Karl Ludwig d'Elsa (born 1 November 1849 in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

– died 20 July 1922 in Tannenfeld bei Nöbdenitz,

Löbichau Löbichau is a municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany. The ''Ostthüringer Zeitung'' (OTZ) has its head office in the municipality.

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

) was a Royal Saxon army officer who was a

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and awarded the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

Life and Military Career

Karl Ludwig d'Elsa was born on 1 September 1849 in

in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

, the son of Ludwig Ferdinand d'Elsa (1806–1882), an Oberstleutnant (

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

), and Huberta Louise (née von Brandenstein, died 1911). d'Elsa joined the Cadet Corps in Easter 1864 and on 1 April 1869 was appointed as an ensign in the 101st (2nd Royal Saxon) Grenadiers "Emperor William, King of Prussia" of the

Royal Saxon Army The Royal Saxon Army (german: Königlich Sächsische Armee) was the military force of the Electorate (1682–1807) and later the Kingdom of Saxony (1807–1918). A regular Saxon army was first established in 1682 and it continued to exist until the ...

. From October 1869 to April 1870 he was assigned to the military school in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

and promoted to

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 29 July 1870. From 1 September 1870 he was adjutant of the first battalion of his regiment, with whom he participated in the Franco-Prussian War. He participated in the battles of St. Privat,

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

and Sedan, and the Siege of Paris. For his service in the Franco-Prussian War, he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1870). After the war d'Elsa received further training from 1 October 1871 to 1 March 1872 at the Military Riding Institute Dresden. From 24 June 1873 to 17 April 1875 he was regimental adjutant in his parent regiment, and then of the 45th (1st Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade. In 1874, he was promoted to

1st Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. From 1878 to 1881 he was assigned as a company commander in the Corps of Cadets. On 1 April 1881 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was assigned as company commander of the 2nd Company of the 100th (1st Royal Saxon) Life Grenadiers. Two years later he became the company commander of the 1st Company of the regiment. In 1887, d'Elsa was adjutant of the

XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps The XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK (german: XII. (I. Königlich Sächsisches) Armee-Korps) was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I. The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 ...

, and in 1889 he was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In 1892 he became commander of the 13th (2nd Royal Saxon) Jäger Bataillon. In 1893 he became

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and in 1895 he was appointed as chief of General Army Section at the Saxon Ministry of War. After D'Elsa was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1896, he commanded the 101st (2nd Royal Saxon) Grenadiers "Emperor William, King of Prussia", after which he led as a

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

(promoted 1899) the 48th (4th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade (1900–1902) and the 64th (6th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade (1902–1904). From 4 September 1902 d'Elsa served as ''General à la suite'' of

George, King of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus , image =George of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , caption = Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900 , reign ...

and his promotion to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

on 23 April 1904 serving as adjutant general. From 19 June 1904 d'Elsa served as commander of the 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division; he was promoted to

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

on 23 September 1908. On 29 March 1910 he was appointed commanding general of

, one of the top three peacetime positions in the Saxon contingent of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

World War I

Karl d'Elsa was in command of

at the outset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, part of the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army on the right wing of the forces that invaded

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as part of the

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on 4 ...

offensive in August 1914. He led the XII Corps at the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

and

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated aft ...

. On 17 April 1916 he was given command of ''

Armee-Abteilung A Armee-Abteilung Falkenhausen / Armee-Abteilung A (Army Detachment A) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the left (southern) wing of the Western Front throughout its existence. History ''Armee-Abteilung'' ...

'' on the Western Front but was placed on inactive reserve status on 4 January 1917. He was decorated with the

on 1 September 1916.

Later life

D'Elsa was placed on inactive reserve status in early 1917. On 23 January 1918, he was promoted to the rank of ''Charakter'' of

(an honorary rank). After the armistice, the Allies wanted to try d'Elsa as a war criminal for his alleged role in atrocities committed against Belgian civilians. From 1918 to 1922, d'Elsa was president of the Saxon War Veterans' Association. He retired from the Army on 21 January 1920. D'Elsa died on 20 July 1922 at Tannenfeld bei Nöbdenitz, in the

Löbichau Löbichau is a municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany. The ''Ostthüringer Zeitung'' (OTZ) has its head office in the municipality.

district of

Honours

; National * : ** Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Saxony''Rangliste der Königlich Sächsischen Armee für das Jahr 1913'', Hrsg.: Sächsisches Kriegsministerium, Abteilung für die persönlichen Angelegenheiten, C. Heinrich, Dresden 1913, S.9 **Knight Grand Cross in the

Albert Order The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone wh ...

, with Swords on Rings **Commander 2nd Class of the

Military Order of St. Henry The Military Order of St. Henry (''Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden'') was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on O ...

on 3 May 1915 ** Royal Saxon Cross Service Award ;Foreign

Family

D'Elsa was married twice, firstly in 1875 to Margarethe Anna Elise (née Andrée). After her death in 1888, he remarried in 1891 to Caroline Charlotte (née von Stieglitz). He had three sons, Walther, Karl and Johann, and three daughters, Elisabeth, Margarethe Dorothe and Priska.

Glossary

*''Armee-Abteilung'' or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army. *''Armee-Gruppe'' or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task. *''Heeresgruppe'' or

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:dElsa, Karl Ludwig 1849 births 1922 deaths Military personnel from Dresden German Army generals of World War I German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Grand Crosses of the Order of Franz Joseph Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Crosses of Military Merit People from the Kingdom of Saxony Colonel generals of Saxony