Karl Ludwig d'Elsa (born 1 November 1849 in Dresden – died 20 July 1922 in Tannenfeld bei Nöbdenitz, Löbichau, Thuringia) was a Royal Saxon army officer who was a Generaloberst in the First World War and awarded the Pour le Mérite.

[1] After the war d'Elsa received further training from 1 October 1871 to 1 March 1872 at the Military Riding Institute Dresden.

In 1893 he became lieutenant colonel, and in 1895 he was appointed as chief of General Army Section at the Saxon Ministry of War.

From 19 June 1904 d'Elsa served as commander of the 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division; he was promoted to General der Infanterie on 23 September 1908.

[2] Karl d'Elsa was in command of XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps at the outset of World War I, part of the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army on the right wing of the forces that invaded France as part of the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914.

After the armistice, the Allies wanted to try d'Elsa as a war criminal for his alleged role in atrocities committed against Belgian civilians.