Colonel General

Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a rank above full , but below . 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 a lieutenant general in many NATO armed forces (rank code OF-8). The rank of colonel general that exists within the Arab model () corresponds to a full general (NATO rank code OF-9).

Austria

Colonel general
() was the second-highest rank in the Austro-Hungarian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The rank was not used after World War I in the Austrian Army of the Republic.

Czechoslovakia

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

Egypt

The Egyptian Army uses a rank that translates as "colonel general". It is equal to the rank of 4-star or "full" general. Colonel general is, however, junior to the rank of field marshal and is an honorary distinction usually held only by defense ministers.

France

In the French Army, under the ''Ancien 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 an office of the Crown.

Georgia

The Republic of Georgia adopted Soviet designations after its independence in 1991 so that the rank of colonel-general ( ka, გენერალ-პოლკოვნიკი, ) 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

The rank of was introduced in the Prussian Army in 1854, originally as Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal () 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 the German Empire.

It was also used in the ''Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, and more prominently within the ''Wehrmacht'' and '' Waffen-SS''. The rank continued in the National People's Army of East Germany until German reunification in 1990. The ''Bundeswehr'', first in West Germany and since 1990 in unified Germany, does not use it and has ''General'' as highest rank.

WMacht H OF9 GenOberst 1945.svg,
( German Army)
KHeer OF9 GenOberst iRd GenFM 1919.svg,
( Imperial German Army)

Hungary

In Hungary, the rank of colonel general (''vezérezredes'') was introduced to 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 officers of the Hungarian Defence Forces ( hu, Magyar Honvédség) and foreign four-star general officers' rank titles are usually translated as ''vezérezredes'' in Hungarian, including Commonwealth air forces' Air Chief Marshals.

Iraq

The equivalent rank for Colonel general in Iraq is called ( ar, فريق أول), which is now considered the highest rank in the Iraqi 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 is Sonomyn Luvsangombo. Since 2006, this rank has been removed from the ranks of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

North Korea

The North Korean rank of ''sangjang'' translates as "colonel general". ''Sangjang'' is senior to that of '' jungjang'' (usually translated as "lieutenant general") and junior to that 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 Panmunjom. It is also the rank held by the KPA Pyongyang Defense Command's commanding general.

Russia

The rank of colonel general (russian: генерал-полковник, translit=general- polkovnik was first established in the Red Army on 7 May 1940, as a replacement for the previously existing ( , "army commander of the second rank"). During World War II, about 199 officers were promoted to colonel general. Before 1943, Soviet colonel generals wore four stars on their collar patches (). Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps, so Charles Pettibone compares the rank to the US lieutenant general.

Unlike the German (which it most probably calqued), 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-star lieutenant general and a four-star army general.

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 for the Russian Army in 1798. The Kombrig rank that corresponded to one-star general only existed in the Soviet Union during 1935–1940. Positions typically reserved for these ranks, such as brigade commanders, have always been occupied by colonels () 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 the general staff and so on.

In some post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States 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 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 19th century.

Syria

The Syrian Arab Army uses the rank of colonel general ( "''Imad-awwal''عماد أول) only for the senior-most rank of the army beneath that of field marshal. Usually, only defence ministers have held this rank – only six officers have held this rank till now – Hafez al-Assad, Mustafa Tlass, Hikmat al-Shihabi, Ali Habib Mahmud, Dawoud Rajiha and Fahd Jassem al-Freij.

Ukraine

Colonel general ( ua, Генерал-полковник, translit=general- polkovnik) – obsolete military rank of general officers of the Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy (only Marine Corps, Naval Aviation and Shore Establishment). It was first introduced in 1920 as part of a rank system in Ukrainian People's Army replacing such terms as Sotnyk general and Bunchuk general.

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 a lieutenant general, but a lower rank than General 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. The 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 of admiral. Until 2020, the ranks of Colonel General and Admiral were denoted by three stars. Since 2020, the ranks of General, Colonel General and Admiral have become four-star ranks (with existing Colonel Generals slotted below Generals of the Armed Forces).

Insignia of the rank of Colonel-General, Ukraine:

United Kingdom

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.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the rank of colonel general is known as ''Thượng Tướng'' (literally "upper general"). It is a three-star rank (OF-9a) in the Ground Force and Air Force. ''Thượng Tướng'' is senior to ''Trung Tướng'' (usually translated as "lieutenant general") and junior to ''Đại Tướng'' (usually translated as "general"). It is used in the army and the air force. It is the equivalent to ''Đô Đốc'' (admiral) in the Navy.

Colonel generals' insignia

File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-8.svg,

( Armenian Ground Forces)
File:18.AzAF-CG.png,
( Azerbaijani Land Forces)
File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-8.svg,

( Belarusian Ground Forces)
File:Bosnia and Herzegovina Colonel-general Insignia.svg,
(Bosnian Ground Forces)
File:Army-HRV-OF-08.svg,
( Croatian Army)
File:19-RKGF-CG.svg,

( Kazakh Ground Forces)
File:19-Montenegro Army-GEN.svg,
(Montenegrin Ground Army)
File:Russia-Army-OF-8-2010.svg,

(Russian Ground Forces)
File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-8.svg,

( Tajik National Army)
File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-8.svg,
( Turkmen Ground Forces)
File:Uzbekistan-army-OF-8.svg,
( Uzbek Ground Forces)

See also

* Lieutenant colonel general
* List of Colonel Generals

References

External links

Biographies of German army ''generalobersten''
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126215633/http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/genobst.htm , date=2020-01-26

Colonel generals
Military ranks