Tannenberg; looking back, this town and battle symbolise an atypical episode in the First World War: the war of movement. In reality the war quickly turned into a trench war, such as we knew it in the West. With the battle at Tannenberg and the ones that followed, which all had a quite positive outcome for Germany, Ludendorff had left his mark. is untimately brought the duo Von Hindenburg – Ludendorff to the absolute military top of Germany. As from 1917 they, together with the emperor, dictated the course of the war. Ludendorff left such a heavy mark
on everything that people also referred to it as ‘Ludendor ’s dictatorship’. Not only did he interfere in military matters, but also in politics, the war economy, propaganda, and he played a decisive role in major war decisions in other areas, such as diplomacy and the submarine war. In the end the war became identified with Ludendorff , who had to step aside when the
unavoidable defeat came in 1918. is was a bitter disappointment for Ludendorff .