The German High Command at War: Hindenburg and Ludendorff Conduct World War I - Hardcover

Robert B Asprey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688082262 ISBN 13: 9780688082260

Publisher: William Morrow, 1991

Synopsis

During the first two years of World War I a German general called from obscure retirement, Paul Von Hindenburg, aided by his deputy, Erich Ludendorff, won imperial fame from his successful campaigns on the eastern front. In 1916 Kaiser Wilhelm named Hindenburg to head the all-powerful Great German Staff with Ludendorff his deputy. At first all went well. But as food and other resources including replacements diminished, and as America entered the war, the top command increasingly panicked. In the summer of 1918 German armies in the west opened an all-out defensive. This failed and German surrender followed—as did the fall of the German empire.

About this title

Review:

Former U.S. Marine captain and accomplished military historian Robert Asprey tells the story of the First World War from the point of view of the German general staff in The German High Command at War. Focusing on the celebrated partnership between general Erich Ludendorff and field marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Asprey recounts the duo's career from their early triumphs over the Russians at Tannenberg to the defeat of their military dictatorship in 1918.

Responding to historians who tend to lionize Hindenburg and Ludendorff, this book argues that their exemplary reputations were the result of a self-serving public-relations campaign during and after the war. Through Asprey's capable analysis, Ludendorff emerges as a fat, ruthless martinet, while Hindenburg looms as a passive, scheming narcissist. Their successes on the eastern front are portrayed as lucky breaks, the result of intercepted Russian radio transmissions. However, there were no respites on the western front, and Asprey explains how the generals' desperation, arrogance, and lack of strategic insight ultimately exhausted the German empire. Readers will find a comprehensive and lively treatment of Hindenburg and Ludendorff's military decisions and political intrigues, but this book is more than a history. Asprey's trenchant exploration of the dynamics of power and personality make The German High Command at War a warning for what can happen if militaristic imperatives dominate a government's capacity for principled leadership. --James Highfill

About the Author:

A former Marine Corps captain and veteran of two wars, Asprey is an internationally known writer of military history. His many books include the controversial War in the Shadows, an in-depth study of guerrilla warfare. His most recent work, a biography of Napoleon Bonaparte is a major selection of the History Book Club.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0688082262
• ISBN 13: 9780688082260
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 558