Erich Ludendorff

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
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