Colonel general

Colonel generalis a military rank used in some armies. The rank originates from theOld European Systemand it is particularly associated withGermany,where historicallygeneral officer rankswere one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, andGeneraloberstwas a rank above fullGeneral,but belowGeneralfeldmarschall.The rank of colonel general also exists in the armed forces organized along the lines of the Soviet model, where it is comparable to that of alieutenant general.

Austria-Hungary

See also:List of Austro-Hungarian colonel generals

Insignia of an Austro-Hungarian Army colonel general

In theAustro-Hungarian Army,the second-highest rank was colonel general (German:Generaloberst,Hungarian:vezérezredes). The rank was introduced in 1915, following the German model. The rank was not used afterWorld War Iin theAustrian Armyof the Republic.

Hungary

See also:Military ranks of Hungary

The rank ofvezérezredes(lit. 'Chief regimental commander') is still used inHungary.The rank replaced the ranks ofgyalogsági tábornok(general of infantry),lovassági tábornok(general of cavalry), andtáborszernagy(general of artillery) in the early 1940s.

Since 1991,vezérezredeshas been the highest rank in theHungarian Defence Forces,and is officially translated asGeneral.

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  Royal Hungarian Army colonel general rank insignia
• 
  Hungarian colonel general rank insignia

Czechoslovakia

The rank of colonel general (generálplukovník) was created in the Czechoslovak army in 1950; it was dropped after the 1993 dissolution of the state.

France

Main article:Colonel General (France)

In theFrench Army,under theAncien régime,the officer in nominal command of all the regiments of a particular branch of service (i. e. infantry, cavalry, dragoons, Swiss troops, etc.) was known as the colonel general. This was not a rank, but anoffice of the Crown.

Georgia

The Republic of Georgia adopted Soviet designations after its independence in 1991 so that the rank of colonel-general (Georgian:გენერალ-პოლკოვნიკი,general-polkovniki) exists, yet it is only used as highest possible rank in the Patrol Police and Border Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the Defence Forces it is the highest possible rank for all general officers and the Chief of Defence Forces (who currently holds minimum rank of major general).

Germany

Main article:Generaloberst

See also:List of German colonel generals

The rank ofGeneraloberstwas introduced in thePrussian Armyin 1854, originally as Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal (Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall) as field marshal was a wartime promotion and excluded members of the royal family. It later was split into said two ranks and eventually was adopted by the other state forces of theGerman Empire.

It was also used in theReichswehrof theWeimar Republic,and more prominently within theWehrmacht.The rank continued in theNational People's ArmyofEast GermanyuntilGerman reunificationin 1990. TheBundeswehr,first inWest Germanyand since 1990 in unified Germany, does not use it and hasGeneralas highest rank.

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  Generaloberst
  (German Army)
• 
  Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall
  (Imperial German Army)

Mongolia

In 1961, J.Lkhagvasuren was awarded the title of Colonel General of the People's Republic of Mongolia. There are 9 people in Mongolia who have been promoted to colonel general. Currently, one person is currently living. He isSonomyn Luvsangombo.Since 2006, this rank has been removed from the ranks of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

North Korea

Rank insignia colonel general

Army

Air Force

TheNorth Korean rankofsangjangtranslates as "colonel general".Sangjangis senior to that ofjungjang(usually translated as "lieutenant general" ) and junior to that ofdaejang(usually translated as "general" ).

This rank is typically held by the commanding officer of units along theKorean DMZand the North Korean security zone atPanmunjom.It is also the rank held by the KPAPyongyang Defense Command's commanding general.

Russia

Rank insignias colonel general

Army

Air Force

The rank of colonel general (Russian:генерал-полковник,romanized:general-polkovnik) was first established in theRed Armyon 7 May 1940, as a replacement for the previously existingKomandarm 2nd rank(kommandarm vtorovo ranga,"army commander of the second rank" ).DuringWorld War II,about 199 officers were promoted to colonel general. Before 1943, Soviet colonel generals wore four stars on their collar patches (petlitsy). Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps, making the rank equivalent to a United Stateslieutenant general.

Unlike the GermanGeneraloberst(which it most probablycalqued),the Soviet and Russian colonel general rank is neither an exceptional nor a rare one, as it is a normal step in the "ladder" between a two-starlieutenant generaland a four-stararmy general.

Other than that, the Soviet and Russian rank systems sometimes cause confusion in regard to equivalence of ranks, because the normal Western title forbrigadierorbrigadier generalceased to exist for the Russian Army in 1798. Thekombrigrank that corresponded to one-star general only existed in the Soviet Union during 1935–1940. Positions typically reserved for these ranks, such asbrigadecommanders, have always been occupied bycolonels(polkovnik) or, very rarely,major generals(seeHistory of Russian military ranks).

The rank has usually been given to district, front and army commanders, and also to deputy ministers of defense, deputy heads of the general staff and so on.

In some post-SovietCommonwealth of Independent Statesarmies (for example inBelarus), there are no generals of the army ormarshals,and so colonel general is the highest rank, usually held by the minister of defense.

The corresponding naval rank isadmiral,which is alsodenoted by three stars.

Sweden

Colonel general (generalöverste) has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 19th century.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, colonel general (Ukrainian:Генерал-полковник,romanized:general-polkovnik) is now an obsolete military rank of general officers of theGround Forces,Air Force,Navy(only Marine Corps, Naval Aviation and Shore Establishment). It was first introduced in 1920 as part of a rank system inUkrainian People's Armyreplacing such terms asSotnykgeneralandBunchukgeneral.

From October 1, 2020, the rank of colonel general in Ukraine was no longer assigned and the highest rank of general was introduced. Until 2020, it was a higher rank than alieutenant general,but a lower rank thangeneral of the Army of Ukraine.

Although the rank of colonel general has not been awarded since 2020, it remains with its current bearers until they receive the military rank of general. Despite the fact that the military rank of colonel-general was withdrawn from circulation, after the next version of the order, the insignia of this rank were indicated. A colonel general has shoulder straps with four four-rayed stars above the maces. To distinguish the holders of the rank of colonel general from the holders of the newly introduced rank of general (have the same number of stars on the shoulder straps), it was decided to apply different schemes of star placement. The stars on the shoulder straps of the generals are located along the axis of the shoulder strap, and the stars of the colonel generals are arranged in a diamond.

Equivalent to the ranks of colonel general and general in the navy is the rank ofadmiral.Until 2020, the ranks of colonel general and admiral weredenoted by three stars.Since 2020, the ranks of general, colonel general and admiral have becomefour-star ranks(with existing colonel generals slotted below generals of the Armed Forces).

Insignia of the rank of colonel general, Ukraine:

until 2016			project 2016			2016–2020					from 2020

United Kingdom

The title of colonel general was used before and during theEnglish Civil Warin bothRoyalistandParliamentarianarmies. In these cases, it often appears to have meant a seniorcolonelas opposed to a senior general.

Colonel generals' insignia

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  գեներալ-գնդապետ
  General-gndapet
  (Armenian Ground Forces)
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  General-polkovnik
  (Azerbaijani Land Forces)
• 
  Ґенэрал-палкоўнік
  G̀jeneral-palkoŭnik
  (Belarusian Ground Forces)
• 
  General pukovnik
  (Bosnian Ground Forces)
• 
  General pukovnik
  (Croatian Army)
• 
  Генерал-Полҝвниҝ
  General-polkovnïk
  (Kazakh Ground Forces)
• 
  General pukovnik
  (Montenegrin Ground Army)
• 
  Генера́л-полко́вник
  Generál-polkóvnik
  (Russian Ground Forces)
• 
  Генерал-полковник
  General-polkovnik
  (Tajik National Army)
• 
  General-polkownik
  (Turkmen Ground Forces)
• 
  General-polkovnik
  (Uzbek Ground Forces)

See also

• Lieutenant colonel general
• List of colonel generals

References

Bibliography

• Ziemke, Earl F. (1968) [1968].Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East.Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History.OCLC1013364845.

External links

• Biographies of German armygeneralobersten
• Biographies ofLuftwaffegeneralobersten
• Biographies of Austro-Hungariangeneraloberstenof WWI(Archived2020-01-26 at theWayback Machine)