page_title: Joseph E. Kuhn
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Joseph E. Kuhn / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: American General in Conference with French officers. Left to right (...) General Claudet, commanding general, 17th french army corps, Major General Joseph E. Kuhn, commanding officer, 79th division, Vacherauville, Meuse, France
context_page_description: Joseph E. Kuhn was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and was most notable for his command of the 79th Division during World War I, and his post-war commands of IX Corps, Schofield Barracks, and Vancouver Barracks.
  A native of Leavenworth, Kansas, Kuhn graduated at the top of his United States Military Academy class of 1885; assigned to the Engineers, he carried out rivers and harbors construction and maintenance assignments in Detroit and San Francisco. He also served on the USMA faculty, and planned and oversaw construction of several buildings at the academy. During the Spanish–American War, he served as assistant to the Chief of Engineers, a role which included supervising Engineer projects related to the coastal defenses of the United States.
  Kuhn's later career included serving as an observer of Japan's army during the Russo-Japanese War, and Germany's at the start of World War I. During the war, Kuhn commanded the 79th Division, and then the IX Corps.
context_section_description: In January 1917, Kuhn was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as president of the United States Army War College.  In addition to preparing field grade officers to exercise command and staff responsibilities at the division and corps level during the war, Kuhn also had a role in designing the brigades and divisions the Army would field for the war, as well as preparation of initial mobilization and training plans.
  In August 1917, Kuhn was promoted to temporary major general and assigned to command of the newly formed 79th Division.  In late 1917, Tasker H. Bliss, then serving as Army Chief of Staff, was assigned as the U.S. representative to the Supreme War Council; Kuhn was among those considered to succeed Bliss.  Kuhn made known his preference for a combat command, and remained in charge of the 79th Division, while Peyton C. March was selected for the Chief of Staff position.
  Kuhn commanded the 79th Division during its organization and training at Fort Meade, Maryland until July 1918, when the unit embarked for France.  He then led the division during its combat in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, including the capture of Montfaucon.  After the war, he commanded the IX Corps from February to March 1919, after which he returned to command of the 79th Division so he could lead it on its return to the United States.  The 79th Division was demobilized at Fort Dix, New Jersey and Fort Meade in May and June, 1919.
caption: Joseph Kuhn, 79th division, conferring with general Henri Claudel, French 17th army corps, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Vacherauville, 31 October 1918
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