PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE 183
Viktor Kühne
MILITARY RISE
Otto Viktor Kühne was born in Mogilno (in Prussian Posen) on March 28, 1857, the son of a district administrator. At nineteen, young Viktor joined the Imperial German Army as a cadet in the First Kurhessian Field Artillery Regiment Number 11 based in Kassel. He was quickly promoted to first lieutenant in 1877 and served as battalion adjutant.
In 1888, Kühne began his studies at the Prussian War Academy. Afterwards, he was transferred to the Second Lorraine Field Artillery Regiment Number 34 in Metz. Then in 1893, Kühne was promoted to captain and became an instructor at the Field Artillery Gunnery School in Jüterbog.
Four years later in 1897, Kühne began working in the Field Artillery Section (A4) of the Prussian War Ministry. He was soon promoted to major on the 40th birthday of Kaiser Wilhelm II (January 27, 1899).
On July 3, 1902, Kühne became commander of the Field Artillery Regiment “von Scharnhorst” (First Hanoverian) Number 10. Then on April 24, 1904, Kühne took command of the Second Hanoverian Field Artillery Regiment Number 26 in Verden. Thirteen months later, he was promoted yet again, this time to lieutenant colonel.
In May 1907, Kühne was appointed commander of the Teaching Regiment of the Field Artillery Gunnery School in Jüterbog. Ten months later, he was made a full colonel. Then in the spring of 1910, Kühne became the overall commander of the Field Artillery Gunnery School. After another promotion to major general in May 1912, Kühne was appointed commander of the 30th Field Artillery Brigade (based in the Alsatian town of Straßburg) on July 2, 1913.
THE GREAT WAR
With the mobilization for war in the summer of 1914, Viktor Kühne was appointed commander of the 25th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Infantry Division. His unit was part of XVIII Corps, which was part of the German Fourth Army led by Albrecht, Duke and Crown Prince of Württemberg. Kühne’s men penetrated the Champagne region in France via neutral Belgium and participated in the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914. After the retreat from the Marne, the 25th Infantry Division was soon engaged in trench warfare near Roye. On the Kaiser’s 56th birthday (January 27, 1915), Kühne was promoted to lieutenant general. But four months later, he was wounded by flying shrapnel!
In February 1916, Kühne’s division was transferred to Verdun. His men joined Crown Prince Wilhelm’s German Fifth Army, the main force that opened the horrific battle that lasted ten months!
On August 23, 1916, Kühne was appointed temporary commander of XII Corps near Reims, filling in for Horst Edler von der Planitz. Two weeks later, OHL (the German High Command) named Kühne the head of the newly-formed Generalkommando Number 54. This unit was first used in Verdun, but it was soon transferred to Hungary in the autumn of 1916.
Soon after arriving in Hungary in late October, OHL established Army Group Kühne (headquartered in Petroszény). This new unit consisting of four infantry divisions (the 41st, 109th, 301st, and 11th Bavarian) along with the Sixth and Seventh Cavalry Divisions. On December 2nd, Army Group Kühne fought in the Battle of the Argeș. Four days later, his men were in front of Bucharest. In recognition of his leadership, Viktor Kühne was awarded the Order Pour le Mérite on December 11, 1916.
As 1917 got underway, Kühne fought in the Battle of the Putna. Then in February, he was sent back to the Western Front to lead IX Reserve Corps, replacing Max von Boehn. But the time in command was short… and on March 13th, Kühne took over XI Corps, replacing Otto von Plüskow.
In the Second Battle of the Aisne, Kühne led this unit under the name Group Vailly. For such leadership, he received the star of the Order of the Red Eagle (Second Class with oak leaves and swords) on July 12, 1917.
On August 27th, Kühne was sent to Verdun to head V Reserve Corps (replacing Otto von Garnier) and Group Ornes (part of the Verdun front). But by the end of 1917, he was back at HQ with XI Corps, replacing Franz Freiherr von Soden.
As 1918 dawned, Kühne was responsible for training divisions for the planned spring offensive known as the Kaiserschlacht. In February, he was deployed on the left wing of the German 17th Army near Cambrai. Kühne fought with Georg von der Marwitz in the crucial summer battles at Hamel and Amiens.
But by the autumn of 1918, defeat was clearly on the horizon! As the fighting came to a close, Kühne was charged with heading the defensives of eastern Belgium. After the November armistice, he led XI Corps back to its peacetime garrison in Kassel for demobilization.
FINAL YEARS
When the war officially ended at Versailles, Viktor Kühne tendered his resignation in July 1919. However, he was asked to remain in service until the dissolution of the general command. On the last day of September 1919, Kühne retired with the brevet rank of General der Artillerie.
Kühne spent a great deal of his retirement in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, devoting himself to the study of foreign languages and cultures. The General der Artillerie passed away on February 9, 1945 in Ellinghausen bei Meiningen, three months before Germany lost the Second World War. He was eighty-seven years old.
