Friedrich Kühn

Who was Friedrich Kühn?

General Friedrich Kühn was an armor general in the German army during World War II who was the chief of Wehrmacht Motor Transport and mechanization.

He joined the German Imperial Army in 1909 as an officer cadet and in World War I in the 32nd Infantry Regiment and had reached the rank of captain. He was then retained in the Reichswehr where he served in a motor transport battalion and as an inspector of transport troops until his retirement in 1928. He was then involved in the secret training of armored troops in Russia and returned to active military service in 1930.

He then served as an officer on the General Staff of the Army and commanded various panzer regiments and brigades, reaching the rank of generalmajor by 1940 when he was appointed commander of the 33rd Infantry Division. The 33rd Infantry Division became the 15th and 14th Panzer Divisions from March 1941 to June 1942. He was then promoted to generalleutnant and appointed general for army mechanization at the OKH. On 1 April 1943 he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe as the chief of wehrmacht motor transport and mechanization. He was killed in an air raid on 15 Feb 1944.