Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff was the operational brain of the German war effort from Tannenberg onward and, as First Quartermaster General from August 1916, the effective military dictator of Germany in partnership with Hindenburg. He directed the total mobilisation of the German economy (the 'Hindenburg Programme'), championed unrestricted submarine warfare despite the certainty of American entry, dictated the annexationist terms of Brest-Litovsk, and staked everything on the spring offensives of 1918. When the gamble failed, his nerve broke: in late September 1918 he abruptly demanded an immediate armistice, then helped manufacture the 'stab-in-the-back' legend that blamed the defeat on civilians and revolutionaries rather than the army's exhaustion. His post-war career descended into radical nationalist conspiracy, including participation in Hitler's 1923 Munich putsch.
- Lived: 1865 CE – 1937 CE
- Nationality: German
- Roles: general, de facto military dictator
