Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the

Austrian Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

and

German Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part co ...

. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in ...

in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, ranks are often incorrectly compared with the rank of ensign, which shares a similar etymology but is a full-fledged (albeit junior)

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

rank. In the German

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...

armies, recorded from ca. 1480, the equivalent rank of a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

existed. The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet". The rank also exists in a few other European military organizations, often with historical ties to the German system. Examples are the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland (see

Fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( en, second lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and ...

). The

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

has a similar position called an ''Aspirant''. In the Finnish landforces and airforce, () is the lowest commissioned officer rank, which is granted to the soldiers in the national service on the day they are released from their 347-day service. Finnish are thus of equal rank to the German lieutenant (also a platoon leader).

Austria

Austrian Bundesheer

, short , is the lowest

rank in the

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

Austria-Hungaria (until 1918)

was the lowest officer rank in the k.u.k.

Common Army The Common Army (german: Gemeinsame Armee, hu, Közös Hadsereg) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two eleme ...

. In 1838 it was renamed to , from 1849 to , since 1868 to

Unterleutnant Unterleutnant (NPA-original abbreviation ''Ultn.''; en: translation "Under-lieutenant" or "sub-lieutenant") was an officer of the armies of East Germany and other nations. The rank was first introduced in 1662-74 by France and was also adopted ...

, and finally approximately from 1868 to . In 1908 was re-introduced as lowest cadet-officer rank in order to replace the 1869 rank designation . , respectively completed training and education on the less famous so-called k.u.k. . As the was the highest NCO-rank, became a separate rank-class. However, graduates from the much more famous became the officer patent for . In the k.u. Royal Hungarian Honvéd army was the equivalent to the rank. It accounted immediately to the officer corps.

Denmark

Finland

Germany

Bundeswehr

A of the Bundeswehr is a soldier who serves in the ranks, first as (OR-5, comparable to the junior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

rank ), then in subsequent grades: (OR-6, equivalent to ), and (OR-7 equivalent to ). In the ''German Bundeswehr'', an officer candidate (german: Offiziersanwärter) can reach the rank of after 21 months of service. The

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

equivalent is "Ensign at sea" (german: Fähnrich zur See). An officer candidate's career is indicated by the enlisted rank with a thin silver cord on the shoulder strap.

History

Imperial German Army

National People's Army

Following the creation of the

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) a ...

, a rank group was created.

Netherlands

Norway

In the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

, the rank of is the lowest ranking

, with the

NATO code This is the list of NATO country codes. Up to and including the seventh edition of STANAG 1059, these were two-letter codes (digrams). The eighth edition, promulgated February 19, 2004, and effective April 1, 2004, replaced all codes with new ones ...

of OF-1. File:Norway-army-OF-1a.svg, Army File:Generic-Navy-2.svg, Navy File:Norway-air force-OF-1a.svg, Air Force

Sweden

References

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanrik Military ranks of Austria Military ranks of Germany