is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

an countries.

Austria

Belgium

Denmark

is the second lowest

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

rank in the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods ...

and

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

. As a

two-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usuall ...

it is the equivalent to the rank of

counter admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...

in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

. The rank is rated

OF-7 Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

within

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. It has the grade of M404 within the Ministry of Defence's pay structure. The rank of major general is reserved for the Chief of the army and

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 army aviati ...

History

On 25 May 1671, the ranks were codified, by

King Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

, with the publication of the

Danish order of precedence The Danish order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of Denmark, 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 arrange ...

. Here generals of the branch were placed below

Lieutenant field marshal Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was a senior army rank in certai ...

(), 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 York: ...

and the military rank of

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

. 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 most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 2nd General Command were made Lieutenant generals while everyone else were made Major general.

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 Count of St. Germain (French: ''Comte de Saint Germain''; ; – 27 February 1784) whose real name and origins remain unknown, was a European adventurer who had interests and achievements in science, alchemy, philosophy, and the arts. He ...

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 scale ...

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 major general would receive two stars.

Rank insignia

Denmark-Army-OF-7 1801.svg, Army uniform Blank.svg, Full dress
Field uniform Blank.svg, Full dress
Field uniform Blank.svg, Full dress Denmark-Army-OF-7-1911 sleeve.svg, Field uniform Danish-Army-OF-7-M15.svg, ... Danish-Army-OF-7-M23.svg, ... Danish-Army-OF-7-M58.svg, ... Rank insignia of brigadegeneral of the Royal Danish Army.svg, ... Denmark-Army-OF-6-M69-shirt.svg, Service shirt slip-on Rank insignia of generalmajor of the Royal Danish Army.svg, Field uniform Blank.svg, Full dress Denmark-Army-OF-7-M69-shirt.svg, Service shirt slip-on Denmark-Army-OF-7-M11.svg, Field uniform RDAF Maj Gen.svg, Air Force File:RDAF-OF-7 Sleeve.svg, Air Force sleeve

Finland

Germany

It is the third-highest

rank in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

(''Heer'') and

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

(''Luftwaffe''). This rank is also used in the

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (20 ...

, but is abbreviated as ''GenMjr''. Historically, German Army ranks for its generals prior to 1945 were offset by one from those of most other major

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

armies. Thus, prior to 1945, the ''Generalmajor'' rank in the German Army was equivalent to the brigadier general rank in other armies, and so forth.

''Generalmajor'' in modern Germany

The rank is rated

, and is grade B7 in the pay rules of the

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...

. It is equivalent to ''

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

'' in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

(''Marine'') or to ''

Generalstabsarzt and are Two star rank, "two-star" ranks and the second highest ranks in the medical service of the German Bundeswehr. Equivalent ranks in the are and in the . Bundeswehr and are the second highest ranks of the Joint Medical Service (G ...

'', and '' Admiralstabsarzt'' in the '' Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr''. On the shoulder straps (''Heer'', ''Luftwaffe'') there are two golden pips (stars) in golden oak leaves. ;''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

'' sequence of ranks ascending:

''Generalmajor'' in East Germany

''Generalmajor'' was in the so-called "armed organs of the GDR" (), represented by

Ministry of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, and Ministry for State Security, the lowest

rank, comparable to the

one-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

in many NATO-Armed forces (Rangcode OF-6). This was in reference to Soviet military doctrine and in line with other armed forces of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

. The equivalent rank of the ''

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

'' (GDR Navy) was the ''

'', often called simply ''Herr Admiral'' for short.

''Generalmajor'' of the ''Wehrmacht''

''Generalmajor'' was in the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

the lowest

rank, comparable to the

in many NATO-Armed forces (Rangcode OF-6). It was equivalent to ''

'' in the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'', and '' SS-Brigadeführer'' in the ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

'' until 1945. ;Rank insignia ''Generalmajor'' / ''Konteradmiral'': ;Sequence of ranks ascending:

Norway

Sweden

Generalmajor is a

military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

that is equivalent to a

two-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usuall ...

. It is the third highest military rank, positioned above brigadgeneral (brigade general) and below generallöjtnant (general lieutenant).https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/contentassets/a8e97e16e38b41a2bb46eb7dcf097370/gradbeteckningar-191001.pdf

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * * {{German military ranks Military ranks of Germany da:Generalmajor de:Generalmajor