Ludendorff - Erich Ludendorff

German military officer. He was known as one of the leading modern technocratic staff officers of non-aristocratic origin in the army officers' corps of the Second German Empire, where aristocrats predominated, and advocated the expansion of the army. In the first battle of World War I, he led the capture of Liège on the Western Front. He then became Chief of Staff of the 8th Army in the East, and under Hindenburg, won a major victory over the Russian army at the Battle of Tannenberg. In August 1916, he and Hindenburg formed the Third Supreme Command, and took on the newly established position of Chief of Staff of the First Staff, essentially playing the role of Chief of Staff. He promoted the establishment of a total war system, actively intervened in politics, and overthrew Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, exerting a strong leadership style that was called the Ludendorff dictatorship. In September 1918, he acknowledged that there was no prospect of a military victory for Germany and urged the government to speed up peace negotiations, but was dismissed at the end of October. During the German Revolution he fled the country for a time, but after returning to Germany he became a leading figure in the nationalist movement and was involved in anti-Republican political movements such as the Kapp Putsch, and also participated in the Hitler Putsch in November 1923, but was acquitted at trial. In 1925 he was recommended by the Nazis and others to run for president, but was defeated, and after serving as a member of parliament until 1928 he retired from politics. In his later years he joined a Germanic new religious movement that advocated ethnic renewal. His theory of total war and the war system during World War I were introduced to Japan before the war, and had a considerable influence on the military and others.

[Kimura Seiji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの軍人。貴族出身が優位にあるドイツ第二帝政の陸軍将校団にあって、非貴族出身の近代的テクノクラート型の参謀将校の代表的一人として知られ、陸軍拡張を主張した。第一次世界大戦では初戦に西部戦線でリエージュ攻略を指導した。その後、東部第8軍参謀長に転じ、ヒンデンブルクの下で、タンネンベルクの戦いでロシア軍に大勝した。1916年8月、ヒンデンブルクとともに第三次最高軍司令部を構成、新設の第一幕僚長の職につき、実質的に参謀総長の役割を果たした。総力戦体制確立を推進し、政治にも積極的に介入して宰相ベートマン・ホルウェークを失脚させるなど、ルーデンドルフ独裁とよばれる強力な指導を発動した。1918年9月、ドイツの軍事的勝利の見込みがないことを認め、政府に講和交渉を急がせたが、10月末に解任された。ドイツ革命時には一時国外に逃れていたが、帰国後、国粋派の指導者格になって、カップ一揆(いっき)などの反共和国的政治運動に関与し、1923年11月のヒトラー一揆にも参加したが、裁判では無罪となった。1925年ナチスなどに推され、大統領選に出馬したが敗れ、国会議員を1928年まで務めたのち、政界から退いた。晩年は民族刷新を唱えるゲルマン的新宗教運動に入った。彼の総力戦論および第一次世界大戦時の戦争体制は、戦前の日本にも紹介され、軍部などに少なからぬ影響を与えている。

［木村靖二］

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