Lieutenant General

From Freepedia

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in almost every country in the world. 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, normally subordinate to a Captain General.

In most nations, a Lieutenant General ranks immediately below a General and above a Major General. The oddity in precedence, where a Lieutenant General outranks a Major General whereas a Major would normally outrank a Lieutenant, is caused by the rank of Major General previously having been known as Sergeant Major General, which was in turn was subordinate to Lieutenant General.

Contents 1 France 2 Germany 3 Israel 4 Korea 5 United Kingdom 6 United States 7 See also

France

The equivalent in the French Army and French Air Force is Général de corps d'armée ("general of army corps"), who wears four stars.

Germany

The Bundeswehr refers to the rank as Generalleutnant. Before 1950, when Germany introduced the rank of Brigadegeneral, however, Generalleutnant was considered to be more equivalent to Major General and General to Lieutenant General.

Israel

In the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant General (Rav Aluf) is the highest rank, and is therefore sometimes considered equivalent to a full General.

Korea

Image:SouthKorea3Star.jpg The rank of Lieutenant General is known in South Korea as Chungjang. The rank is also held by Korean Vice Admirals and uses three stars as its badge of rank, much like the United States version.

In North Korea, a Lieutenant General is known as a Jungjang and outranks a Sojang. Although translatable as "Lieutenant General", a North Korean Jungjang is actually more of a Major General, since North Korea does not maintain a rank of Brigadier General. The real equivalent to Lieutenant General is Sangjang, translated as Colonel General.

United Kingdom

In the British Army and Royal Marines, a Lieutenant-General wears a crown over a crossed sword and baton.

A Lieutenant-General is equivalent to a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy. Its equivalent rank in the Royal Air Force and air forces of many Commonwealth countries is Air Marshal.

Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British officer ranks
	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1	OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Royal Navy:	OCdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Admiral of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt	OD	2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Field Marshal
Royal Air Force:	OCdt	OD	PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

United States

In three branches of the United States Army, United States Marine Corps and United States Air Force, a Lieutenant General is also called a three-star general, named for the three stars worn on the uniform.

For most of the first half of the 19th Century this rank, like that of full General, existed only on paper. Until the American Civil War, only one officer was ever promoted to this rank, Winfield Scott, an honorary, or brevet, promotion in 1855. George Washington was listed as a Lieutenant General on the Continental Army rolls after his death since he wore three stars, but his actual military title was General and Commander In Chief. The first full promotion to Lieutenant General did not take place until Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to that rank and elevated to Commanding General of the United States Army in 1864.

Image:Us flag large.png U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
United States Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
United States Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
United States Army:	Cdt	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
United States Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
United States Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)

</center>

See also

• Comparative military ranks