20–4133
“The great war from the siege of Liege to the signing of the armistice as viewed from the grand headquarters of the German army.” (Subtitle) What the author calls the first commandment for a German “unselfish submission and the sinking of the ego in national discipline” characterizes this grim account of one who, with an eye single, was bent on the winning of the war. Volume 1 falls into two parts: the author’s career as chief of the general staff on the eastern front; and from his appointment as first quartermaster-general. Volume 2 begins with the entente offensive in the first half of 1917, the Russian revolution and America’s entry into the war and ends with the armistice and the end of Ludendorff’s military career. The books contain many maps and each has a loose map in a cover pocket. Volume 2 has an index.
“He gives a wealth of interesting comment and ex parte statement of motives, intentions, and expectations, which he does not prove. His treatment of the administrative and political sides of the war is the best part of the work. His accounts of battles are in many cases unsatisfactory. As a whole the translation is good.” J: Bigelow
+ − Am Hist R 25:503 Ap ’20 1200w
“Of interest, not only for the record of military events by one of the most prominent military leaders, but also for the light it throws on the mental attitude and processes of the author.”
+ Am Pol Sci R 14:359 My ’20 170w
“The one great military book which the war has so far produced is the strange record of General Ludendorff.”
+ Ath p1286 D 5 ’19 1550w Booklist 16:275 My ’20
Reviewed by W. C. Abbott