GENERAL PAUL VON HINDENBURG 1847-1934
Germany's leading general of the war, Hindenburg was in retirement when the conflict started and was recalled to lead the defence of East Prussia following invasion by Russia.
Working closely with General Erich Ludendorff, he organised stunning victories over Russian forces at Tannenberg (August 1914) and the Masurian Lakes (September 1914 and February 1915). He was then promoted to field marshal and replaced von Falkenhayn as chief of the General Staff in August 1916. Ludendorff went with him to become his first quartermaster general, and they jointly formed the Third Supreme Command.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff, plus other senior army figures and leading industrialists, effectively ran Germany as a military dictatorship during the last two years of the war. During this period, Hindenburg stemmed the Allies' advances in the west, forced Russia and Romania out of the war, developed the Hindenburg Line and organised the spring 1918 'Michael' offensive.
In the autumn, realising that Germany couldn't hope to win the war, the Third Supreme Command returned power to the civilian politicians, who then had to negotiate peace terms with the Allies under extremely unfavourable circumstances. This evasion of responsibility by the generals helped foster the 'stab in the back' myth that the Nazis later exploited so successfully.
Hindenburg served as president of the Weimar Republic between 1925 and 1934, and was responsible for Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933 (though he was virtually senile by this time). His death in August 1934 allowed the Nazis to start installing a complete dictatorship.
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