Karl Eglseer

Karl Eglseer (5 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XVIII Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Eglseer was killed in an air crash in Austria on 23 June 1944.

Karl Eglseer
Born	5 July 1890 Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary
Died	23 June 1944(1944-06-23) (aged 53) near Rettenegg, Nazi Germany now Austria
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary First Austrian Republic  Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army
Years of service	1908–38 1938–44
Rank	Oberst (Austria) General (Germany)
Commands	4th Mountain Division 114th Jäger Division XVIII Corps
Battles / wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Life and career

Karl Eglseer was born in Bad Ischl in Upper Austria on 5 July 1890. He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in August 1908 as an ensign, serving in World War I. Remaining in the Austrian Bundesheer after 1918, he transferred to the Wehrmacht after the Anschluss with Germany in 1938.^[1]

In October 1940 he was promoted to command the 4th Mountain Division, serving in Army Group South on the Eastern Front.^[1] In October 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his leadership of the division.^[2] Eglseer then led the 714th Infantry Division^[a] in Yugoslavia from February 1943 to December 1943, when he became commander of the XVIII Army Corps on the Northern sector of the Eastern Front.^[1]

On 23 June 1944 the aircraft carrying Eglseer, as well as Generals Dietl, von Wickede and Franz Rossi, crashed in the Styria region of Austria. There were no survivors.^[3] At the time of his death Eglseer held the rank of General of Mountain Troops.^[1]

Awards

Austro-Hungarian Empire

• Karl Troop Cross
• Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with war decoration and swords

Nazi Germany

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 October 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of 4. Gebirgs-Division^[2]

References

Citations

1. Lucas 1980, p. 212.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 143.
3. Heinemann, Smelser & Syring 1997, p. 107.

1. Renamed the 114th Jäger Division in April 1943.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Heinemann, Winfried; Smelser, Ronald; Syring, Enrico (1997). Die Militärelite Des Dritten Reiches: 27 Biographische Skizzen [The military elite of the Third Reich. 27 biographical sketches] (in German). Berlin: Ullstein. ISBN 978-3548332208.
• Lucas, James (1980). Alpine Elite: German Mountain Troops of World War II. Jane's Publishing. ISBN 0531037134.

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of 4. Gebirgs-Division 23 October 1940 – 1 October 1941	Succeeded by Oberst Karl Wintergerst
Preceded by Oberst Karl Wintergerst	Commander of 4. Gebirgs-Division November 1941 – 22 October 1942	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Hermann Kreß
Preceded by Generalleutnant Josef Reichert	Commander of 114th Jäger Division 20 February 1943 – 1 December 1943	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Alexander Bourquin
Preceded by General der Gebirgstruppe Franz Böhme	Commander of XVIII Gerbirgskorps 10 December 1943 – 23 June 1944	Succeeded by General der Infanterie Friedrich Hochbaum