Praun served during
World War I. He was retained in the
Reichswehr and then served in the
Wehrmacht; between 1935 and 1940 he commanded signals units. In 1940 he was then appointed Chief Signals Officer of Panzer Group Hoth and
Panzer Group Guderian in France. He was then posted to the
Eastern Front where he served as Chief Signals Officer of the
2nd Panzer Group. He later was the commanding officer of the 4th
Panzer Grenadier Brigade and then of the
18th Panzer Division, and the 129th and the 277th Divisions. When General
Erich Fellgiebel and then his deputy
Fritz Thiele were arrested and subsequently executed for their roles in the
20 July plot, Praun was appointed to succeed them on 1 November 1944 as Chief Signals Officer at the
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and
Oberkommando des Heeres and was promoted to
General der Nachrichtentruppe. ==Awards==