|
Richard Kaden
(07.03.1862 - 30.09.1948)
place of birth: Dresden, Sachsen (Saxony)
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 (Komtur II:
27.04.1916) |
| |
| * thanks to Andy Baus
for his assistance |
| |
|
