Hindenburg & Ludendorff—First Meeting

In the predawn hours of 23 August 1914, German General Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), newly recalled from retirement by Kaiser Wilhelm II, stood on the Hanover rail station platform awaiting a special train to take him to his new command, Eighth Army in East Prussia. He had joined the Third Regiment of Foot Guards in 1866, admitting him to the Prussian Officer Corps. Hindenburg fought in some of the key battles of German unification, which would later bolster his reputation as a symbol of national unity: Königgrätz in 1866 and Sedan in 1870. As a young adjutant, Hindenburg attended the ceremony at Versailles that formally unified Germany in 1871. 

After concluding his training at the Prussian Military Academy, he was admitted to the Prussian General Staff, eventually becoming an infantry general in 1905. His name was mentioned in discussions about Alfred von Schlieffen’s (1833–1913) successor as chief of the General Staff in 1906. Although he lost out to Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (1848–1916), Hindenburg’s career had thus been a thriving one prior to his retirement in 1911—but, with no war on the horizon, he chose to put his uniforms away instead.

Lt. Paul von Hindenburg, 1866

Erich Ludendorff (1865–1937) was born at Kruszewnia in the chiefly Polish-populated Prussian province of Posen. He was the son of an impoverished former cavalry officer. Educated in military schools, Ludendorff entered the German army in 1882 and in 1885 was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 57th Infantry Regiment, at Wesel. Over the next eight years, he saw further service as a first lieutenant with the 2nd Marine Battalion at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven and the 8th Grenadier Guards at Frankfurt (Oder). His service reports were of the highest order, with frequent commendations. In 1893 he was selected for the War Academy, where the commandant, General Meckel, recommended him for appointment to the General Staff. He was appointed to the German General Staff in 1894, rising rapidly through the ranks to become a senior staff officer with V Corps HQ in 1902–04.

Lt. Erich Ludendorff, 1882

In 1905, under von Schlieffen, he joined the Second Section of the Great General Staff in Berlin, responsible for the Mobilization Section. By 1911 he was a full colonel. Growing anxious about the army's preparedness and funding for war, he became a behind-the-scenes political operator, using retired generals to pressure the Reichstag. This led to pressure, particularly from the largest party, the Social Democrats, to remove Ludendorff from the capital, which—in turn—led to his dismissal from the General Staff in January 1913. Consequently, on the eve of war, his career prospects seemed to have taken a downturn.

In January 1913, Ludendorff became commander of Niederrheinsischen Füsilierregiment Nr. 39 in Dusseldorf. In April 1914, he was promoted to Major General (Generalmajor) and received command of the 85th Infantry Brigade, based in Strasbourg. They say that fortune favors the bold, and Ludendorff found fortune within the first days of the war. While his Rhenish commands had been a form of exile from Berlin, his superiors at the GGS had clearly not forgotten him. Immediately upon the outbreak of war orders arrived, sending Ludendorff to join the Second Army, commanded by General Karl von Bülow at Aachen, where he would be attached to General Otto von Emmich, commander of X Corps. All German forces would have to be funneled through the relatively narrow strip of territory between the Ardennes and Holland. Liège and its 12 subsidiary fortresses sat astride that meager gap. It had been one of Erich Ludendorff's tasks while on the peacetime General Staff to solve the problem of Liège by any means necessary.

Initially, Ludendorff was designated an observer without command authority for the 14th Brigade, charged with capturing bridges and infiltrating the city. However, when the brigade commander was killed, he took command of the force and quickly occupied the city, subsequently demanding and receiving the surrender of the citadel. Ludendorff was one of Germany's first heroes of the war. Called back to Berlin, he received orders for a new assignment and was decorated by the Kaiser with the Order Pour le Mérite on 22 August. The next day, he was aboard a train heading east.

The 66-year-old Hindenburg had grown portly during retirement, and his outmoded blue Prussian uniform had required quick alterations by his wife before his departure. Now, as he waited on the platform, a single locomotive with two coaches steamed into the still-dark station. Major General Erich Ludendorff, a trim 49-year-old in a crisply tailored, regulation field-gray uniform, hopped off the train. The two men exchanged salutes and handshakes, and Ludendorff introduced himself as Hindenburg’s newly appointed Eighth Army chief of staff. The most famous partnership of the Great War had been formed.

Sources: Encyclopedia 1914-1918; HistoryNet, 11 April 1917