Kurt von Rudersdorf

Kurt von Rudersdorf a.k.a. Rudelsdorf is a staff officer in the Empire's army, serving as the Deputy Chief of Operations.

Appearance
He has dark grayish hair and a moustache. He wears his officer uniform during meetings and he is always seen smoking a cigar.

Personality
He is a clever and energetic resolute. He is also a critical thinker and always considers the possibilities in his surroundings. He always acts calm and disciplined in general assembly and official meetings, while having the courage to take high risks at the same time.

Plot
He first showed up as a talented staff officer attending a military conference. Here, Zettour and he lodged a strong objection against launching a major offensive against Legadonia. Unfortunately, they failed.

After the Republican Army invaded the Empire, many of the staff officers within the General Staff who supported the plan to launch the attack were replaced and demoted. Rudersdorf was assigned to be the Deputy Chief of Operations. One day, he received the thesis named "The form of the current war and prediction on its development" from Zettour and gave it to Rerugen after reading it.

During the war against the Principality of Dacia, he put the power of maneuver warfare on full display, actively demonstrating his skills through coordinating the battle. Due to this achievement, he was promoted to Major General. On October 23, 1924, he had dinner with Zettour in the Imperial General Staff (Army) First Dining Hall. Here, Zettour suggested that they attack Osfjord and Rudersdorf gave him his consent to utilize the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion in the Northern Front.

On November 16, he attended the conference of the Northern Front, discussing the next step of the Northern Army Group. He drafted an airborne and amphibious operation plan and reached a consensus of a winter offensive with the Northern Front. The invasion of Osfjord was planned by him and achieved great success on December 1.

On April 28, 1925, in the Joint Meeting of the Service Corps and Operations, he supported Zettour's suggestion and showed his astonishing operation plan to the General Staff. On May 4, he proposed an operation plan to the General Staff to promptly resolve the rebellion in Arene. On May 25, the first phase of Operation Revolving Door was executed. On June 18, his plan to capture the Republic capital came in handy.

On August 24, he was shown having dinner with Zettour in the First Dining Hall. They congratulated each other on their promotion to Lieutenant General and discussed the situation and dilemma the Empire had to deal with.

On March 25, 1926, in the General Staff Office War Room, he and Zettour discussed the defense and counterattack plan against the invading Federation Army. They reached a consensus to deal with the northern part of the Eastern Front and leave alone the southern one temporarily.

Events after Volume 10 in spoilers below.

Trivia

 * His name is a reference to Erich von Ludendorff, a notable known German general during World War I, responsible for several victories in the eastern front and the adoption of deep defense doctrine. However, his character seems to be a mixture between Ludendorff and Hindenburg.
 * He has been criticized as being ‘quick witted and full of drive, but with a tendency to be delusional’ by the judge of Imperial War College Selection Review Conference.
 * His design in the anime is very similar in appearance to Paul von Hindenburg

Reference
Kurt von Rudersdorf