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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.
Adopted from Italian (generalissimo) and Latin (generalissimus), the rank titles literally mean "the utmost general". A number of countries, including the Republic of China, France, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Sweden, Kingdom of Hawai'i and the USSR, have used these ranks.[ citation needed ] In most of these countries, the rank has only been held by one or two men.[ citation needed ]
The militaries of the Empire of Japan, Republic of China and North Korea use the rank of grand marshal (traditional Chinese and Japanese : 大元帥;; Tongyong Pinyin : da yuan shuai; rōmaji : dai-gensui; Korean : 대원수; romaja : taewonsu).
The United States Armed Forces have proposed and used two six-star ranks: General of the Armies and Admiral of the Navy. These are ranked directly above their five-star counterparts, General of the Army and Fleet Admiral.
During the early years of the Republic of China, three individuals assumed the rank of "grand marshal of the army and navy" (陸海軍大元帥): Yuan Shikai in 1913, Sun Yat-sen in 1917 and Zhang Zuolin in 1927. The rank of "general special class" or "generalissimo" (特級上將) was awarded to Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. No one in the People's Republic of China has ever been awarded the rank, though the supreme rank of "grand marshal of the People's Republic of China" (中華人民共和國大元帥 zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó dà yuánshuài) was proposed for Mao Zedong after the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, but was never conferred.
The title Maréchal général des camps et armées du roi ("Marshal General of the King's camps and armies") was given to signify that the recipient had authority over all the French armies in the days when a marshal usually governed only one army. This dignity was bestowed only on Marshals of France, usually when the dignity of Constable of France was unavailable or, after 1626, suppressed.
Marshal of France (French: Maréchal de France, plural Maréchaux de France) is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank but is granted to generals for exceptional achievements. It was one of the great officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration and one of the great dignitaries of the Empire during the First French Empire (when the title was not "marshal of France" but was "marshal of the Empire").
"Marshal of the Empire" (French: Maréchal d'Empire) was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by Sénatus-consulte on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent resurrected the formerly abolished title of marshal of France. According to the Sénatus-consulte, a marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the court and to the presidency of an electoral college.
The Italian rank of "first marshal of the Empire" was granted in 1938 to Benito Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel III, who remain the only holders, as the rank (and the Italian Empire) was abolished after World War II. [1]
The Japanese rank of dai-gensui ("grand marshal") was held by the Emperor of Japan in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army (from 1889 to 1945), and was abolished in 1947. It was held by three people: Emperor Meiji, Emperor Taishō, and Emperor Shōwa. [2]
In 1940 Nazi Germany, Hermann Göring was promoted by Adolf Hitler to Reichsmarschall, the highest rank in the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II (after the position of supreme commander, which was held by Hitler himself). Göring was the only person to hold this rank in modern times.[ citation needed ]
The rank of Reichsmarschall was originally created before the 12th century, during the time of the Holy Roman Empire. Historically, holding the rank of Reichsmarschall was neither unique nor as prestigious[ citation needed ] as it was during World War II. During the time of the German Empire and World War I, no one in the German armed forces held this rank.[ citation needed ]
The highest rank in North Korea is taewonsu and is intended to be an honorific title for the nation's leaders. Its insignia is based on the North Korean wonsu insignia, but with an added crest. The rank was created in 1992 when it was awarded to Kim Il Sung, who was the only holder until 2012, when his successor Kim Jong Il was awarded the title posthumously. [3] It is a seven-star equivalent rank.
The rank of wonsu is the highest military rank except taewonsu. Its insignia is a large single star, based on the insignia of marshal of the Soviet Union which is itself based on the marshal's star.[ citation needed ] North Koreans awarded the rank of wonsu have included: Kim Jong Il (1992), O Jin U (1992), Choe Kwang (1995) and Ri Ul-sol (1995). Rank of marshal with the title "marshal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (konghwaguk wonsu) is superior to "marshal of the Korean People's Army" (wonsu).[ citation needed ]
North Korea also maintains a rank of chasu , senior to the four-star rank of daejang , but junior to wonsu.
The Spanish rank mariscal presidente de los ejércitos (English: "marshal president of the armies") was a rank given by the Paraguayan Congress to Francisco Solano López at the beginning of the Paraguayan War. It is equivalent to the rank of grand marshal.[ citation needed ] López remains the only Paraguayan that was ranked as a marshal during his lifetime and also the only one with the title mariscal presidente de los ejércitos. José Félix Estigarribia posthumously received the rank of field marshal. [4]
Marshal of the Russian Federation (Russian:Маршал Российской Федерации, tr. Marshal Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the highest military rank of Russia, created in 1993 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In South Korea wonsu is considered a five-star rank, and uses an insignia based on the five-star insignia of the U.S. General of the Army. [5]
The rank of "generalissimus of the Soviet Union" was created on 27 June 1945, and granted to Joseph Stalin, who never actually wore the insignia; instead, his tunic with Marshal had a special design different from the regular military uniform of a Marshal. He was the only person ever to hold the rank. [6] [7]
George Dewey was promoted to the U.S. rank of admiral of the Navy on March 24, 1903, with effect from March 2, 1899. In 1944 the Navy Department declared Dewey's rank to be senior to the then newly created five-star rank of fleet admiral.[ citation needed ]
During the preparations for the invasion of Japan, a proposal was raised by the Navy Department to appoint Chester Nimitz to the rank of admiral of the Navy, or grant him some equivalent rank. [8] The proposal, however, was dropped after the Japanese surrender.
John Pershing was promoted to "General of the Armies" in 1919, from what was then the highest rank, the four-star rank of general. Under the regulations of the time, he was permitted to choose his insignia, and he chose four gold stars, in contrast to the four silver stars used by U.S. general and admiral rank insignia.
In 1976, as part of the American Bicentennial celebrations, a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress stated that "it is considered fitting and proper that no officer of the United States Army should outrank Lieutenant General George Washington". Hence, it was resolved that "the grade of General of the Armies of the United States (be) established" and George Washington be posthumously appointed to this grade. [9] President Ulysses S. Grant, who served as a general in the American Civil War prior to his presidency, was also posthumously promoted to this rank on 23 December 2022, the bicentenary of his birth.
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general or divisional general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral.
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.
Field marshal is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army, and as such, few persons are 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.
Generalfeldmarschall was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire (Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall); in the Habsburg monarchy, the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, the rank Feldmarschall was used. The rank was the equivalent to Großadmiral in the Kaiserliche Marine and Kriegsmarine, a five-star rank, comparable to OF-10 in today's NATO naval forces.
The following table shows comparative officer ranks of several Allied and Central powers during World War I.
General admiral or Admiral general was first a Dutch then Danish, German, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish naval rank. Its historic origin is a title high military or naval dignitaries of early modern Europe sometimes held, for example the (nominal) commander-in-chief of the Dutch Republic's navy.
Wonsu is the highest military rank in the armed forces of North Korea and South Korea.
Marshal of the air force or marshal of the air is a five-star rank and an English-language term for the most senior rank in some air forces. It is usually the direct equivalent of a general of the air force in other air forces, a field marshal or general of the army in many armies, or a naval admiral of the fleet.
Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. The following are some additional usages of the term grand marshal:
Army general is the highest active military rank of the French Army and the National Gendarmerie. It is also used in the Air and Space Force, where it is called Général d'armée aérienne.
Taewonsu is the highest possible military rank of North Korea and is intended to be an honorific title for Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. It is often confused with Marshal of the Republic and Marshal of the Korean People's Army, but ranks above both. The rank is senior to that of Wonsu. The title also exists in Chinese military history as dàyuánshuài, and was briefly taken by Sun Yat-sen.
General is the highest rank of the German Army and German Air Force. As a four-star rank it is the equivalent to the rank of admiral in the German Navy.
Gensui (元帥) may refer to:
Rikugun-gensui, formal rank designations: Gensui-rikugun-taishō was the highest title in the pre-war Imperial Japanese military.
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.
Yuanshuai was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a marshal in other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of Dayuanshuai, which corresponds to generalissimo was awarded to Chiang Kai Shek of the Republic of China. It was also proposed for Mao Zedong on the mainland, but he ultimately never accepted it.
Dayuanshuai was a Chinese military rank, usually translated as grand marshal or generalissimo.
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 Supreme Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy was the highest rank of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1872 to 1945, when the Empire of Japan was dissolved. The rank was only ever held by the Emperor of Japan as commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and, separately, the highest-ranking officer in each of the military branches. It formally became obsolete in 1947 when the Imperial Japanese military was abolished.
Colonel general is a 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 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.
