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Ludendorff, Erich
Ludendorff, Erich (1865–1937), German general.Ludendorff embodied two of the twentieth century's shaping events: German imperialism and total war. As a young General Staff officer his outspoken advocacy of engaging the army earned him a punitive transfer. On the outbreak of World War I, he was the architect of the victory over the Russians at Tannenberg (August 1914), while serving as chief of staff to Paul von Hindenburg. Through political intrigue and battlefield victories the ambitious, mercurial Ludendorff sought to become chief of staff of the German Army. When Erich von Falkenhayn was dismissed in 1916, Hindenburg became supreme military commander and Ludendorff his deputy—reflecting the doubts about Ludendorff's character that permeated the German hierarchy.
Ludendorff galvanized what remained of Germany's human and material resources behind the war effort. He also overhauled the army's tactical doctrines. In domestic politics, he orchestrated the dismissal (July 1917) of Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg and dominated his successors. With the collapse of Russia, Ludendorff extended German power far eastward in the vindictive Peace of Brest‐Litovsk. But his deficiencies as a general brought about his downfall. Ludendorff's spring 1918 offensives in the west lacked strategic objective and exhausted Germany's fighting power. With the Allies on the offensive, Ludendorff in September demanded an armistice. He was dismissed by the new government. In the Weimar Republic, he took part in two unsuccessful rightist putsches—by Friedrich Kapp (1920) and Adolf Hitler (1923)—and became an outspoken “Aryan” racist. [See also World War I: Military and Diplomatic Course.] Bibliography Covelli Barnett , The Swordbearers: Studies in Supreme Command in the First World War, 1963. Dennis E. Showalter |
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John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-LudendorffErich.html John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-LudendorffErich.html |
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Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff , 1865–1937, German general. A disciple of Schlieffen , he served in World War I as chief of staff to Field Marshal Hindenburg and was largely responsible for German military decisions. After Hindenburg became supreme military commander in 1916, Ludendorff also intervened in civilian rule. In 1917 he forced Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg to resign; his successors were subordinate to the military leaders. When the German military offensive collapsed (Aug., 1918), Ludendorff demanded an armistice (Sept. 29, 1918). Several days later he was dismissed by the new government of Maximilian, prince of Baden and fled to Sweden. Returning in 1919, he took part in the ultranationalist Kapp putsch (1920) and in the "beer-hall putsch" (1923) of Adolf Hitler . He was acquitted in the subsequent trial, was a National Socialist member of the Reichstag (1924–28), and ran unsuccessfully for president in 1925. Meanwhile, he and his second wife, Mathilde, were proponents of a new "Aryan" racist religion. Ludendorff wrote pamphlets accusing the pope, the Jesuits, the Jews, and the Freemasons of a common plot against Aryans. Later he became alienated from Hitler. His writings include Ludendorff's Own Story (tr. 1919) and The General Staff and Its Problems (tr. 1920). |
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"Erich Ludendorff." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Erich Ludendorff." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ludendor.html "Erich Ludendorff." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ludendor.html |
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Ludendorff, Erich
Ludendorff, Erich (b. 9 Apr. 1865, d. 20 Dec. 1937). German general A member of the German army's General Staff from 1908, he acquired a mythical reputation in World War I following his conquest of Liège and his victory at Tannenberg in 1914. Until 1916, he effectively ran the German campaign on the Eastern Front. Together with Hindenburg, he directed the German war effort 1916–18 and organized a total mobilization of the country's resources for the war. At the same time, he disregarded the German Parliament's peace resolution of 1917, as well as any attempt at political reform. From September 1918 he pressed for an armistice, and left the army the following month. He propagated the ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth, according to which the military was about to win the war in 1918 when the politicians stabbed the generals in the back and surrendered to the Allies. In 1923, he took part in the Hitler Putsch.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-LudendorffErich.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-LudendorffErich.html |
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Ludendorff, Erich
Ludendorff, Erich (1865–1937) German general (1914–18) born near Posen, Prussia (now Poznan, Poland). Ludendorff is identified with German imperialism and total war during World War I. He was chief of staff to Paul von Hindenburg and later, when Hindenburg became supreme military commander, his deputy. Ludendorff was architect of the victory over the Russians at Tannenberg (1914), but his offensives in the west (1918) lacked strategic objective and exhausted Germany's fighting power, leading to the armistice. During the Weimar Republic, Ludendorff took part in two unsuccessful putsches, including that by Adolf Hitler in 1923, and became an outspoken Aryan racist.
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Cite this article
"Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-LudendorffErich.html "Ludendorff, Erich." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-LudendorffErich.html |
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Ludendorff, Erich
Ludendorff, Erich (1865–1937) German general. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I he was appointed Chief of Staff to General von Hindenburg and they jointly directed the war effort until the final offensive failed (September 1918). Ludendorff later joined the Nazi Party and served as a member of the Reichstag (1924–28).
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Cite this article
"Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-LudendorffErich.html "Ludendorff, Erich." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-LudendorffErich.html |
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Ludendorff, Erich
Ludendorff, Erich (1865–1937) German general. He played a major part in revising the Schlieffen Plan before World War I. In 1914, Ludendorff masterminded the victory over the Russians at Tannenberg. In 1916, Ludendorff and Hindenburg gained supreme control of Germany's war effort. In the 1920s he was a member of the Nazi Party.
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Cite this article
"Ludendorff, Erich." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ludendorff, Erich." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-LudendorffErich.html "Ludendorff, Erich." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-LudendorffErich.html |
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