GENERALFELDMARSCHALL

'''Generalfeldmarschall''' () (general field marshal, usually translated simply as field marshal, and sometimes written only as '''Feldmarschall''') was a rank in the armies of several German states, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Austrian Empire. The rank was the equivalent of a General of the Army in some other nations, and to a Grand Admiral in the German Navy.
In the Prussian Army and later in the German Army the rank had several privileges, such as a constant escort/protection. In 1854 the rank of ''Generaloberst'' (Colonel-General) was created in order to promote Prince Wilhelm to senior rank without breaking the rule that only wartime field commanders could receive the rank of field marshal. In 1870 Prince Friedrich Karl and Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm became the first Prussian princes appointed field marshals.
In the armies and Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany, the rank of ''generalfeldmarschall'' was the highest military rank until 1941, when it was made subordinate to the even higher rank of ''Reichsmarschall'' (held solely by Hermann Göring). The equivalent of a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the navy was ''Großadmiral'' (Grand Admiral). The rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' was abolished after the fall of the Third Reich.
Currently, the highest rank in the reconstituted Bundeswehr is General. By permanent enactment of the Commander-in-Chief (''Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt'') of the ''Bundeswehr'', who is in peacetime, according to Art. 65 a GG, the ''Bundesminister der Verteidigung'' (Federal Minister of Defence), he has special command authority over all soldiers. The ''Generalinspekteur'' (''Inspector General of the Bundeswehr''), which is a post, heads the ''Führungsstab der Streitkräfte'' (Command Staff of the Armed Forces).
The ''Nationale Volksarmee'' (NVA) of the German Democratic Republic created the rank of ''Marschall der DDR'' (marshal of the GDR) on 25 March 1982. A general could be appointed to this rank by the ''Staatsrat'' (the head-of-state council of the GDR) during wartime or for exceptional military achievement; no one ever held the rank, however.

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See also

Miscellaneous

See also

★ List of German Field Marshals

★ List of Austrian Field Marshals

★ List of Field Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire

★ Comparative military ranks of World War I

★ Comparative military ranks of World War II

Miscellaneous

Hitler promoted Friedrich Paulus, commander of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, to the rank of Field Marshal shortly before his army's inevitable surrender in order to encourage him to continue to fight until death or commit suicide (no German field marshal at that point in history had ever been captured alive). Paulus surrendered anyway, responding to the promotion: "I have no intention of shooting myself for that Bohemian corporal."