Colonel General

Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. North Korea and Russia are two nations which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories. The rank is also closely associated with Germany, as Colonel General was originally created as a German rank between a full General and a Generalfeldmarschall.

Contents

1 Germany 1.1 Reichswehr Holders 1.2 Wehrmacht Holders 2 Austria 3 England 4 Reference

Germany

A Colonel General (Generaloberst) was the second highest General Officer rank — below Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) — in the Prussian Army and later in the Army of Imperial Germany (1871–1918), the Reichswehr (1918–1935), and the Wehrmacht (1935–1945).

In cases where a Colonel General was acting in the capacity of a Field Marshal, the rank was referred to as Generaloberst mit dem Rang eines Generalfeldmarschalls. Such persons were entitled to wear four pips on a shoulder board, compared to the normal three. The only known situation where such a title would have been authorized was during the Battle of Stalingrad when Friedrich Paulus assumed the duties of a Field Marshal before he was actual promoted (Paulus would be promoted to the rank at the close of the Battle but never wore the Field Marshal insignia).

The equivalent of a Colonel-General in the Kriegsmarine was a General Admiral (Generaladmiral). The equivalent Schutzstaffel (SS) rank was Oberstgruppenführer.

East Germany's National People's Army retained this rank as its second highest, behind Armeegeneral. The Bundeswehr (first in West Germany and since 1990 in a unified Germany) does not use the rank. Since the German Army had no Brigadier Generals, the rank of Generaloberst is often considered to equate to a full General in the British or United States Armies.

Reichswehr Holders

• Hans von Seeckt (1866–1936)

Wehrmacht Holders

A complete list of Wehrmacht and SS Colonel-Generals except for those who later served as Field Marshals. As indicated, some of them had differently named (but equivalent) ranks, such as SS-Oberstgruppenführer.

1. Wilhelm Adam (1877–1949)
2. Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962)
3. Ludwig Beck (1880–July 20, 1944), shot
4. Johannes Blaskowitz (1883–1948), suicide
5. Kurt Daluege (1897–1946), executed – SS-Oberstgruppenführer
6. Eduard Dietl (1890–1944), died in airplane crash
7. Sepp Dietrich (1892–1966) – SS-Oberstgruppenführer
8. Friedrich Dollmann (1882–1944)
9. Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (1885–1968)
10. Johannes Friessner (1892–1971)
11. Werner von Fritsch (1880–1939), suicide
12. Friedrich Fromm (1888–1945), executed
13. Heinz Guderian (1888–1954)
14. Curt Haase (1881–1943)
15. Franz Halder (1884–1972)
16. Kurt Freiherr (Baron) von Hammerstein-Equord (1878-1943)
17. Josef Harpe (1887–1968)
18. Paul Hausser (1880–1972) – SS-Oberstgruppenführer
19. Gotthard Heinrici (1886–1971)
20. Walter Heitz (1878–1944)
21. Carl Hilpert (1888–1947)
22. Wilhelm Heye (1869–1946)
23. Karl-Adolf Hollidt (1891–1985)
24. Hermann Hoth (1885–1971)
25. Erich Hoepner (1886–1944), executed
26. Hans Valentin Hube (1890–1944), died in airplane crash
27. Erwin Jaenecke (1890–1960)
28. Hans Jeschonnek (1899–1943), suicide
29. Alfred Jodl (1890–1946), executed
30. Georg Lindemann (1884–1963)
31. Eberhard von Mackensen (1889–1969)
32. Erhard Raus (1889–1956)
33. Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1887–1963)
34. Lothar Rendulic (1887–1971)
35. Richard Ruoff (1883–1967)
36. Hans von Salmuth (1888–1962)
37. Rudolf Schmidt (1886–1957)
38. Eugen Ritter von Schobert (1883–1941)
39. Franz Xaver Schwarz (1875–1947) – SS-Oberstgruppenführer (honorary)
40. Walter von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (1888–1976)
41. Adolf Strauß (1879–1973)
42. Karl Strecker (1884–1973)
43. Ernst Udet (1896–1941), suicide – Generalluftzeugmeister
44. Heinrich-Gottfried von Vietinghoff-Scheel (1887–1952)
45. Walter Weiß (1890–1967)
46. Kurt Zeitzler (1895–1963)

Austria

Colonel General (Generaloberst) was also the second-highest rank in the Austrian Army, although it was not used between 1915 and 1918. Holders of this rank were:

1. Archduke Josef Ferdinand (1872–1942)
2. Friedrich Graf (Count) von Beck-Rzikowsky (1830–1920)
3. Eduard Graf Paar (1837–1919)
4. Arthur Freiherr von Bolfras (1838–1922)
5. Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi (1852–1926)
6. Karl Freiherr von Pflanzer-Baltin (1855–1925)
7. Viktor Graf von Dankl (1854–1941)
8. Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas (1854–1921)
9. Paul Freiherr Puhallo von Brlog (1856–1926)
10. Archduke Leopold Salvator (1863–1931)
11. Karl Graf von Kirchbach auf Lauterbach (1856–1939)
12. Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen zu Barenfels (1855–1932)
13. Karl Graf Huyn (1857–1938)
14. Hermann Kusmanek von Burgneustädten (1860–1934)
15. Karl Křitek (1861–1928)
16. Wenzel Freiherr von Wurm (1859–1921)
17. Samuel Freiherr von Hazai (1851–1942)
18. Leopold Freiherr von Hauer (1854–1933)
19. Viktor Graf von Scheuchenstuel (1857–1938)
20. Stephan Freiherr Sarkotić von Lovčen (1858–1939)
21. Josef Ritter Roth von Limanowa-Lapanów (1859–1927)
22. Arthur Freiherr Arz von Straussenburg (1857–1935)
23. Hugo Martiny von Malastów (1860–1940)
24. Rudolf Freiherr Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten (1861–1921)
25. Alois Fürst Schönburg-Hartenstein (1858–1944)

England

The title of Colonel-General was used before and during the English Civil War in both Royalist and Parliamentarian armies. In these cases it often appears to have meant a senior colonel as opposed to a senior general. Examples include:

• Sir Arthur Aston , Colonel-General of the Yorkshire Trained Bands (1640)
• Sir Thomas Baskerville , Colonel-General of land forces accompanying Sir Francis Drake's expedition to the West Indies (1595–1596); Colonel-General of English forces in Picardy (1596–1597)
• John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, Royalist Colonel-General of Devon and Cornwall (1645–1646)
• Richard Bonython , Colonel-General of the Saco Militia (1645–?)
• Sir Nicholas Byron , Royalist Colonel-General of Cheshire (1643–1644)
• Charles Cavendish , Royalist Colonel-General of Lincolnshire (1642–1643)
• Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, Colonel-General of the London Foot (1601)
• Sir John Corbet , Parliamentarian Colonel-General of Shropshire (1642)
• Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Colonel-General of the English Horse in the Netherlands (1586–1587)
• John Frescheville, 1st Baron Frescheville of Staveley , Royalist Colonel-General of Derbyshire (1644–1645)
• Sir Thomas Glemham , Royalist Colonel-General of Northumberland (1643–1646)
• Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, Royalist Colonel-General of the East Midlands (1643)
• Bussy Mansell , Royalist Colonel-General of Wales (1645)
• Sir Charles Morgan , Colonel-General of His Majesty's Forces in the Service of the King of Denmark
• Sir John Norris , Colonel-General of the Dutch Army in Friesland (1580–1583); Colonel-General of the English Army in the Netherlands (1585–1586); Colonel-General of the English Foot in the Netherlands (1586–1587)
• Sydenham Poyntz , Parliamentarian Colonel-General of the Northern Association (1645–1647)
• Robert Radcliffe, 5th Earl of Sussex , Colonel-General of Foot (1599)
• Colonel-General Ruthin, Parliamentarian Governor of Plymouth
• Sir Thomas Scott , Colonel-General of Kent, Spanish Armada campaign (1588)
• Sir William Vavasour , Royalist Colonel-General of the Welsh Marches (1643–1644)
• Sir Francis Vere , Colonel-General of English Foot in the Netherlands (?–1604)
• Sir Richard Willys , Royalist Colonel-General of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland (1645)

Reference

This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the German-language Wikipedia.