(1866-1936) German general. In World War I, he planned the German offensive against Soissons, the Austro-German campaign in Galicia, and the conquest of Serbia 1915. Following the war, he became commander in chief of the new German Army 1921 and throughout the 1920s concentrated upon building up the 100,000 strong army into a highly-trained cadre which, from 1933 onward, was able to expand into the Reichswehr.