Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in Armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines North Korea and Russia are two nations which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The rank is also closely associated with Germany, where Generaloberst has been the full General and a rank below Generalfeldmarschall. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Field Marshal General, in German Generalfeldmarschall ( (usually translated simply as Field marshal, and sometimes written only as Feldmarschall
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Austria
Colonel General (Generaloberst) was the second-highest rank in the Austro-Hungarian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867 - 1918 Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The rank was not used after World War I in the Austrian Army of the Republic. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The current name of the Military of Austria is Österreichs Bundesheer ("Federal Army of Austria " official English name Austrian Armed Forces
China
The People's Liberation Army rank of Shang Jiang (上将 : literally Senior General) is variously translated as either Colonel General or General, with the translation as Colonel General generally reserved for the period 1955-1965 when it corresponded to the Soviet rank of Colonel General. The People's Liberation Army ( PLA) ( is the unified Military organization of all land sea and air forces of the People's Republic of China. Jiang (将 (Wade-Giles Chiang; traditional Chinese 將 is the rank held by General officers in the military of both the People's Republic of China and Rank was not used in the PLA between 1965 and 1988. When rank was restored, there was a reduction in the number of officer ranks, and the ranks have since been normally translated into English as the corresponding American or British rank, rendering the rank of Shang Jiang as simply General.
England
The title of Colonel-General was used before and during the English Civil War in both Royalist and Parliamentarian armies. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War ( 1642 &ndash 1651 The Parliament of England was the Legislature of the Kingdom of England. In these cases it often appears to have meant a senior colonel as opposed to a senior general. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country
France
In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in charge of all the regiments of a particular branch of service (i. A Colonel General was an officer of the French army during the Ancien Régime, Napoleonic era and the Bourbon Restoration. The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (Land Army is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest Ancien Régime ( pronounced: /ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim/ refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in e. infantry, cavalry, dragoons, Swiss troops, etc) was known as the Colonel General. This was not a rank, but an office of the Crown. The Great Officers of the Crown were the most important officers of state of the royal court in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration
Germany
A Colonel General (Generaloberst) was the second highest general officer rank — below Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) — in the Prussian Army and later in the Army of Imperial Germany (1871–1918), the Reichswehr (1918–1935), and the Wehrmacht (1935–1945). For other meanings see Field Marshal (disambiguation Field marshal is a military officer rank Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The Reichswehr ( German for "National Defence" formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935 when it was Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945
The English translation of this rank is less than perfect. The rank in the German armed forces equivalent to a Colonel in the British or American army is an "Oberst". Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country This word translates literally as "highest" and the literal, and functionally correct, translation of "Generaloberst" therefore is "highest General"; which is to say, the rank of general officer immediately below Field Marshal.
The rank was created originally for Emperor William I, then Prince of Prussia, because traditionally members of the royal family couldn't be promoted to the rank of a Field Marshal.
Since the rank Generalfeldmarschall also was reserved for wartime promotions, the additional rank of a Colonel General in the capacity of a Field Marshal, the Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls was created for promotions during peace. Such generals were entitled to wear four pips on their shoulder boards, compared to the normal three.
The equivalent of a Colonel-General in the Kriegsmarine was a General Admiral (Generaladmiral). The Kriegsmarine (English "War navy" was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945 during the Nazi regime superseding the General Admiral was a Danish Dutch German Russian and Spanish naval rank. The equivalent SS rank was Oberstgruppenführer. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Oberstgruppenführer was (from 1942 to 1945) the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS
East Germany's National People's Army (NVA) retained this rank as its third highest, behind Armeegeneral and Marschall der DDR. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state History The creation of the National People’s Army on March 1, 1956, six months after the formation of the West German Bundeswehr, followed years Armeegeneral was a senior military rank of East Germany, used until 1990. Marshal of the German Democratic Republic (Marschall der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik was the highest rank in the National People's Army of the former German
The Bundeswehr (first in West Germany and since 1990 in a unified Germany) does not use the rank. The Bundeswehr ( German for "Federal Defence Force") is the name of the unified Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (
Hungary
In Hungary, the rank of Colonel General or vezérezredes has been introduced with the Imperial and Royal Army (the common ground force of the Dual Monarchy) in 1915. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The rank replaced the ranks of gyalogsági tábornok (General of Infantry), lovassági tábornok (General of Cavalry), and táborszernagy (General of Artillery) in the early 1940s.
The rank title vezérezredes is still in use for the highest ranking (four-star) general officer of the Magyar Honvédség and foreign four-star general officers' rank titles are usually translated as vezérezredes in Hungarian.
North Korea
The North Korean rank of Sangjang translates as "Colonel General". Comparative military ranks of Korea refer to the ranks and insignia maintained by the three primary military powers on the Korean Peninsula, those being the Republic Sangjang is senior to that of Jungjang (usually translated as "Lieutenant General") and junior to that of Daejang (usually translated as "General"). Jungjang is the South Korean equivalent of a Lieutenant General.
This rank is typically held by the commanding officer of units along the Korean DMZ and the North Korean security zone at Panmunjon. The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: 한반도의 군사 분계선 is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a Buffer
Russia
The rank of Colonel General (Russian: генерал-полковник, general-polkovnik, General-Polkovnik) did not exist in Imperial Russia and was first established in the Red Army in 1940, and still exists in the contemporary Russian Army. Polkovnik (полко́вник universally treated as Colonel, began as a commander of a distinct group of troops Old Slavonic The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (UTC (Вооружённые Си́лы Росси́йской Федера́ции Transliteration Vooruzhyónniye Síly Rossíyskoy Federátsii Unlike the German Generaloberst (which it most probably calqued), the Soviet and Russian Colonel General rank is neither an exceptional nor a rare one, because it occupies the position between a two-star officer - General Lieutenant and a a four-star officer Army General. In Linguistics, a calque (kælk or loan translation is a Word or Phrase borrowed from another Language by Literal, word-for-word
Other than that, the Soviet and Russian rank systems sometimes cause confusion in regard to equivalence of ranks, because the normal Western title for Brigadier or Brigadier General ceased to exist in the Russian Army since 1798. This article refers to the military rank For the Doctor Who character known as the Brigadier see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. Positions typically reserved for these ranks, such as Brigade commanders, have always been occupied by Colonels (Polkovnik) or, very rarely, Major Generals (see History of Russian military ranks). A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country Polkovnik (полко́вник universally treated as Colonel, began as a commander of a distinct group of troops Old Slavonic Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great.
The rank has usually been given to district, front and army commanders, and also to Deputy Ministers of Defense, Deputy Heads of General Staff etc.
During World War II, about 150 officers were promoted to Colonel General. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Before 1943, Soviet Colonel Generals wore four stars on their collar patches (petlitsy). Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps.
In some post-Soviet CIS armies (for example in Belarus) there are no Generals of the Army or Marshals, and so Colonel General is the highest rank, usually held by the Minister of the Defense. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches
The corresponding naval rank is Admiral, which is also denoted by three stars. Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers
Sweden
Colonel General (Generalöverste) has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 1800s.
See also
References
Data about Germany and Austria are based in part on the corresponding article "Generaloberst" in the German-language Wikipedia, retrieved Oct 15, 2004. The following list of Colonel Generals denotes those who have held the rank of Colonel General in the respective military forces of their countries Colonel General is a senior Military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries
External links
- Biographies of German Army Generalobersten
- Biographies of Luftwaffe Generalobersten
- Biographies of Austro-Hungarian Generalobersten of WWI
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