ABOUT THE BOOK

With his victory over the Russian army at the battle of Tannenberg in August 1914, Paul von Hindenburg became a German national hero. By 1916 he had parlayed an exaggerate reputation for decisive victory into near dictatorial powers. After Germany’s defeat at Verdun and War Minister Erich von Falkenhayn’s dismissal, Hindenburg, along with his chief of staff Erich Ludendorff, took over strategic direction of the war. The eponymous Hindenburg Program attempted with some success to mobilize Germany’s economy for war.

ABOUT Author

WILLIAM J. ASTORE, D.Phil., read modern history at Oxford and taught military history at the United States Air Force Academy. He is currently serving as associate provost and dean of students at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language center. He lives in Pebble Beach, California.

DENNIS E. SHOWALTER, Ph.D., has taught history at Colorado College since 1969 and is a former president of the Society for Military History. He has also served as distinguished visiting professor at both the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Air Force Academy, as well as the H.L. Oppenheimer Professor at the Marine Corps University.