''General'' () is the highest rank of the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structure ...

and

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

. As a

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ...

it is the equivalent to the rank of admiral in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). ...

. The rank is rated OF-9 within

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. It has the grade of M406 within the Ministry of Defence's pay structure. The rank of General is reserved for the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

and the King

À la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia, the ...

History

The rank can be traced back to 1567, when

Daniel Rantzau Daniel Rantzau (1529 – 11 November 1569) was a Danish-German general. He was known for his leadership during the Northern Seven Years' War. For some years, he fought in Germany and Italy, and also took part in the Danish conquest of Dithmarschen ...

was made "

Captain general Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

and Field commander" ( da, generalkaptajn og feltoberst) by Frederick II. Since Denmark used German as the official command language, and was using heavily inspired German ranks, and the rank was later made service specific, with "

General of the infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German I ...

" and "

General of the cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

". On 25 May 1671, the ranks were codified, by King Christian V, with the publication of the

Danish order of precedence The Danish order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of Danish officials used to direct protocol. It has no official status and entails no special privileges, but has been established in practical use, e.g. determining seating arrangements at ...

. Here generals of the branch were placed below

Lieutenant field marshal Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...

( da, Feltmarskal Lieutenant), and above the noble rank of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

and the military rank of

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. Following the 1842 reform, the field marshal ranks were removed, making full general the highest rank and exclusive for the King and Hereditary Prince Ferdinand. As part of the Army Reform of 1867, the ranks of Major, Lieutenant colonel were removed and only a single "General" rank was kept. After the 1880 reform, the general officer ranks were reintroduced. Commanding generals of the

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and 2nd General Command were made Lieutenant generals while everyone else were made Major general. Again making the general exclusive for royalty. With the creation of the

Danish Defence Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

and Defence Command, it was decided that officers promoted to Chief of Defence, be given the rank of general or admiral. At the same time, the rank of general was also adopted as the highest rank for the newly created independent

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

Insignia

The first official uniform was instituted on 29 September 1737. The first few uniform designs have not survived, though they were likely red, highly ornamented coats without collar. The red coat remained until 1768, when

Comte de Saint-Germain The Comte de Saint Germain (; – 27 February 1784) was a European adventurer, with an interest in science, alchemy and the arts. He achieved prominence in European high society of the mid-18th century. Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel considere ...

instituted white uniforms for generals, these were however removed shortly after, in 1769. In 1772, the first real ranks were introduced to the Danish Army; these were gold rings on the cuffs, with three for full generals, two for Lieutenant generals, and one for major generals. This uniform saw a number of changes until 1785, when the cuff ranks were removed. In 1801, new uniforms were introduced for the whole army. Along with the new uniforms,

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales ...

ranks were introduced for officers, with generals wearing six-pointed stars on their epaulettes. The general ranks remained largely unchanged from their introduction until 1979, and the adoption of NATO STANAG 2116. The adoption created the new rank of Brigadier general, which would receive the one star, meaning the full general would end with 4 stars. However, four stars were considered too big for the shoulder insignia, a new insignia therefore created featuring Marshal batons. This insignia, was however, only used for a short period, and by

Jørgen Lyng Jørgen Lyng (born 7 March 1934), is a retired Danish general and a former Chief of Defence of Denmark. As a young soldier Lyng received training from SAS, this training among other, enabled him to help establish and complete training for Jæger ...

's appointment, the rank had changed to four-stars.

Rank insignia

Denmark-Army-OF-9 1801.svg, Army uniform Blank.svg, Full dress
Field uniform Blank.svg, Full dress
Field uniform Blank.svg, Full dress Denmark-Army-OF-9-1911 sleeve.svg, Field uniform Danish-Army-OF-9-M15.svg, ... Danish-Army-OF-9-M23.svg, ... Danish-Army-OF-9-M58.svg, ... Rank insignia of generalløjtnant of the Royal Danish Army.svg, ... Denmark-Army-CoD.svg, ... Rank insignia of general of the Royal Danish Army.svg, ... Blank.svg, Full dress Denmark-Army-OF-9-M11.svg, Field uniform RDAF Gen.svg, Air force File:RDAF-OF-9 Sleeve.svg, Air force sleeve

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite book , last1=Petersen , first1=Karsten Skjold , title=Kongens klæder - Hærens uniformer og udrustning i Danmark-Norge , date=2014 , publisher=Historika , location=Slovenia , isbn=9788793229006 , edition=1st , language=da

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

Military ranks of Denmark Royal Danish Army Royal Danish Air Force da:General

History

Insignia

Rank insignia

See also

References