Général
Encyclopedia
Général is the French
word for General
.
In France
, Army generals are named after the type of unit they command. In ascending order there are two ranks :
Officers of the rank of Général de Division can receive different positions and styles (rang et appellation) :
The appointment of maréchal de France, wearing seven stars, is purely honorary.
During the French Revolution
, the ranks of Maréchal de camp and Lieutenant général were renamed Général de brigade and Général de division, and the appointment of Général was renamed Général en chef. In 1793, the dignity of Maréchal de France was abolished.
Napoléon Bonaparte reinstated the dignity of Maréchal de France, now named Maréchal d'Empire. In 1814, the ranks of Général de brigade and Général de division reverted to Maréchal de camp and Lieutenant général, but were changed back again in 1848.
The Third Republic
of the 1880s reorganised the ranks of général:
The experience of the First World War
transformed the structure of the French Army
. The Superior Council of War was abolished and an appointment of Général de division commandant une armée (General of Division commanding an Army) was created. This appointment became the position and style (rang et appellation) of Général d'armée in 1936. The dignity of Maréchal de France was reinstated and given to the commanders-in-chief of the conflict, such as Joseph Joffre
, Ferdinand Foch
and Philippe Pétain
.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
.
In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Army generals are named after the type of unit they command. In ascending order there are two ranks :
-
Général de brigade : Brigade GeneralBrigade GeneralBrigade General is a rank used in many armies to denote the lowest rank of general, corresponding to command of a brigade. The rank is mostly used in countries where it is used as a modern alternative to a previous older rank of Brigadier or Brigadier General...
. -
Général de division : Divisional GeneralDivisional GeneralDivisional General is a rank used in many armies to denote a rank of general, corresponding to command of a division. For convenience Divisional General is almost always translated into English as Major-General, the equivalent rank used by the UK, USA, etc., although this translation is, strictly...
.
Officers of the rank of Général de Division can receive different positions and styles (rang et appellation) :
-
Général de corps d'arméeGénéral de corps d'arméeA Général de corps d'armée is a senior rank in the French Army.The rank is the equivalent of a Lieutenant General in other countries and is junior to the rank of Général d'armée and senior to Général de division...
: Corps GeneralCorps GeneralCorps General is a rank corresponding to the Commonwealth and US rank of Lieutenant General. For convenience the rank in foreign armies is normally actually translated as Lieutenant General. In France a général de corps d'armée is actually an appointment of Divisional General, rather than a...
. -
Général d'arméeArmy General (France)A Général d'Armée is the highest active military rank of the French Army.Officially, Général d'armée is not a rank , but a position and style bestowed on some Généraux de division in charge of important commands, such as chief of staff of the army...
: Army GeneralArmy GeneralFor the army rank of General, as opposed to the specific rank of Army General, see General officer.Army General is a title used in many countries to denote the rank of General nominally commanding an army in the field...
.
The appointment of maréchal de France, wearing seven stars, is purely honorary.
History
The French army of the monarchy had several ranks of general officer:- Brigadier des armées (Brigadier of the Armies): a rank in a grey area of seniority, conferred on certain ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
s who were in command of a brigadeBrigadeA brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
. These officers wore Colonel's uniform with a star on the shoulder straps. This rank was abolished in 1788. - Maréchal de camp (Field Marshal): the first substantive rank of general. The Maréchaux de camp wore a special uniform, blue and red, with a single bar of gold lace, and in the late 18th century also received two stars on the shoulder straps. With the abolition of the rank of Brigadier des armées in 1788, it became the lowest general officer rank, but its insignia of two stars was unchanged. The rank was redesignated Brigade GeneralBrigade GeneralBrigade General is a rank used in many armies to denote the lowest rank of general, corresponding to command of a brigade. The rank is mostly used in countries where it is used as a modern alternative to a previous older rank of Brigadier or Brigadier General...
in 1793 which retained the two star insignia. This explains why French generals' insignia starts with two stars. - Lieutenant général: the highest military rank. Lieutenants généraux wore the same uniform as the Maréchaux de camp, but with two bars of gold lace, and in the late 18th century also received three stars on the shoulder straps.
- Général: an appointment conferred on a Lieutenant général who was commander-in-chief of a campaign.
- Maréchal de France: not a military rank, but a dignity of the CrownGreat Officers of the Crown of FranceThe Great Officers of the Crown of France, known as the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the French Empire, were the most important officers of state of the royal court in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the French monarch, with all but the...
.
During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the ranks of Maréchal de camp and Lieutenant général were renamed Général de brigade and Général de division, and the appointment of Général was renamed Général en chef. In 1793, the dignity of Maréchal de France was abolished.
Napoléon Bonaparte reinstated the dignity of Maréchal de France, now named Maréchal d'Empire. In 1814, the ranks of Général de brigade and Général de division reverted to Maréchal de camp and Lieutenant général, but were changed back again in 1848.
The Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
of the 1880s reorganised the ranks of général:
- Général de brigade, wearing two stars.
- Général de division, wearing three stars.
- Général de division commandant un corps d'armée (General of Division commanding an Army Corps), an appointment conferred on certain Généraux de division, wearing four stars. This appointment became the position and style (rang et appellation) of Général de corps d'armée in 1936.
- Général de division membre du conseil supérieur de la Guerre (General of Division member of the Superior Council of War, a body of the Ministry of War which had the functions of a General Staff), wearing five stars.
- Général de division commandant la place de Paris (General of Division commanding the sector of Paris), wearing six stars
The experience of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
transformed the structure of the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
. The Superior Council of War was abolished and an appointment of Général de division commandant une armée (General of Division commanding an Army) was created. This appointment became the position and style (rang et appellation) of Général d'armée in 1936. The dignity of Maréchal de France was reinstated and given to the commanders-in-chief of the conflict, such as Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...
, Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
and Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
.