The incredible industriousness, unwaveringness and exactingness that Erich Ludendorff is famous for made him a legendary man with tremendous power over the fate of all of Germany in the early twentieth century.
Education and the beginning of a military career
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorf was born on April 9, 1865 in the village of Krushevnya, located near the city of Poznan in the territory of former Prussia. Caring for the future of his son, his father sent him to study at the higher cadet school in Berlin, and then to the Military Academy. After completing the training, he was sent for six months to Russia to improve knowledge of the Russian language.
In 1906, Erich Ludendorff began to teach tactics and military history at the Military Academy, and after a couple of years he headed the operations department of the German General Staff. In 1913 he was appointed chief of the regiment in Dusseldorf, and then commander of the 85th Infantry Brigade in Strasbourg.
Brave deed
During the mobilization period (August 1914), Ludendorff held the position of Chief Quartermaster of the headquarters of the 2nd Army, which operated on the territory of Belgium.
His first baptism of fire occurred at Luttih. At night, German troops, whose purpose was a surprise attack on the fortress, made a breakthrough between the fronts. During this maneuver, the brigade commander von Wussow was killed, and Ludendorff, taking the leadership on himself, boldly led the people into battle. A little later, he, along with his adjutant, ahead of the troops, rushed by car to an enemy garrison. Surrendering to panic, the enemy quickly surrendered to the winner.
For this brave deed, Erich Ludendorff, whose biography is full of military events and exploits, was personally awarded by the Emperor Wilhelm II the Order of Pourle Merite.
Hindenburg assistant
Ludendorff was soon appointed to the post of chief of staff of the 8th Army, located in East Prussia. The leadership of the German army was carried out by Paul von Hindenburg. The fate of these two people will be linked for a long time.
Despite some superiority of the Russian troops, the
German army rather successfully conducted military maneuvers. And Erich Ludendorf by the end of 1914 was appointed commander in chief on the Eastern Front. In early 1915, this man was awarded oak branches to the Order of Pourle Merite for military achievements.
At the end of the summer of 1916, Hindenburg was appointed chief of the Field General Staff, and at that time Ludendorff received the post of supreme quartermaster general. This arrangement of military ranks established between the commanders the same responsibility for the management of operations, and could also contribute to some misunderstanding between them. However, complete unity in their views on the conduct of hostilities prevailed. Both commanders adhered to the strategy of brutal destruction, conducting operations from the rear and flanks of the enemy.
Impact on country policy
In early 1917, Germany launched a large-scale submarine war, and in 1918 a military campaign was launched against Soviet Russia. The initiators of such actions were Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. Photos and archival documents speak a lot about the characters, deeds and historical significance of these individuals.
Ludendorff can be judged as an outstanding tactician-strategist, organizer, but he lacked political ability. He was too straightforward, inflexible, incapable of compromises and quite passionate. He was also an adherent of the regime of military dictatorship and a supporter of the ruthless suppression of any manifestations of popular discontent. In addition, he adhered to rather cruel methods of warfare.
In the spring of 1918, Ludendorff launched several major offensive operations in France. However, the exhaustion of the army led to the final failure and complete collapse of Germany in the First World War. Therefore, the general in October of the same year had to resign.
Post-war time
With the advent of the November Revolution in 1918, Ludendorff was forced to move to Sweden. But already in 1920, he became one of the main participants in the Kappovsky putsch, whose goal was the elimination of the Weimar Republic and the introduction of a military dictatorship in Germany.
Later Erich Ludendorff became close to the Nazis. In November 1923, along with Hitler, he led the unsuccessfully ended “Beer putsch” in Munich.
In 1925, after a divergence of views with the Nazis, he founded the Tannenberg Union, and five years later, the German People Church Union. However, after Hitler came to power, their activities were banned.
In the late 1920s, Ludendorf, together with his wife Matilda, retired from public life. During this time, he created several books in which he argued that all problems in the universe arise from Jews, Christians, and Masons. He worked a lot of time on the work “Total War”, in which he outlined his memoirs, forecasts of world politics and theoretical views.
In 1937, Erich Ludendorf, a German infantry general and an outstanding man, died of cancer in Tutzing (Bavaria), where he was buried with honors.