PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE 178
Karl d’Elsa
MILITARY RISE
Karl Ludwig d’Elsa was born on the first of November 1849 in Dresden (then in the Kingdom of Saxony). He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig Ferdinand d’Elsa and Huberta Louise (née von Brandenstein).
At the age of only fourteen, young Karl joined the cadet corps in the spring of 1864. Nearly six years later, he was appointed as an ensign in the 101st “Kaiser Wilhelm, King of Prussia” (Second Royal Saxon) Grenadiers, which was part of the Royal Saxon Army. From October 1869 to April 1870, d’Elsa was assigned to the military school in Erfurt. He was promoted to second lieutenant on July 29, 1870.
In September of that year, d’Elsa was an adjutant in the first battalion of his regiment. With this unit, he fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Karl participated in the battles of St. Privat, Beaumont, Sedan, and the siege of Paris. For his service, d’Elsa was awarded the Iron Cross of 1870, Second Class.
After the war, d’Elsa received another five months of training (October 1871 to March 1872) at the Military Riding Institute Dresden. From the summer of 1873 to the spring of 1875, Karl was regimental adjutant in his parent regiment, and also with the 45th (First Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade. During that time, d’Elsa was promoted to first lieutenant.
For the next three years beginning in 1878, d’Elsa was assigned as a company commander in the Cadets Corps. In April 1881, he was promoted to captain and later assigned as the second company commander of the 1st Royal Saxon Life Grenadier Regiment Number 100 based in Dresden. In 1884, d’Elsa became the first company commander of the same regiment. Then in 1887, Karl became adjutant of XII Corps (First Royal Saxon) based in Dresden… with a promotion to major in 1889.
In the summer of 1892, d’Elsa became commander of the 13th (Second Royal Saxon) Jäger Bataillon in Dresden. He became a lieutenant colonel one year later. Then in the spring of 1895, Karl was appointed Chief of General Army Section at the Saxon Ministry of War in Dresden.
After d’Elsa was made a full colonel in late 1896, he was named commander of the 101st “Kaiser Wilhelm, King of Prussia” (Second Royal Saxon) Grenadiers in the spring of 1898. A little over a year later, d’Elsa was again promoted, this time to major general.
With the dawn of the 20th century, d’Elsa continued to rise through the ranks. In September 1900, he was given command of the 48th (Fourth Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade based in Leipzig. Then in March 1902, he led the 64th (Sixth Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade in Dresden. Six months later, d’Elsa served as General à la suite to George, King of Saxony. He was promoted to lieutenant general in April 1903… and also served as adjutant general.
On June 19, 1904 d’Elsa was named commander of the 24th (Second Royal Saxon) Division. He was given yet another promotion to General der Infanterie on September 23, 1908. Then in the early spring of 1910, d’Elsa was appointed commander of XII Corps (1st Royal Saxon). It was one of the top three peacetime positions in the Saxon contingent of the Imperial German Army.
THE GREAT WAR
Karl d’Elsa was still in command of XII Corps when Imperial Germany went to war in the summer of 1914. His unit was part of the Third Saxon Army, which was part of the German Third Army led by Max von Hausen. These men were part of the right wing forces that invaded France per the Schlieffen Plan.
In September 1914, XII Corps participated in the First Battle of the Marne and the First Battle of the Aisne. But with the Imperial German Army stopped and the Schlieffen Plan in ruins, both sides resorted to trench warfare… which lasted almost four years!
On April 17, 1916, d’Elsa was given command of Army Department “A” on the Western Front, replacing Erich von Falkenhausen. In September of that year, he was decorated with Imperial Germany’s highest military honor, the Pour le Mérite. But as 1917 opened, d’Elsa was placed on inactive reserve status.
FINAL YEARS
On January 23, 1918, Karl d’Elsa was promoted to the character (and honorary) rank of Generaloberst. After the November 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 also had a son who served during the war as an infantry captain. However, the elder d’Elsa retired from the German Army in January 1920.
Karl Ludwig d’Elsa died on July 20, 1922 at Tannenfeld bei Nöbdenitz, located in the Löbichau district of Thuringia. He was seventy-two years old.
HONORS
NATIONAL
Kingdom of Saxony:
– Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Saxony
– Knight Grand Cross in the Albert Order, with Swords on Rings
– Commander, Second Class of the Military Order of St. Henry; May 3, 1915
– Royal Saxon Cross Service Award
FOREIGN
Austrian Empire:
– Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of Franz Josef
Kingdom of Bavaria:
– First Class of the Military Merit Order
Kingdom of Belgium:
– Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold
Japan:
– Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun
– Commander of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Kingdom of Italy:
– Second Class of the Order of the Iron Crown
Kingdom of Prussia:
– Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle
– First Class of the Order of the Crown
– Iron Cross of 1870, Second Class
– Pour le Mérite; September 1, 1916
Reuss:
– Cross of Honor, First Class (Reuß Younger Line)
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:
– Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the White Falcon
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha:
– Knight Grand Cross in the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Thailand:
– Order of the Crown of Thailand, Second Class
Spain:
– Cross of Military Merit, Fourth Class
Kingdom of Württemberg:
– Commander with Star of the Order of the Crown