 FACT: When Ludwig is speaking to a subordinate about blowing the  bridge about to be assaulted by the 82nd, the subordinate refers to  a "hauptmann", the German word for captain. In the SS, the rank  would be "Hauptsturmführer." Likewise, when he answers Ludwig, he  calls him "General". Ludwig is listed in the cast as a major  general, but the equivalent SS rank would have been Brigadefuhrer.