Kuno Arndt von Steuben (

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

, 9 April 1855 – Berlin, 14 January 1935) was a Prussian military officer, and a general in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Life

He was born in a noble family, of which

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...

(1730–1794) is best known. He joined the Prussian Army at the age of 13. By 1911 he commanded the 36th Division as lieutenant general. In 1913 he was director of the

Prussian Military Academy The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für junge Offiziere der I ...

. Moltke had asked Kaiser for his promotion to

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

. Steuben was promoted on 19 August 1914, shortly after the beginning of World War I. At the outbreak of the war, he received command of the XVIII Reserve Corps. His corps was part of 4th Army, commanded by

Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg Albrecht, Duke and Crown Prince of Württemberg (Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph; 23 December 1865 – 31 October 1939) was the last crown prince of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a German military commander of World War I, and the head of ...

, on the march to the

Marne river The Marne (; ) is a river in France, an eastern tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the departments of France, departments of Haute-Marne, Marne (department), Marne, Seine-et-Ma ...

. It saw action in the

Battle of the Ardennes The Battle of the Ardennes took place during the First World War fought on the frontiers of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg from 21 to 23 August 1914. The German armies defeated the French and forced their retreat. The battle was part ...

, the

Second Battle of Champagne The Second Battle of Champagne (, utumn Battle in the First World War was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with the Third Battle of Artois in the north and ended with a French defeat. Battle On 25 Sep ...

and the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. For his services in the

, Steuben was awarded with the prestigious

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

. On 5 June 1917, he was sent to the

Salonika front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

to lead the 11th German Army. Together with his Bulgarian allies, he held the frontline until 15 September 1918, when the allies gained a crushing victory in the

Battle of Dobro Pole The Battle of Dobro Pole (; ), also known as the Breakthrough at Dobro Pole (), was a World War I battle fought between 15 and 18 September 1918. The battle was fought in the initial stage of the Vardar Offensive, in the Balkans Theatre. On 15 ...

and Bulgaria was forced to conclude an armistice. Von Steuben and his 11th Army had to withdraw behind the Danube into Hungary. After the German capitulation, they returned home on 8 December 1918. Von Steuben retired from the Army on 31 January 1919. He died in 1935 and was buried in the

Invalidenfriedhof The Invalids' Cemetery () is one of the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. It was the traditional resting place of the Prussian Army, and is regarded as particularly important as a memorial to the German Wars of Liberation of 1813–15. History Th ...

References

Prussian Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steuben, Kuno 1855 births 1935 deaths German Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery People from Eisenach Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Military personnel from Thuringia