The Death of Erich Ludendorff
On September 22nd 1937 Germany Radio revealed to the world that Erich Ludendorff was dead. The great war hero had become a cult figure in Germany, sometimes called the ‘saviour of the Reich’, he also held near total control of the army and allow not officially in any position of political power Meissner would require his blessing for any major reform undertaken. Germany had lost one of their greatest sons.
Ludendorff had gained his fame for his great generalship during the Great War. After the colossal Russian invasion of East Prussia Hindenburg was called from retirement and Ludendorff from action on the Western Front to defeat this threat. At the two great battles at Tannenberg and Mansurian Lakes the Russian army was decisively beaten and German troops would soon invade Russian controlled Poland now rolling back the beaten Russians. By 1916 he and Hindenburg had taken almost complete control of Germany as they focussed it towards the war effort. The pair would command Germany’s armies until the last, but in 1918 the Germany military machine collapsed and the following year the extremely harsh Treaty of Versailles was drawn.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff planning military strategy
After the war Ludendorff began to support Adolf Hitler and the Nazis but as time passed and he delved deeper into Nazi ideology and Hitler’s mind he would attempt to prevent them coming to power the best he could. And in his famous telegram to Hindenburg in January 1933 Ludendorff was able to convince the German President to keep Hitler from office. This action however would plunge Germany into a bloody Civil War. Hindenburg would make Ludendorff the Chief of the Reichswehr and put Ludendorff in command of the largest single army group of the Reichswehr which was ordered to defend the Saar and Rhineland from a massive Nazi attack. But despite being outnumbered more than three to one Ludendorff was able to halt the SA forces and even push them back across the Rhine. He would also take part in the great offensive of May 1934 (the first ever Blitzkrieg) capturing the City of Stuttgart and over 100,000 SA troops. After the surrender of the Nazi Ludendorff would put all his support behind Meissner, the man dedicated to rebuilding Germany and saving the economy. But less than a year after the end of the Civil War Hindenburg died and at this crucial moment Ludendorff actually rejected a proposal of taking control of Germany himself in favour of putting the support of the military behind Meissner. This move not only saved Meissner’s career put also Germany as the reforms put in place by Meissner would bring Germany from the brink of collapse to a strong force in all fields by the time of Ludendorff death.
But his death may have been a blessing in disguise as after Germany military expansion would shift its focus from infantry to more mobile forces, most notably Panzers. This change in focus would greatly suite the new tactics of Generals such as Heinz Guderian and Erich von Manstein.
But for now the nation was in sorrow and a national day of mourning was proclaimed by Meissner as the people of the German Reich remembered the ‘saviour of the Reich’.