Erich Ludendorff, August 1918 "There is no more hope left in the offensive," Ludendorff said, on August 12, 1918, to a member of his Mayor Staff. The generals have lost their foothold", and on August 14, at a meeting of the German Crown Council in Spa, he recommended that peace negotiations be undertaken immediately; so did Emperor Karl I, whose veteran military adviser warned the Kaiser that Austria-Hungary “I could only continue the war until December.” Ludendorff's pessimism in Spa was repeated the next day by one of the most veteran commanders of his army, Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria, who on August 15 wrote from Flanders to Prince Max of Baden: "Our military situation has deteriorated so quickly, that I don't think we can withstand all winter anymore; until it is possible that a catastrophe occurs sooner. » His biggest concern was the main base of the allies: “Americans are multiplying in a way we never dreamed,” he wrote. At this moment, there are al...