Biography of Ludendorf

Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff, April 9-December 20-German general general of it. The author of the concept of "total war." Since the beginning of the First World War - the chief of staff at Hindenburg, together with the latter received nationwide fame after the victory near Tannenberg; Since August, he actually led all operations of the German army. After the war ended, he was closely with Hitler, took part in a beer coup, but soon disappointed in the Nazis and stopped participating in public life in the year.

In the early years, Ludendorf was born in the village of Krushevnya Polsk. The elder brother of the astronomer Hans Ludendorf. Although Ludendorf did not belong to Junker, he had a distant connection with the latter through his mother - Clara Jeanette Henrietta von Tempelhof him. Jeannette Wilhelmine von dziembowska, from a germanized Polish family. Thus, Ludendorf can be considered a descendant of the Dukes of Silesia and Margrafers of Brandenburg.

He grew up on a small family farm and received an primary home education was taught by his aunt. Thanks to the excellent knowledge of mathematics and labor ethics, he entered the cadet school in Plena, which was completed by many German officers. Despite the origin, Ludendorf married Margaret Schmidt German. Margarete Schmidt, - a military career at the age of 18, having received an officer rank, he began a promising military career.

In the year he was transferred to the General Staff of the German Army and in the years headed the mobilization department. Ludendorf took part in the detailed development of the Schlieffen plan, in particular, overcoming Belgian fortifications around Liezha. He also tried to prepare the German army for the upcoming war. In the year, social democrats became the most powerful party in the Reichstag.

They greatly cut the finances of the army maintenance, increase reserves and develop new weapons, for example, siege guns of Krupp. Significant funds were sent to the development of naval forces. For the adamant character, Ludendorf was removed from his position in the General Staff and was appointed to command the infantry division. The First World War at the beginning of the First World War was appointed deputy chief of staff of the 2nd German army under the command of Karl von Bulov.

By appointment, he was largely owed to the knowledge and previous work on the study of the forts surrounding Liege. Ludendorf received folk recognition in August, when Germany began hostilities according to the Schliffen plan. He cut off Liege from the Belgian army and caused siege artillery. By August 16, Liege fell, which allowed the German army to continue the offensive.

The Russian Empire prepared for war and waged fighting much better than this was expected according to the plan of Schliffen. German troops holding back the Russian offensive on Königsberg could not cope. For this reason, a week after the fall of Liezha, during the assault on another Belgian fortress in Namur, Ludendorf was withdrawn by Kaiser for the service as chief of staff of the 8th Army on the Eastern Front.

Ludendorf arrived at the Eastern Front with Paul von Hindenburg, which was recalled from resignation to replace the commander of Maximilian Potvitsa, who offered to retreat and leave East Prussia to the Russians. Gindenburg, with the help of Ludendorf and Max Hoffmann, was able to defeat Russian troops during the East Prussian operation. In August, Erich von Falkenhein left the post of chief of the German Field General Staff and Hindenburg took his place.

Ludendorf received the post of quartermaster general deputy chief of staff. To break through the British blockade, Ludendorf gave the go -ahead to unlimited underwater war, which was his gross strategic miscalculation, since as a result led to the US entering military operations in April. In the year, Russia is displaying from the war, and Ludendorf participated in negotiations on a truce with the new government of Russia.

As a result, in March, the Brest world was signed. At the same time, Ludendorf, as the Commander -in -Chief, developed and executed the plan of the General offensive on the Western Front, known as the spring offensive. This attempt to complete the war failed with a decisive blow, and as a result, Ludendorf retired on October 26. After the war ended, Ludendorf fled from Germany to Sweden.

During the expulsion, Ludendorf wrote several books and articles about the German army during the expulsion. At the same time, it is considered one of the founders of the theory about the "stab in the back". Ludendorf was convinced that Germany waged an exclusively defensive war. He believed that Kaiser Wilhelm II could not hold a good counter -propagand campaign.

Ludendorf also treated the Social Democrats and Left very suspicious, whom he accused of humiliation of Germany for the conclusion of the Versailles world. He also accused the entrepreneurial class of especially Jews of weak support, because he believed that they put their financial interests above patriotic considerations.And again returning to the left, Ludendorf was horrified by the strikes at the end of the war, which created the “internal front”, which decomposed the fighting spirit of the soldiers during a temporary retreat.

Ludendorf was also convinced that the German people did not understand what was to Kon during this war - the Entente forces, in his opinion, began a war in order to destroy the German state. The political career in the year by other sources - in the spring, Ludendorf returned to Germany. The leaders of the Weimar Republic were going to send him and several other generals in the native of August von Makenzen to reform the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, but the order was canceled due to the restrictions of the Versailles world, and the expulsion of such famous generals could damage the government’s reputation.

Ludendorf experienced a strong hostility towards politicians, accused them of the absence of patriotism, national spirit. But, nevertheless, after the war, the political views of Ludendorf, as a German nationalist, led him to the right parties. Ludendorf supported the developing National Socialist German Working Party. Adolf Hitler was one of the few German politicians whom Ludendorf respected.

Ludendorf, as a single -party Hitler, participated in a beer pitch in the year, which ended in failure. In the followed trial, he was justified. NationalSozialistische Freiheitsbewegung, where he worked for up to a year. The reasons are called his participation in a beer coup, which damaged the reputation of Ludendorf, as well as an too modest election campaign - he relied on his image of the hero of the past war.

He no longer trusted Hitler and considered him another populist politician. After Ludendorf heard about the appointment of Hitler Chancellor, he sent Paul von Hindenburg a telegram to President Paul von Hindenburg, where he expressed his disapproval by this decision: having appointed Hitler by the Reichscanler, you gave our German Fatherland to one of the largest demagogues of all times.

I solemnly predict you that this person will encounter our state into the abyss, plunge our nation into indescribable misfortune. Coming generations will curse you for what you have done. Later Ludendorf went into isolation from public life, having retired with his second wife Matilda von Kemnitsa. Mathilde von Kemnitz, he wrote several books in which he came to the conclusion that Christians, Jews and Masons are to blame for world problems.

Together with Matilda, he founded the "Society of Knowing God" by him. Fritz Tissen called the second wife of Ludendorf the main culprit of his strange behavior: the German industrialists had hopes on Erich, as a figure in the old empire, and the departure to anti -religion disappointed them. He suggested that the former ally the title of Field Marshal, but Ludendorf refused, saying: "Field marshals are born and not becoming." After death in the year, Hitler ordered Ludendorf to bury with all honors.