistice, he
led XI. Corps back to its peacetime garrison in Kassel for
demobilization.
In his personal life, General Kühne
was married to Maria von Eschwege, the great granddaughter of artist
Ludwig Emil Grimm. The couple had a daughter, Therese, who was later to
become the wife of Herbert Bose, an official who served as
Reichskanzler Franz von Papen's press chief. Following the
war, Kühne was brevetted to
the rank of General of Artillery in September 1919. He spent a great
deal of his retirement in Berlin, devoting himself to the study of
foreign languages and cultures. General Kühne
passed away on 9 February 1945 in Ellinghausen bei Meiningen.
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Generalleutnant |
27.01.1915 |
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Pour
le Mérite |
11.12.1916 |
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