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General-in-chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2018) |
General-in-chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.
In France, general-in-chief (French : général en chef) was first an informal title for the lieutenant-general commanding over other lieutenant-generals, or even for some marshals in charge of an army. During the Revolution, it became a title given to officers of général de division rank commanding an army. The généraux en chef wore four stars on their shoulders boards opposed to the three of a général de division. The title of général en chef was abolished in 1812, re-established during the Restoration and ultimately abolished in 1848.
In Russia, general-in-chief (Russian : генера́л-анше́ф, romanized: generál-anshéf, probably originating from the French général en chef), was a full general rank in the Russian Imperial army, the second highest rank, after the rank of marshal, in Russian military ranks (the 2nd grade of Table of Ranks). It was created in 1698 by Peter the Great. In 1798, the rank was divided into three equivalent ranks of general of the infantry, general of the cavalry and general of the artillery.
In the United States, the title "General in Chief" was used to refer to the commanding general of the United States Army, who was the Army's senior-most officer. Famous generals-in-chief were George Washington, Winfield Scott, Henry Halleck, George McClellan, and Ulysses S. Grant (Washington's title was commander-in-chief during the American Revolution, and he was only called the "Senior Officer of the Army" after he was president in the late 1790s). The position of "general-in-chief," not the commanding general of the United States Army, was abolished with the creation of the title of chief of staff in 1903 — the Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the modern-day equivalent, although the current position is not responsible for commanding military forces in the field, as the generals-in-chief did in the 19th century. The rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" was conferred upon General John J. Pershing in 1919 and to Lieutenant General George Washington (posthumously) in 1975 by acts of Congress. Washington's date of rank was retroactively dated to 1799, so that he will always be the senior ranking general of the United States Army.
On January 31, 1865, the 2nd Confederate States Congress established a “General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States”. General Robert E. Lee was appointed to the position on February 6 and served until the end of the American Civil War. [1] During the entire time, Lee retained command of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving in both positions until he was paroled as a prisoner of war on April 12.
| General in chief General en jefe (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Country |  Venezuela |
| Service branch |  Venezuelan Army  Venezuelan Military Aviation |
| Rank group | General officer |
| Formation | 1823 |
| Next lower rank | Major general |
Since the age of the independence war in Venezuela, the most senior officer is designated as general-in-chief (general en jefe). From its creation, the rank was represented by three suns (equivalent to three-star rank), but with the creation in 2008 of the rank of major general, four suns (equivalent to four-star rank) are used.
From the 1940s until 2001 the rank was not used. In 2001 Divisional General Lucas Rincon Romero was promoted to general-in-chief. He was the first-ever active officer to be promoted after six decades.
Since 2001, 18 officers have been promoted to this rank or equivalent (13 from the Army including 3 posthumously, 1 from the Air Force, also posthumously, 2 from the Navy, 1 other naval recipient having been promoted to Admiral plus 1 posthumously): [2]
| Name | Component | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| General-in-Chief Lucas Rincón Romero | Army | 2001 | |
| General-in-Chief Luis Acevedo Quintero | Air Force | 2002 | Promoted posthumously as the first and only General in Chief from the Air Force |
| General-in-Chief Jorge Luis García Carneiro | Army | 2004 | |
| Admiral Ramon Orlando Maniglia Ferreira | Navy | 2005 | First to be promoted to admiral, first-ever Venezuelan three-star admiral in two centuries after Luis Brion |
| General-in-Chief Raul Isaias Baduel | Army | 2006 | |
| General-in-Chief Gustavo Rangel Briceño | Army | 2007 | First four-sun promotion for the armed forces |
| General-in-Chief Carlos José Mata Figueroa | Army | 2009 | Second four-sun promotion for the armed forces, also promoted while being the Chief of the Operational Strategic Command |
| General-in-Chief Jesús González González | Army | 2009 | |
| General-in-Chief Almidien Moreno Acosta | Army | 2010 | Posthumously promoted |
| General-in-Chief Alberto Müller Rojas | Army | 2010 | Posthumously promoted |
| General-in-Chief Henry Rangel Silva | Army | 2010 | 2nd to be promoted while in capacity as Commander of the OSC |
| Admiral-in-Chief Diego Alfredo Molero Bellavia | Navy | 2012 | First Navy four-sun flag officer to be appointed Minister of Defense, 1st to be promoted to Admiral in Chief |
| Admiral-in-Chief Carmen Meléndez | Navy | 2013 | First woman ever to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first woman Minister of Defense in Venezuelan history |
| General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López | Army | 2013 | First to be promoted to General in Chief while being appointed as Commander of the OSC |
| General-in-Chief Jacinto Pérez Arcay | Army | 2014 | Oldest living general officer in Venezuelan history to be promoted to the rank |
| General-in-Chief Felix Antonio Velazquez | Army | 2016 | Promoted posthumously |
| Admiral-in-Chief Francisco de Miranda | Navy | 2016 | In honor of the bicentennial year since his death in prison and the 210th anniversary of his arrival in Venezuela, promoted posthumously |
| General-in-Chief Gustavo González López | Army (Bolivarian Intelligence Service) | 2017 | First SEBIN commandant to be promoted |
| Admiral-in-Chief Remigio Ceballos | Navy | 2017 | 3rd to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first naval officer to be appointed Commandant of the OSC |
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a military hierarchy. It incorporates the principles of exercising power and authority into the military chain of command—the succession of commanders superior to subordinates through which command is exercised. The military chain of command constructs an important component for organized collective action.
Field marshal is the second most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks, but junior to the rank of Generalissimo. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army, and as such, few persons are ever appointed to it. It is considered as a five-star rank (OF-10) in modern-day armed forces in many countries. Promotion to the rank of field marshal in many countries historically required extraordinary military achievement by a general. However, the rank has also been used as a divisional command rank and also as a brigade command rank. Examples of the different uses of the rank include Afghanistan, Austria-Hungary, Pakistan, Prussia/Germany, India and Sri Lanka for an extraordinary achievement; Spain and Mexico for a divisional command ; and France, Portugal and Brazil for a brigade command.
Commander is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II.
Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to the Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. Most of the rank names were borrowed from existing German/Prussian, French, English, Dutch, and Polish ranks upon the formation of the Russian regular army in the late 17th century.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
General of the Army is a five-star general officer rank in the United States Army. It is generally equivalent to the rank of Field Marshal in other countries. In the United States, a General of the Army ranks above generals and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a general of the Air Force. The General of the Army insignia consisted of five 3⁄8-inch (9.5 mm) stars in a pentagonal pattern, with touching points. The insignia was paired with the gold and enameled United States coat of arms on service coat shoulder loops. The silver colored five-star metal insignia alone would be worn for use as a collar insignia of grade and on the garrison cap. Soft shoulder epaulets with five 7⁄16-inch (11 mm) stars in silver thread and gold-threaded United States coat of arms on green cloth were worn with shirts and sweaters.
Rank insignia in the French Army are worn on the sleeve or on shoulder marks of uniforms, and range up to the highest rank of Marshal of France, a state honour denoted with a seven-star insignia that was last conferred posthumously on Marie Pierre Koenig in 1984.
The military ranks of the Soviet Union were those introduced after the October Revolution of 1917. At that time the Imperial Russian Table of Ranks was abolished, as were the privileges of the pre-Soviet Russian nobility.
In the United States Armed Forces, a lieutenant general is a three-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries. The rank is that of the most senior operational military commanders, and within NATO's standard rank scale it is designated by the code OF-10. Not all armed forces have such a rank, and in those that do the actual insignia of the five-star ranks may not contain five stars. For example: the insignia for the French OF-10 rank maréchal de France contains seven stars; the insignia for the Portuguese marechal contains four gold stars. The stars used on the various Commonwealth of Nations rank insignias are sometimes colloquially referred to as pips, but in fact either are stars of the orders of the Garter, Thistle or Bath or are Eversleigh stars, depending on the wearer's original regiment or corps, and are used in combination with other heraldic items, such as batons, crowns, swords or maple leaves.
In the United States Armed Forces, a major general is a two-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
A general officer is an officer of high military rank; in the uniformed services of the United States, general officers are commissioned officers above the field officer ranks, the highest of which is colonel in the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force and captain in the Navy, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps (NOAACC).
The general officers of the Confederate States Army (CSA) were the senior military leaders of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army before the Civil War, while others were given the rank based on merit or when necessity demanded. Most Confederate generals needed confirmation from the Confederate States Congress, much like prospective generals in the modern U.S. armed forces.
In many nations, the highest military ranks are classed as being equivalent to, or are officially described as, five-star ranks. However, a number of nations have used or proposed ranks such as generalissimo, which are senior to their five-star equivalent ranks.
Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. The rank originates from the Old European System and it is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and Generaloberst was a rank above full General, but below Generalfeldmarschall. 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.
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