Generaloberst

Generaloberst, in English colonel general, was, in Germany and Austria-Hungary—the German Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, and the East German National People's Army, as well as the respective police services—the second highest general officer rank, ranking as equal to a 4 star full general but below general field marshal. It was equivalent to Generaladmiral in the Kriegsmarine until 1945, or to Flottenadmiral in the Volksmarine until 1990. The rank was the highest ordinary military rank and the highest military rank awarded in peacetime; the higher rank of general field marshal was only awarded in wartime by the head of state. In general, a Generaloberst had the same privileges as a general field marshal.

For the use of this Four-star rank in other countries, see Colonel general.
Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten here as Generaloberst

A literal translation of Generaloberst would be "uppermost general", but it is often translated as "colonel-general" by analogy to Oberst, "colonel", including in countries where the rank was adopted, e.g. in Russia (генерал-полковник, general-polkovnik). "Oberst" derives from the superlative form of Germanic ober (upper), cognate to English over, thus "Superior General" might be a more idiomatic rendering. The rank was created in 1854, originally for Emperor William I—then Prince of Prussia—because traditionally members of the royal family were not promoted to the rank of field marshal. During the 19th century the rank was largely honorary and usually only held by members of the princely families or the Governor of Berlin. Regular promotion of professional officers to the grade did not begin until 1911. Since the rank of Generalfeldmarschall was also reserved for wartime promotions, the additional rank of a "supreme general in the capacity of a field marshal"—the Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls—was created for promotions during peacetime. Such generals were entitled to wear four pips on their shoulder boards, compared to the normal three. As such, Generaloberst could be a peacetime equivalent of the general field marshal rank.

Generaloberst was the second highest general officer rank—below field marshal—in the Prussian Army as well as in the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1921–33), the Wehrmacht (which included the Luftwaffe, established in 1935) of Nazi Germany (1933–45), and the East German Nationale Volksarmee (1949–1991). As military ranks were often used for other uniformed services, the rank was also used by the Waffen-SS and the Ordnungspolizei of Nazi Germany, and the Volkspolizei and Stasi of East Germany. In East Germany, the rank was junior to the general of the army (Armeegeneral), as well as to the briefly extant, and never awarded, rank of Marschall der DDR.

Austro-Hungarian Army
gorget patch Generaloberst of the k.u.k. Common Army

In 1915 the Generaloberst - Vezérezredes rank was introduced to the Austro-Hungarian Common Army. It was the second highest behind the Feldmarschall - Tábornagy rank.

See also
Main article: List of Austro-Hungarian colonel generals
  1. 1916 Erzherzog Joseph Ferdinand von Österreich-Toskana (1872–1942)
  2. Friedrich Graf 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 Dankl von Krasnik (1854–1941)
  8. Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas (1854–1921)
  9. Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen zu Barensfeld (1855–1932)
  10. Paul Freiherr Puhallo von Brlog (1856–1926)
  11. Erzherzog Leopold Salvator von Österreich-Toskana (1863–1931)
  12. Karl Graf von Kirchbach auf Lauterbach (1856–1939)
  13. Karl Georg 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 Freiherr Roth von Limanowa-Łapanów (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)

German Empire

Rank insignia of the German Empire 1871 until 1918, here shoulder strap of the German Imperial Army: twisted of silver- and golden-braids with three stars to "Colonel general" (equivalent to four-star rank, today: OF-9).

Generaloberst (1871–1918)

Bavarian Army
  • December 27, 1911 – Carl von Horn (1847–1923), Minister of War
  • August 1, 1914 – Otto Kreß von Kressenstein (1850–1929), Minister of War
  • April 9, 1918 – Felix von Bothmer (1852–1937), commander-in chief in WW I

Prussian Army
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden as Prussian Generaloberst (with the special rank GFM)

Royal Saxon Army

Army of Württemberg
  • February 25, 1913 – Philipp Herzog von Württemberg (1838–1917), à la suite of the Army of Württemberg
  • September 24, 1913 – Albrecht Herzog von Württemberg (1865–1939), later also Prussian Generalfeldmarschall
  • 1918 – Otto von Marchtaler (1854–1920), Minister of War

Weimar Republic

Reichswehr
  • January 1, 1926 – Hans von Seeckt (1866–1936), Chief of the Heeresleitung
  • January 1, 1930 – Wilhelm Heye (1869–1947), Chief of the Heeresleitung
  • 1934 – Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (1878–1943), Chief der Heeresleitung

Nazi Germany

Wehrmacht
Colonel General
Generaloberst
Army shoulder board
Country Nazi Germany
Service branch German Army
 Luftwaffe
RankFour-Star
NATO rankOF-9
Non-NATO rankO-10
Abolished1945
Next higher rankGeneralfeldmarschall
Next lower rankGeneral der Waffengattung
Equivalent rankssee list

The equivalent ranks of a colonel general were in the:

⇒ see also main articles Ranks: Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, and Waffen-SS

Heer
  1. April 20, 1936 – Werner von Fritsch (1880–1939)
  2. November 1, 1938 – Ludwig Beck (1880–1944)
  3. December 31, 1938 – Wilhelm Adam (1877–1949)
  4. October 1, 1939 – Johannes Blaskowitz (1883–1948)
  5. July 19, 1940 – Friedrich Dollmann (1882–1944)
  6. July 19, 1940 – Heinz Guderian (1888–1954)
  7. July 19, 1940 – Franz Halder (1884–1972)
  8. July 19, 1940 – Hermann Hoth (1885–1971)
  9. July 19, 1940 – Adolf Strauß (1879–1973)
  10. July 19, 1940 – Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (1885–1968)
  11. July 19, 1940 – Friedrich Fromm (1888–1945)
  12. July 19, 1940 – Curt Haase (1881–1943)
  13. July 19, 1940 – Erich Hoepner (1886–1944)
  14. July 19, 1940 – Eugen Ritter von Schobert (1883–1941)
  15. January 1, 1942 – Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1887–1963)
  16. January 1, 1942 – Rudolf Schmidt (1886–1957)
  17. April 1, 1942 – Richard Ruoff (1883–1967)
  18. June 1, 1942 – Eduard Dietl (1890–1944)
  19. July 3, 1942 – Georg Lindemann (1884–1963)
  20. December 3, 1942 – Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962)
  21. January 1, 1943 – Gotthard Heinrici (1886–1971)
  22. January 1, 1943 – Hans von Salmuth (1888–1962)
  23. Januar 30, 1943 – Walter Heitz (1878–1944)
  24. July 6, 1943 – Eberhard von Mackensen (1889–1969)
  25. September 1, 1943 – Heinrich Gottfried von Vietinghoff-Scheel (1887–1952)
  26. September 1, 1943 – Karl-Adolf Hollidt (1891–1985)
  27. February 1, 1944 – Alfred Jodl (1890–1946)
  28. February 1, 1944 – Erwin Jaenecke (1890–1960)
  29. February 1, 1944 – Walter Weiß (1890–1967)
  30. February 1, 1944 – Kurt Zeitzler (1895–1963)
  31. April 1, 1944 – Josef Harpe (1887–1968)
  32. April 1, 1944 – Lothar Rendulic (1887–1971)
  33. April 20, 1944 – Hans-Valentin Hube (1890–1944)
  34. July 23, 1944 – Johannes Frießner (1892–1971)
  35. August 15, 1944 – Erhard Raus (1889–1956)
  36. May 1, 1945 – Carl Hilpert (1888–1947)

Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe rank insignia
Collar patches
Shoulder board
on flying suit
Generaloberst Luftwaffe
  1. July 19, 1940 – Alfred Keller (1882–1974)
  2. July 19, 1940 – Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (1889–1968)
  3. July 19, 1940 – Ernst Udet (1896–1941)
  4. July 19, 1940 – Ulrich Grauert (1889–1941)
  5. July 19, 1940 – Hubert Weise (1884–1950)
  6. May 3, 1941 – Alexander Löhr (1885–1947)
  7. April 1, 1942 – Hans Jeschonnek (1899–1943)
  8. November 1, 1942 – Günther Rüdel (1883–1950)
  9. February 16, 1943 – Bruno Loerzer (1891–1960)
  10. Jun 11, 1943 – Otto Deßloch (1889–1977)
  11. July 13, 1944 – Kurt Student (1890–1978)
  12. July 22, 1944 (posthum) – Günther Korten (1898–1944)

Waffen-SS
Rank insignia Waffen-SS
Gorget patches
Shoulder strap
camouflage
Uniform colour Feldgrau (Waffen-SS)

SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer and Generaloberst of the Waffen-SS:

German Police
Rank insignia police 1936–1945
Gorget patche 1936–42
Gorget patche 1942–45
Shoulder strap
Generaloberst of the Police

SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer and Generaloberst of the Police:

German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Rank insignia
Arabesque
Epaulette
Generaloberst Land forces

National People's Army

In the Land Forces and Air Forces of the National People's Army, as well as the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic Generaloberst was in line to Soviet military doctrine third general officer rank in that particular genera´s rank group. Pertaining to the NATO-Rangcode it might have been comparable to the three-star rank (OF-8). The equivalent to the Generaloberst was Admiral of the Volksmarine .

See also
Preceded by
Junior rank
Generalleutnant
(NPA rank)
Generaloberst		 Succeeded by
Senior rank
Armeegeneral
  1. March 1, 1966 Kurt Wagner (1904–1989)
  2. March 1, 1972 Herbert Scheibe (1914–1991)
  3. March 1, 1976 Horst Stechbarth (born 1925)
  4. October 7, 1977 Werner Fleißner (1922–1985)
  5. July 14, 1979 Erich Peter (1919–1987)
  6. October 7, 1979 Wolfgang Reinhold (1923–2012)
  7. October 7, 1979 Fritz Streletz (born 1926)
  8. March 1, 1986 Joachim Goldbach (1929–2008)
  9. March 1, 1987 Horst Brünner (1929–2008)
  10. October 7, 1988 Klaus-Dieter Baumgarten (1931–2008)
  11. October 7, 1989 Fritz Peter (born 1927)

Ministry of State Security
  1. February 1980 Bruno Beater (1914–1982)
  2. May 1986 Markus Wolf (1923–2006)
  3. February 1987 Rudi Mittig (1925–1994)
  4. 1989 Werner Großmann (born 1929)

Deutsche Volkspolizei (DVP)
  1. 1962 Karl Maron (1903–1975)
  2. 1987 Karl-Heinz Wagner (1928–2011)
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See also

References
  1. Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Band 6, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, ohne Jahr, S. 417.
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