The German Army chief, General Erich Ludendorff, tried to capture the French capital without waiting to strengthen his forces.
VOA: special.2010.10.21
In 1914, in World War I, the Russians under Renenkampf and Samsonov were heavily out-maneuvered by the Germans under Hindenburg and Ludendorff at the battle of Tannenberg.
Karl Timmermann became the first American officer to cross the tottering Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine when "the inner door to Germany had swung wide, never to be shut again" and on to the final German surrender at 2 a.m. on Monday, May 7.