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Dr. Hermann
Joseph von Kuhl
(02.11.1856 - 04.11.1958)
place of birth: Koblenz, Rheinpreußen
Königreich
Preußen: AOK-Stabschef,
Generalleutnant
Imperial German general of infantry
who served as the capable chief of staff for several different
commanders during the war. Hermann was born on 2 November 1856 the son
a of a high-school teacher from Koblenz. He majored in philology and
literature at several institutions: Leipzig, Tübingen, Berlin and
Marburg. He retired from the Army at war's end with the rank of General
der Infanterie, publishing a number of texts on military science. He
was also awarded the Pour le Mérite for Arts and
Sciences in 1924. Kuhl received his title of nobility in 1913
during Wilhelm II's 25th anniversary as Kaiser of the Prussian Empire.
Kuhl began his military career in Cologne
in 1878, initially serving with the 5th Westphalian Infantry Regiment.
This was followed by an assignment to the Kriegsakademie
as an instructor in tactics and military history. He was head of the
3rd department of the General Staff and briefly the commander of the
25th Infantry Brigade at Münster from June 1913 to June 1914. Just
prior to the outbreak of hostilities, von Kuhl had worked his way up to
Senior Quartermaster (Oberquartiermeister) serving the Great General
Staff.
As the German First Army pushed through Belgium
and shot toward Paris, Generalmajor von Kuhl acted as von Kluck's First
Army Chief of Staff. Later, during the Battle of the Somme
(1916), Generalleutnant von Kuhl had transferred to Army
Group Crown Prince Rupprecht where he likewise served as
Chief of Staff. For exemplary service during that engagement, von Kuhl
received the Pour le Merite on 28 August. He added
the Oakleaves on 20 December of that same year. He also
saw action in the Ypres Salient. One of the most
competent commanders in the German Army, von Kuhl wrote the book
"Weltkrieg 1914-1918." Dr.h.c. Hermann von Kuhl spent last
few years living with his nephew in Frankfurt am Main. He died there on
4 November 1958 at the age of 102.
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