Karl Ludwig d'Elsa  
(01.11.1849 - 20.07.1922)
place of birth:  Dresden
Königreich Sachsen:  KG,  Generaladjutant,  Generaloberst ch.


Saxon Generaloberst Karl d'Elsa was in command of Saxony's XII. Armee-Korps at the outset of World War One. Having entered military service in 1869, d'Elsa was commissioned as a Sekonde-Lieutenant just as united Germany went to war with France in 1870. His 2. Grenadier-Regiment saw action at Gravelotte-St. Privat, Beaumont, Sedan, and ultimately took part in the Siege of Paris.

After the peace treaty was signed, d'Elsa remained in the military and was selected in 1902 to serve as an Adjutant-General to Saxony's King Georg. In 1910, he was assigned to replaced von Hausen as commander of XII. Armee-Korps headquartered in Dresden. He then led these troops into battle in August 1914 as part of Hausen's 3. Armee-Oberkommando. In the spring of 1916, he was given command of Armee-Abteilung "A" but was placed on inactive reserve status in early 1917. Despite this, he was brevetted as a Generaloberst one year later. For his exemplary leadership in battle, King Friedrich August III. personally presented General d'Elsa with the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) of Saxony's highest military order - the Militär-St. Heinrich-Orden. D'Elsa was later awarded the Kommandeurkreuz II. of the MSHO and was additionally decorated in 1916 with the highest Royal Prussian order of bravery, the Pour le Merite.

Following the Armistice, the allies wanted d'Elsa tried as a war criminal for his alleged role in atrocities committed against Belgian civilians. The general's son Walther served during the war as an infantry captain and was killed in action at Dinant, Belgium. Generaloberst z.D. Karl d'Elsa died on 20 July 1922 in Tannenfeld, Thüringen.

	Generaloberst	23.01.1918  (charakter)
	Eisernes Kreuz II	Deutsch-Französischer Krieg  1870–1871
	Militär-St. Heinrich	09.09.1914  Ritter  (03.05.1915:  Kommandeur II)
	Pour le Mérite	01.09.1916
	Verdst-Ord Preuß-Krone	01.02.1917