Ernst Richard Kaden
(07.03.1862 - 30.09.1948)
place of birth:  Dresden
Königreich Sachsen:  Bde-Kdr,  Generalleutnant ch.


Royal Saxon general officer Richard Kaden was an infantry brigade commander during the Great War. He was born into a military family and began his service career with Grenadier Regiment Nr. 101 in Dresden. 

General Kaden was in command of Infanterie Brigade Nr. 48 on 2 August 1914 as Germany marched to war. His brigade, subordinate to Krug von Nidda's Infanterie-Division Nr. 24, remained active on the Western Front near Lille and in the Artois. In early 1915, the brigade was reorganized into Infanterie Brigade Nr. 116 and fell under command of Generalleutnant von Gersdorff's Infanterie Division Nr. 58. They were shipped off to the Eastern Front in the summer of 1915 for the August-September Offensive and then returned West in early 1916 to be thrown into the meat grinder known as Verdun.

Generalmajor Kaden lost hundreds of soldiers at Verdun, including close staff associates when his headquarters facility took direct artillery fire. Kaden became openly critical of how his brigade was being used, and of the wider conduct of the Verdun Campaign, in the process making several enemies within Chief of General Staff Falkenhayn's faction. Understanding he would thus not be selected for divisional command, he tendered his resignation and was placed on the semi-retired list (zur Disposition) in August 1916.

Kaden was later recalled to function as the administrative commander of Infanterie-Brigade Nr. 89 Headquarters in Zwickau for the remainder of the War, receiving an honorary promotion to Generalleutnant in June 1918. All three of General Kaden's sons served as Saxon officers on the Western Front, with two of them being killed in action. Kaden continued active with the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic and retired permanently from military service in 1920 after over a 40-year career.

	Generalleutnant	17.06.1918  (charakter)
	Militär-St. Heinrich	15.10.1914  Ritter  ( 27.04.1916:  Kommandeur II)