The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1916-10-19

pendence could not stay his further
progress.
At the beginning of the war he was
beaten, as he had foreseen, for he had
been ordered to hold the line that was,
untenable. When he had been sew
eral times seriously defeated, he in
formed the general staff that he re-
CURED no further instructions, but
would fight in accordance with his own
plans. 1t was then that he began to
clear the province, and finally, by the
crushing defeat at the Masurian lakes,
he smashed Russia's military activity
for at least twelve months.
Gets Crown Princes Supplies.
He has never bowed the knee to the
Camarilla. According to the calcula-
tons Of the general staff, the German
troops were to hibernate in the large
cities of Russia, but their winter quar-
tiers proved to be the frozen fields. No
provision for skin coats had been
made, and, in spite of the heavy de-
liveries that were being sent to the
Camarilla generals on the western
front, Hindenburg obtained no salts
factory answer to his repeated requi-'
SitiOns.
He went in person to Berlin, and in
the store depot he found a large con-
signment, which he ordered to be
rallied to his supply headquarters,
which were then at Thorn. The horri-
fed official Informed him that the
skins were for the army Of the crown
prince, and therefore could not be
taken away. Hindenburg swore a
volume Of Oaths, and in the end OBJ
tanned them.
Some of the great character traits
of Hindenburg are his piety, his love
for the fatherland and his faithful
ness to the kaiser. When he was
young lieutenant he used to carry the
New Testament in his breast pocket.
This saved his life during the Franco
German war. A bullet struck the book
but did not penetrate all the pages.
1t is a well-known fact that in the
church Of Glauwitz Hindenburg prayed
aloud for victory. Hindenburg's pri-
vate life is absolutely clean. He new
err played cards or drank excessively
and he hardly ever smoked.
Hindenburg never speaks Of fate or
luck. He does not talk about genius,
but he believes that God helped him.
"God helped me to gain victory, and
the kaiser gave me the soldiers, he
made me commander, he trusted me.
Be grateful to God and the kaiser,
do not thank me-" is what he told the
people of East Prussia when they
came to thank and praise him as their
deliverer.
AS professor of the "Kriegs Aka
demie" (sent there by the order Of the
general staff) Hindenburg found the
best occasion to educate the young
officers in the most important sub
ject-"applied military tactics" Fred
erick the Great invented for the bene-
fit Of his army officers the "Kriegs
Spiel' (war game) and Hindenburg
followed in the footsteps Of the Prus-
sian king by improving this war game.
Cut Imposing Figure.
When Hindenburg was studying in
the "Kriegs-Akademie" (1S73-76), he
became a pupil of Prof. Pochhammer,
who tells us that Hindenburg cut an
imposing figure. He called this soldier,
over six feet tall, with broad Shout
ders, short-cropped hair, and big mus
tache, broad forehead, "the living per-
sonification of the war god" When
Professor Pochhammer in his lectures
became tedious and tiresome linden
denburg used to take out his maps,
pencils and compass and commence
to work on a plan for an imaginary
battle, without paying any attention
to the professor.
In 1870 he fought against the French
in the battles of st. Privat and Sedan
and was decorated with the order Of
the Red Cross and the Iron Cross.
In 1911 he retired from active serv-
ice until the war Of 1914 broke out,
when he again returned to the army
and was appointed commander in the
East.
Of Ludendorff even Germans today
know little. But high army officers
say he deserves a large share of Hin
denburg's fame. He has been Hin
denburg's chief of staff since August,
1914, and has worked out the splendid
bits of strategy which time and again
have baff1ed the Russian hordes.
Now that Hindenburg has become
chief of the great general staff and
only second to the kaiser, Ludendortf
has been made quartermaster general.
His name is signed to the brief daily
official bulletins in which the general
staff chronicles the progress Of the
war. And his is the first name that
has been appended to them.
He is the friend, adviser and con-
slant companion of Hindenburg, a1d
they are said to work together like
two parts of a smooth-running ma
chine.