| Ludwig | |
| Fictional Character | |
| 1632 series POD: May, 1631 | |
| Appearance(s): | 1632 |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | Germany |
| Religion: | Catholicism |
| Date of Death: | 1631 |
| Occupation: | Mercenary |
| Spouse: | Gretchen Richter (concubine) |
| Children: | Wilhelm Richter (probable son) |
| Affiliations: | Count Tilly's army |
| Created by: | Eric Flint |
Ludwig was a mercenary in Count Tilly's army during the Thirty Years' War. He led a band of about twenty men. He held no rank, but maintained his position of leadership through physical size and his formidable personality. His group was responsible for murdering the father of Gretchen and Hans Richter. He made Gretchen his concubine, and was probably the father of her son, Wilhelm (Gretchen had been repeatedly raped by Ludwig's comrades before he made her his concubine). Ludwig's group purported to be Catholic, but their actions were purely blood-thirsty opportunism.
Hans Richter, desperate to keep his other sister, Annalise, from becoming a prostitute, agreed to become a soldier under Ludwig.
Ultimately Ludwig, and like many of his mercenaries, was killed in the Battle of the Crapper. His entire body was ripped to shreds by the Americans' high power guns. In a twist of fortune, Ludwig's large body shielded Hans Richter throughout the entire battle.