COLONEL GENERAL
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'Colonel General' is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. North Korea and Russia are two nations which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories. The rank is also closely associated with Germany, where ''Generaloberst'' has been the full General and a rank below ''Generalfeldmarschall''.
Colonel General (''Generaloberst'') was the second-highest rank in the Austrian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The rank was not used in the post-World War I Austrian Army.
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. 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.
The title of Colonel-General was used before and during the English Civil War in both Royalist and Parliamentarian armies. In these cases it often appears to have meant a senior colonel as opposed to a senior general.
Main articles: Colonel General (France)
In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in charge 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 an office of the Crown.
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).
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". 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 equivalent ''SS'' rank was ''Oberstgruppenführer''.
East Germany's National People's Army (NVA) retained this rank as its third highest, behind ''Armeegeneral'' and ''Marschall der DDR''.
The Bundeswehr (first in West Germany and since 1990 in a unified Germany) does not use the rank.
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. 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.
The North Korean rank of ''Sangjang'' translates as "Colonel General". ''Sangjang'' is subordinate to the rank of ''Daejang'', usually translated as "General".
This rank is typically held by the commanding officer of units along the Korean DMZ and the North Korean security zone at Panmunjon. In 2000, the Colonel General in command of Panmunjon was comically referred to as "The Iguana" by U.S. forces, as the General's Korean surname bore a resemblance to the English word.
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. 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 Lieutenant General and General of the Army, which is normally reserved for a full General in Western armies.
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. 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).
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. Before 1943, Soviet Colonel Generals wore four stars on their collar patches (''petlitsy''). 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.
The corresponding naval rank is Admiral, which is also denoted by three stars.
Colonel General (''Generalöverste'') has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 1800s.
★ List of Colonel Generals
Data about Germany and Austria are based in part on the corresponding article "" in the German-language Wikipedia, retrieved Oct 15, 2004.
★ Biographies of German Army Generalobersten
★ Biographies of Luftwaffe Generalobersten
★ Biographies of Austro-Hungarian Generalobersten of WWI
| Contents |
| Austria |
| China |
| England |
| France |
| Germany |
| Hungary |
| North Korea |
| Russia |
| Sweden |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Austria
Colonel General (''Generaloberst'') was the second-highest rank in the Austrian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The rank was not used in the post-World War I Austrian Army.
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. 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. In these cases it often appears to have meant a senior colonel as opposed to a senior general.
France
Main articles: Colonel General (France)
In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in charge 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 an office of the Crown.
Germany
German ''Generaloberst'' Insignia
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).
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". 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 equivalent ''SS'' rank was ''Oberstgruppenführer''.
East Germany's National People's Army (NVA) retained this rank as its third highest, behind ''Armeegeneral'' and ''Marschall der DDR''.
The Bundeswehr (first in West Germany and since 1990 in a unified Germany) does not use the rank.
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. 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
''Sangjang'' insignia
The North Korean rank of ''Sangjang'' translates as "Colonel General". ''Sangjang'' is subordinate to the rank of ''Daejang'', usually translated as "General".
This rank is typically held by the commanding officer of units along the Korean DMZ and the North Korean security zone at Panmunjon. In 2000, the Colonel General in command of Panmunjon was comically referred to as "The Iguana" by U.S. forces, as the General's Korean surname bore a resemblance to the English word.
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. 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 Lieutenant General and General of the Army, which is normally reserved for a full General in Western armies.
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. 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).
General-polkovnik insignia
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. Before 1943, Soviet Colonel Generals wore four stars on their collar patches (''petlitsy''). 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.
The corresponding naval rank is Admiral, which is also denoted by three stars.
Sweden
Colonel General (''Generalöverste'') has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 1800s.
See also
★ List of Colonel Generals
References
Data about Germany and Austria are based in part on the corresponding article "" in the German-language Wikipedia, retrieved Oct 15, 2004.
External links
★ Biographies of German Army Generalobersten
★ Biographies of Luftwaffe Generalobersten
★ Biographies of Austro-Hungarian Generalobersten of WWI
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