Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s first move was to hunker down into a defensive posture. If they were to have any hope of matching the Entente’s globalized war effort, Germany would need a new mobilization of its own. Dubbed the ‘Hindenburg programme’, it was designed to double ammunition output within the year. Its targets were met, though at a huge cost to the home front. In the meantime, it was this same defensive rationale that led the 3. OHL to back the navy in calling for the U-boats to be unleashed.
