Ludendorff

CITY
Ludendorff
Various images from Ludendorff.
Appearance(s): GTA V
GTA Online
State: North Yankton
Established: 1945
Mayor: Unknown
Population: 918
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Ludendorff is a rural Canadian border town in the Midwestern state of North Yankton. It is based on a smaller city called Bowbells in North Dakota, USA. The name Ludendorff could also be a parody of the city of Bismarck.

Ludendorff was established in 1945, and still retains some of its old-style buildings. Ludendorff only has two mission appearances  GTA V - It is first seen in Prologue, where MichaelTrevor, and Brad rob a bank in  2004 and are chased by North Yankton State Patrol, with Trevor being the only one to escape. The second appearance is in the mission Bury the Hatchet, which is set in 2013.

While in both of its appearances the exploration of the town is considerably restricted, not allowing the player to follow any paths other than the main road, Ludendorff can be fully explored in GTA Online due to a glitch in the 1.07 update.

Events of Grand Theft Auto V

In 2004, Michael (then known under his birth name, Michael Townley), Trevor, and Brad rob a bank in Ludendorff. The police swarm the scene and chase the three as they try to escape to their pickup helicopter. The getaway SUV is hit by a train and ruined, and the trio escape on foot to their destination. A sniper hiding around a corner shoots Brad and Michael, killing Brad and immobilizing Michael. Trevor is forced to fend off the approaching police himself, and runs away from some armed pursuing locals. A funeral for Michael is then shown at a snowy cemetery, while Michael watches on from a distance and flicks away his cigarette and leaves.

Sometime between 2004 and 2013, Michael and his family, and Trevor both move to Los Santos and Blaine County, respectively. During Bury the Hatchet, Trevor travels back to Ludendorff to find out about what's in Michael's coffin while Michael pursues him.

By 2013 the town has three churches, three liquor stores, three Ammu-Nations, a school and a library. Little occurs in the town between 2004 and 2013, until Trevor returns to dig up Brad's body. Michael had followed to stop Trevor discovering the truth while the Triads had followed to kill Trevor, after he destroyed their suppliers drug laboratory. Both are unsuccessful, although during a gun fight the Triads kidnap Michael, believing him to be Trevor's lover.

Law Enforcement

North Yankton State Police

The police seen in Ludendorff in GTA V are State Troopers of North Yankton. The state police drive white Police Roadcruisers with two stripes down the side and "STATE PATROL" written next to the front door, along with the police emblem. They also use Police Ranchers with the same livery. The cars are fitted with snow chains on tires. Officers wear black coats over white shirts with black ties, and light brown pants.

Since they aren't scripted in the online glitch version, normal Los Santos PD units spawn instead.

NOOSE

Though the NOOSE are never seen in either parts of the missions in GTA V, they also have jurisdiction and law enforcement capabilities in North Yankton and in Ludendorff, being a federal government agency. They most likely have a field office set up in a larger city in the state and were therefore never seen or responded to the actions of the bank robbery Prologue and Bury the Hatchet missions due to the amount of time it would take for them to arrive at the scene.

Roads

There are several streets and roads shown on the map for Ludendorff, however most of these don't actually exist, and only one is officially named:

Trivia

  • There is an easter egg found under the bridge that the gang cross in the getaway SUV. An alien can be found frozen under some transparent ice. The alien looks the same as those killed in the mission Grass Roots and who abduct Michael in Did Somebody Say Yoga? .
  • Trying to explore Ludendorff during Bury the Hatchet is impossible as the game will fail the mission should the player deviate from the designated path to the church's cemetery.
  • Ludendorff has its own Lifeinvader page which is only accessible by Trevor.
  • The Biggest Beaver in the Midwest is located in the town.
  • In Grand Theft Auto V, there is no radio in the city.
  • The pause screen map is not accurate and many roads displayed on it do not exist in areas that are not normally accessible, ie: past the town. However, all buildings that are shown on the map are there, as drawn.
  • It is possible to enter the town via a glitch in GTA Online as seen in this video.
  • The town is solid only in certain areas and it's completely deserted. The gates to Bobcat Security are not solid so it's possible to get inside the building.
  • By using this glitch, if the player gets a wanted level, the police force spawning in the area will be the LSPD instead of the North Yankton State Patrol. This is because the area where the texture is located is within Los Santos' city limit.
  • Ludendorff's population is 918 as shown on a sign outside the town.
  • The town's newspaper is called the Ludendorff Weekly.
  • It is possible to glitch out of the barrier stopping you from exploring North Yankton during 'Bury The Hatchet'
  • While exploring the town using either the GTA Online glitch exploit or the offline one, there are many areas that are not solid, causing the character to fall through what appears to be solid ground.
  • "This town sucks" and a drawing of a penis can be seen on the back of the Ludendorff welcome sign.

Weather

Ludendorff is covered in snow during both of it's appearances. A misconception is that the State of North Yankton is covered in snow year round, this however is impossible as there are no Canadian/American border states that are winter year round. The only way this would be possible is if the entire state was located in a high altitude mountain range. However large mountains surround Ludendorff confirming the state and Ludendorff itself is likely sea-level. However the Ludendorff Lifeinvader page describes a "heat wave" at 51 degrees Fahrenheit.

Residents

Businesses

Mission appearances

GTA V

Gallery