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Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated withGermany, where historicallygeneral officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, andGeneraloberst was a rank above fullGeneral, but belowGeneralfeldmarschall. The rank of colonel general is also used in the armed forces organized along the lines of the Soviet model, where it is comparable to that of alieutenant general.
In theAustro-Hungarian Army, the second-highest rank was colonel general (German:Generaloberst,Hungarian:vezérezredes). The rank was introduced in 1915, following the German model. The rank was not used afterWorld War I in theAustrian Army of the Republic.
The rank ofvezérezredes (lit. 'Chief regimental commander') is still used inHungary. The rank replaced the ranks ofgyalogsági tábornok (general of infantry),lovassági tábornok (general of cavalry), andtáborszernagy (general of artillery) in the early 1940s.[citation needed]
Since 1991,vezérezredes has been the highest rank in theHungarian Defence Forces, and is officially translated asGeneral.[1]
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The rank of colonel general (generálplukovník) was created in the Czechoslovak army in 1950, and dropped after the 1993 dissolution of the state.
In theFrench Army, under theAncien 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 anoffice of the Crown.
The Republic of Georgia adopted Soviet designations after its independence in 1991. The rank of colonel-general (Georgian:გენერალ-პოლკოვნიკი,general-polkovniki) is the highest rank in the Patrol Police and Border Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the Defence Forces it is the highest general officer rank. The Chief of Defence Forces is typically a major general.
The rank ofGeneraloberst was introduced in thePrussian Army in 1854, originally as Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal (Generaloberst in dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall) 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 theGerman Empire.
It was also used in theReichswehr of theWeimar Republic, and more prominently within theWehrmacht. The rank continued in theNational People's Army ofEast Germany untilGerman reunification in 1990. TheBundeswehr, first inWest Germany and since 1990 in unified Germany, does not use it and hasGeneral as highest rank.
![Generaloberst (German Army)[2]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWMacht_H_OF9_GenOberst_1945.svg)
![Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall (Imperial German Army)[3]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKHeer_OF9_GenOberst_iRd_GenFM_1919.svg)
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,Sonomyn Luvsangombo, is living. Since 2006, this rank has been removed from the ranks of the Mongolian Armed Forces.
TheNorth Korean rank ofsangjang translates as "colonel general". Asangjang is senior to ajungjang (usually translated as "lieutenant general") and junior to adaejang (usually translated as "general").
This rank is typically held by the commanding officer of units along theKorean DMZ and the North Korean security zone atPanmunjom. It is the rank held by the KPAPyongyang Defense Command's commanding general.
The rank of colonel general (Russian:генерал-полковник,romanized: general-polkovnik) was first established in theRed Army on 7 May 1940, as a replacement for the previously existingKomandarm 2nd rank (kommandarm vtorovo ranga, "army commander of the second rank").[4] DuringWorld War II, about 199 officers were promoted to colonel general. Before 1943, Soviet colonel generals wore four stars on their collar patches (petlitsy). Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps—in most armed forcesthree stars usually identify the second- or third-highest general or flag officer, as for aUnited States lieutenant general.[5]Unlike the GermanGeneraloberst (which it most probablycalqued)[according to whom?], the Soviet and Russian colonel general rank is not exceptional or rare, but a normal step in the progression from two-starlieutenant general to four-stararmy general.[citation needed]
Other than that, the Soviet and Russian rank systems sometimes cause confusion in regard to equivalence of ranks, because the normal Western title forbrigadier orbrigadier general ceased to exist for the Russian Army in 1798. Thekombrig rank that corresponded to one-star general only existed in the Soviet Union from 1935– to 1940. Positions typically reserved for these ranks, such asbrigade commanders, have always been occupied bycolonels (polkovnik) or, very rarely,major generals (seeHistory 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.[citation needed]
In some post-SovietCommonwealth of Independent States armies (for example inBelarus), there are no generals of the army ormarshals; colonel general is the highest rank, usually held by the minister of defense.
The corresponding naval rank isadmiral, which is alsodenoted by three stars.
Colonel general (generalöverste) has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 19th century.
In Ukraine, colonel general (Ukrainian:генерал-полковник,romanized: heneral-polkovnyk) is now an obsolete military rank of general officers of theGround Forces,Air Force, andNavy (only Marine Corps, Naval Aviation and Shore Establishment). It was first introduced in 1920 as part of a rank system inUkrainian People's Army replacing such terms asSotnyk general andBunchuk 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 alieutenant general, but a lower rank thangeneral 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. A 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 ofadmiral. Until 2020, the ranks of colonel general and admiral weredenoted by three stars. Since 2020, the ranks of general, colonel general and admiral have becomefour-star ranks (with existing colonel generals slotted below generals of the Armed Forces).
Insignia of the rank of colonel general, Ukraine:
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | .svg) |
| until 2016 | project 2016 | 2016–2020 | from 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The title of colonel general was used before and during theEnglish Civil War in bothRoyalist andParliamentarian armies. In these cases, it often appears to have meant a seniorcolonel as opposed to a senior general.
![գեներալ-գնդապետ General-gndapet (Armenian Ground Forces)[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmenia-Army-OF-8.svg)
![General-polkovnik (Azerbaijani Land Forces)[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGeneral-polkovnik_AzSQ.svg)
![Ґенэрал-палкоўнік G̀jeneral-palkoŭnik (Belarusian Ground Forces)[8]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPost-Soviet-Army-OF-8.svg)
![General pukovnik (Bosnian Ground Forces)[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBosnia%2526Herzegovina-Army-OF-8.svg)
![General pukovnik (Croatian Army)[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmy-HRV-OF-08.svg)
![Генерал-Полҝвниҝ General-polkovnïk (Kazakh Ground Forces)[11]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a19-RKGF-CG.svg)
![General pukovnik (Montenegrin Ground Army)[12]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a19-Montenegro_Army-GEN.svg)
![Генерал-полковник General-polkovnik (Tajik National Army)[14]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTajikistan-Army-OF-8.png)
![General-polkovnik (Uzbek Ground Forces)[16]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aUzbekistan-army-OF-8.svg)
