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Show Kaiser Accepts Resignation of General Lndendorf f LONDON, Oct. 27. (British Wireless Service) Official announcement was made in Berlin Saturday night that Emperor William had acceded to the request of General Ludendorff, the first quartermaster general that he be permitted to resign. General surprise was caused in Berlin Ber-lin on Saturday afternoon by the fact that the dally report from German headquarters was not signed as usual with tho name of General Ludendorff. Later the following official announce-1 I ment was issued: I "The emperor, accepting the request to bo allowed to retire of Infantry General Ludendorff the close friend and commander in peace of the 250th Infantry brigade, has placed him on the unattached list. Tho emperor decided de-cided at tho same time that tho lower Rhenish infantry vrcglmont No. 39 of which tho general has long beon chief shall bear henceforth the name of Ludendorff' His resignation it is believed in London will still further shake the faith of the German people in their! military machine. Resignation Creates Sensation BERNE, Oct. 27 The resignation of General von Ludendorff has caused a cenaatlon throughout Switzerland and the central empires and ia commented on as a sign that German militarism Is really abdicating. Amousr tho German Ger-man and Austrian peoples anger and' indignation is increasing over tho fact) that the military situation has been I so long concealed or wrongly present- i ed. The resignation of General Luden-4 emnBaFffpI3g, , y ; dorff, Germany loses what often has j been described as her "military brain." ' Unknown before the war. General Erich Ludendorff sprang into prom- 3 inence in the fall of 1914 as chief of f staf t to Field Marshal von Hindenburg, 5 then a general in the operations against the Russians. When von Hindenburg Hin-denburg was given the chief command : In August, 1916, Ludendorff was ap-pointed ap-pointed first quartermaster general. , but his position in reality has been 'n chief of staff and collaborator with von y Hindenburg. 3 Real Boss of Germany j Soon after his appointment as first 1 quartermaster general. General Lu. : dendorff began to be looked upon as tho real "boss" of Germany and was ' recognized as the representative of ' the Pan-Germans at great headquar- t ters. It was Ludendorff who brought c about the retirement of Chancellor von ' Bethmann-Hollweg and he was re- i puted to have been responsible for the appointment to the chancellorship, of Michaelis and von Hertllng, both of whom were described as stop-gaps. Tho general's rule as first quarter- , master has amounted to almost military mili-tary dictatorship. Goneral Ludendorff was reported to have been tho originator of the plan of the German offensive In 1918. The plan called for offensive operations ( on the western front which would split the British and French armies and compel the allies to beg for peace be ; fore the strength of the Americans could be available to any great ex- i tent. It was planned that if tho of- ,,f fensive failed then Germany would re-sort re-sort to a diplomatic campaign to se- .. cure peace. ! oo ; i |
