Generalfeldmarschall

Generalfeldmarschall(German:[ɡenəʁaːlˈfɛltmaʁʃal];fromOld High Germanmarahscalc,"marshal, stable master, groom"; English:general field marshal,field marshal general,orfield marshal;often abbreviated toFeldmarschall) was a rank in the armies of severalGerman statesand theHoly Roman Empire,(Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall); in theHabsburg monarchy,theAustrian EmpireandAustria-Hungary,the rankFeldmarschallwas used. The rank was the equivalent toGroßadmiral(English:Grand Admiral) in theKaiserliche MarineandKriegsmarine,afive-star rank,comparable to OF-10 in today'sNATO naval forces.

Prussianmarshal's baton,awarded to EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austriain 1895.

Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary

See also:List of Austrian field marshals

Feldmarschallof thek.u.k. Army(gorgetpatch)

The rank existed in theAustrian EmpireasKaiserlicher Feldmarschall( "imperial field marshal" ) and inAustria-HungaryasKaiserlicher und königlicherFeldmarschall-Császári és királyi tábornagy( "imperial and royal field marshal" ). Both were based on prior usage during theHoly Roman Empire.TheEmperor-Kingheld the rankex officio,other officers were promoted as required. Between 1914 and 1918, ten men attained this rank, of whom four were members of the reigningHabsburg-Lorrainedynasty.

Germany and Prussia

See also:List of German field marshalsandList of field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire

Kingdom of Prussia and German Empire

Rank insignia

Epaulette

Shoulder badge

Generalfeldmarschall until 1918

In theRoyal Prussian Army,the subsequentImperial German Armyand later in theWehrmachtofNazi Germany,the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschallhad several privileges, such as elevation to nobility, equal protocol rank with Cabinet ministers, the right of reporting directly to themonarch,and a constant escort.

In 1854, the rank ofGeneraloberst(colonel general) was created in order to promote Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Prussia (the laterWilhelm I, German Emperor) to senior rank without breaking the rule that only wartime field commanders could receive the rank of field marshal for a victory in a decisive battle or the capture of a fortification or major town. The equivalent ofGeneraloberstin the German Navy wasGeneraladmiral(general admiralor admiral-general).

In 1870,Prince Friedrich Karl of PrussiaandCrown PrinceFriedrich Wilhelm—who had commanded armies during theFranco-Prussian War—became the first Prussian princes appointed to the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschall.

The exalted nature of the rank was underscored duringWorld War I,when only five German officers (excluding honorary promotions to members of royal families and foreign officers) were designatedGeneralfeldmarschall:Paul von Hindenburg,August von Mackensen,Karl von Bülow,Hermann von Eichhorn,andRemus von Woyrsch.Only a single naval officer,Henning von Holtzendorff,was designated Grand Admiral. Not even such well-known German commanders asErich Ludendorff,Erich von Falkenhayn,orReinhard Scheerreceived marshal's batons or Grand Admiral rank.

Nazi Germany

General field marshal Generalfeldmarschall
Rank flag
Arabesque andEpaulette (1942–1945)
Country	Nazi Germany
Service branch	German Army Luftwaffe
Formation	20 April 1936
Abolished	1945
Next higher rank	Reichsmarschall
Next lower rank	Generaloberst
Equivalent ranks	Großadmiral

Before theSecond World War,Adolf Hitlerreintroduced the rank into theWehrmachtwith the promotion of the Reich Minister of War,GeneraloberstWerner von Blomberg(20 April 1936), and the Aviation Minister,Hermann Göring(4 February 1938), to the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschall.In theWehrmachtofNazi Germanyduring the Second World War, the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschallremained the highest military rank untilJuly 1940,whenHermann Göringwas promoted to the newly created higher rank ofReichsmarschall.The equivalent of aGeneralfeldmarschallin the navy wasGroßadmiral(grand admiral).

UnlikeKaiser Wilhelm II,Hitler distributed the rank more widely, promoting 25HeerandLuftwaffeofficers in total and twoKriegsmarineGrand Admirals. (Another promotion, that of Austrian GeneralEduard von Böhm-Ermolli,was honorary.) Four weeks after theHeerandLuftwaffehad won theBattle of France,Hitler promoted nine Army generals and three of the air force to the rank of field marshal on19 July 1940:Walther von Brauchitsch,Wilhelm Keitel,Gerd von Rundstedt,Fedor von Bock,Wilhelm von Leeb,Wilhelm List,Günther von Kluge,Erwin von WitzlebenandWalter von Reichenau(of theHeer); andAlbert Kesselring,Erhard MilchandHugo Sperrle(of theLuftwaffe).The holders of this rank had the right to a “direct presentation to theFührer”.

In 1942, three other men were promoted—Wüstenfuchs('Desert Fox')Erwin Rommel(22 June) for thesiege of Tobruk,Erich von Manstein(30 June) for theSiege of Sevastopol,andGeorg von Küchler(30 June) for his success asOberbefehlshaber derHeeresgruppe Nord(commander-in-chief of Army Group North).

Hitler promotedFriedrich Paulus,commander of the6th Armyat theBattle of Stalingrad,to the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschallvia field radio on 30 January 1943, a day before his army's inevitable surrender, in order to encourage him to continue to fight until death or commit suicide.In the promotion, Hitler noted that no German or, before that, Prussian field marshal had ever been captured alive.GeneralfeldmarschallPaulus surrendered the following day anyway, claiming,Ich habe nicht die Absicht, mich für diesen bayerischen Gefreiten zu erschießen.( "I have no intention of shooting myself for this Bavarian corporal." )A disappointed Hitler commented, "That's the last field marshal I make in this war!" Nevertheless, he appointed seven more, three on the very day following Paulus' surrender:Ernst Busch,Paul Ludwig Ewald von KleistandMaximilian von Weichs(all members of theHeer). Later that same month, Hitler promotedLuftwaffeGeneralWolfram von Richthofento the rank for his service in theCrimean campaign,and the later part of theBattle of Stalingrad.

From 1944 to 1945, three more men would reach this rank. In early 1944,Walter Model,one of Hitler's most loyal generals, was promoted to the rank; he was also the last German field marshal to receive a ceremonial marshal's baton.Ferdinand Schörner,another loyal officer, was promoted on 5 April 1945. Three weeks later, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the German Army inHitler's last will and testament.On 25 April, just five days beforehis own suicide,Adolf Hitler madeLuftwaffeGeneralRobert Ritter von Greima field marshal and commander in chief of the German Air Force after Göring had fallen out of Hitler's favour, making Greim the last German field marshal in history.

Financially, the rank ofGeneralfeldmarschallin Nazi Germany was very rewarding as, apart from a yearly salary, Hitler introducedtax freefringe benefitsfor generals in the range of 2,000 to 4,000ℛ︁ℳ︁ (€8897–17793 in 2021) per month in 1940. He also bestowed generous presents on his highest officers, with Leeb receiving 250,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (€1,112,067 in 2021) for his 65th birthday from Hitler.

Promotion to the rank did not guarantee Hitler's ongoing favour, however. As the tide of the war turned, Hitler took out his frustrations on his top commanders, relieving most of theGeneralfeldmarschallsof duty before the war's conclusion. Bock, Brauchitsch, Leeb, and List were all relieved of their posts in 1942 for perceived failures duringOperation Barbarossaand took no further active part in the war. Kleist, Manstein and Sperrle were similarly retired in 1944 and Rundstedt and Weichs in March 1945. Grand AdmiralErich Raederwasretired in January 1943following a fierce argument with Hitler over the future of the German surface fleet. Model, one of Hitler's most successful commanders, had nevertheless lost the Fuhrer's confidence by war's end and committed suicide to avoid capture and likely trial as awar criminal.Milch was relieved after conspiring unsuccessfully to have Göring removed from command of theLuftwaffe,and even Göring himself was stripped of his offices and expelled from the Nazi Party in Hitler's last days. Schörner ignominiously abandoned his command to save himself in the war's last days. Kluge, Witzleben and Rommel were either executed or forced to commit suicide for their real or imagined roles in the20 July plotagainst Hitler. By war's end, only Keitel, Kesselring, Greim and Grand AdmiralKarl Dönitzwere still in positions of military responsibility.

East Germany

TheNational People's Armyof theDeutsche Demokratische Republik(DDR) (German Democratic Republic, i.e.East Germany) created the rank ofMarshal of the German Democratic Republicon 25 March 1982. A general could be appointed to this rank by theState Council(Staatsrat;the head-of-state council of the GDR) during wartime or for exceptional military achievement; no one ever held the rank, however.

Modern Germany

The ranks ofGeneralfeldmarschall,Generaloberst,GroßadmiralandGeneraladmiralno longer exist in the new German (until 1990West German) Armed Forces, theBundeswehr,which were created in 1956. Currently, the highest military grades in theBundeswehraregeneralandadmiral.

TheCommander-in-Chiefof theBundeswehris, in peacetime, according to Article 65a of theBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany(constitution), thecivilianFederal Minister of Defence,who holds supreme command authority over all soldiers. In wartime, during theState of Defence,that supreme command authority is transferred to theFederal Chancellor.TheInspector General of theBundeswehris the militarychief of defenceand heads theArmed Forces Command Staff(German:Führungsstab der Streitkräfte).

Other states to have used the title

Electorate (1356–1806) and Kingdom of Saxony (1806–1918)

The rank of Field Marshal was first used in the northern German State ofSaxonywithin the Holy Roman Empire in 1631. It was then used nine further times in that century and seven times in the 18th century. It was used twice in the 19th century by theKingdom of Saxonyafter it became part of theGerman Empirein 1871.

Ethiopia

The rank of Field Marshal General was first used inEthiopiain 2022. On 8 January 2022, Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmedpresided over theEthiopian National Defense Forcepromotion ceremony, that saw the rank be introduced toBirhanu Jula,Chief of General Staff.

See also

• Comparative officer ranks of World War I
• Comparative officer ranks of World War II