Erich Ludendorff

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Paul von Hindenburg (left) and Erich Ludendorff discuss strategy for the German army during World War I. Reproduced by permission of Corbis Corporation. Tannenberg and Beyond In August 1914, the Russian army had surprised the Germans with an unexpectedly strong attack on Germany’s easternmost province of Prussia, home of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Even worse, the German general in charge had panicked and ordered his army to retreat. Ludendorff seemed the perfect man to coordinate the troops and supplies that would be needed to stop the Russian advance. However, because he was not nobility, he could not command an army. So the German general staff tapped retired general Paul von Hindenburg to take the command, with Ludendorff as his chief of staff. Though the two men had never met, they soon learned to work together well: Ludendorff made all of the important plans and decisions, and Hindenburg gave the orders. Within days of taking charge, Ludendorff had reorganized the German war effort and launched an attack on the Russians. Exploiting Russian mistakes and a deep hatred between two Russian generals, Ludendorff and Hindenburg’s 100 World War I: Biographies
troops soon routed the Russians, taking ninety thousand Russian prisoners and causing another fifty thousand Russian casualties in the Battle of Tannenberg. This battle was one of the most decisive victories in a war that soon became known more for its stalemates than for its dramatic triumphs. But Ludendorff and Hindenburg did not stop there. For the next two years they drove Russian troops backward all across the Eastern Front, scoring a string of victories that stood in sharp contrast to the deadlock along the Western Front. By 1916 many within the German military believed that only Hindenburg and Ludendorff—widely known as “The Duo” or simply “HL”— could win the war on the Western Front. Total War When Ludendorff and Hindenburg were asked to lead the German war effort on the Western Front in August 1916, they were given unprecedented powers. Hindenburg was named chief of the general staff, and Ludendorff became his first quartermaster general—a title he preferred to “second general” because he did not want to be second at anything. The two believed that the only way to win was with the all out support of the entire German people and the fullest extension of German military efforts. With the kaiser’s support, Ludendorff and Hindenburg schemed to remove any general or politician who opposed their plan for winning the war. By February 1917 they had removed the statesmen who opposed unrestricted submarine warfare. In that same month they sent out German submarines to try to disrupt English shipping so severely that England would be driven from the war. By July 1917 Ludendorff and Hindenburg told Kaiser Wilhelm II that he must get rid of the chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921), who wished to negotiate for peace, or else they would resign. Bethmann Hollweg was forced out, and Ludendorff and Hindenburg assumed nearly complete control of the German government. From that point on, Germany was in essence a military dictatorship, with Ludendorff calling all the shots. Ludendorff and Hindenburg were not directly involved in planning battles, and they rarely traveled to the front to see soldiers in action. Instead they stayed at their comfortable headquarters and made plans that they asked others to Erich Ludendorff 101
Page 1 and 2: Erich Ludendorff April 9, 1865 Krus
Page 3: describes Ludendorff as “generall
Page 7 and 8: negotiations in a position of power

Erich Ludendorff

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