Erich Ludendorff (1865–1937)
Born 1865 CE, died 1937 CE.
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (German: [ˈeːʁɪç ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈluːdn̩dɔʁf] ; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a Prussian-born German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. After his appointment as First Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff in 1916, Ludendorff oversaw virtually all decisions regarding Germany's strategy and war effort until the country's defeat in 1918. Later during the years of the Weimar Republic, he took part in the failed 1920 Kapp Putsch and Adolf Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, thereby contributing significantly to Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Ludendorff came from a non-noble family in Kruszewnia in the Prussian Province of Posen. Upon completing his education as a cadet, he was commissioned as a junior officer in 1885. In 1893, he was admitted to the prestigious German War Academy, and only a year later was recommended by its commandant to the General Staff Corps.
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