Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was the German general who, along with Paul von Hindenburg, was the leading force in defeating the Russians in World War I particularly at the Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes.
As head of the German General Staff's 2nd division from 1908 to 1913 Ludendorff was responsible for war planning. The so-called Schlieffen Plan to invade France through Belgium was developed at this time. He and Hindenburg were named the top German commanders in August 1916. By 1917, Ludendorff was the most powerful man in the German government. H.L Mencken, a war reporter at this time, wrote:
| “ | "In brief, one hears of Ludendorff, Ludendorff, whenever German officers utter more than twenty words about the war; his portrait hangs in every mess room; he is the god of every young lieutenant; his favorable notice is worth more to a division or corps commander than the ordre pour le mérite; he is, as it were, the esoteric Ulysses of the war" | ” |
He was responsible for much of the German military policy and for requesting an armistice with the allied forces to put an end to World War I. After the war he led a nationalist movement and took part with Hitler in his abortive coup attempt in Munich in 1923 (the so-called Beer Hall Putsch). However, Ludendorff severed his relationship with Hitler soon thereafter.
Sources
- Mencken, H.L, Ludendorff", The Atlantic, June 1917
- Columbia Encyclopedia
e