Erich Ludendorff

Born

April 9, 1865

Died

December 20, 1937 (aged 72)

Known as

politician, military officer, autobiographer, writer, military leader, author

Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff 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.

Biography from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.