1st rank (russian: Командарм 1-го ранга) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Army 1st class (russian: Командующий армией 1-го ранга, Komanduyushchiy armiyey 1-go ranga; ), and was a

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 a ...

in the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command an army group or front sized formation (XXXXX). Until 1940 it was the second highest military rank of the Red Army. It was equivalent to ''Komissar army 1st rank'' (ru: армейский комиссар 1-ого ранга) of the political staff in all military branches, ''Fleet Flag Officer 1st rank'' (ru: флагман флота 1-ого ранга) in the ''Soviet navy'', or to ''Komissar of state security 1st rank'' (ru: комиссар государственной безопасности 1-ого ранга). With the reintroduction of regular general ranks, the designation ''Komandarm 1st rank'' was abolished, and replaced by General of the Army (OF-9).

History

By foundation of the Soviet Union the rank designation and rank insignia of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

suppressed. However, an alternative rank structure was introduced by disposal of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars, from September 22, 1935. The new rank structure was as follows: * Command level

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

X: (Brigadier) * Command level

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

XX: (Division commander) * Command level

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

XXX: (Korps commander) * Command level

Field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...

XXXX: ''Komandarm'' 2nd rank (Army commander 2nd rank – Commander Army) * Command level

Army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

Front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

XXXXX: ''Komandarm'' 1st rank (Army commander 1st rank – Front commander) *

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

By appointment of Kulik, Timoschenko and Schaposchnikov to Marshal of the Soviet Union (May 7, 1940) the above-mentioned individual ran structure was abolished and replaced by the new rank designation traditional Russian general's rank designations. The rank ''Komandarm 1st rank'' was converted to General of the Army, the equivalent general's rank (OF-9).Disposal of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from May 07, 1940, on introduction of military ranks to higher commanding staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, from May 07, 1940. However, the old distinction insignia had been worn until reintroduction of shoulder boards in 1943. Especially the collar insignia had to be worn out, and were finally replaced by the introduction of gorged embroidery for general officers.

Rank insignia

Red Army 1935 collar big komandarm 1-go ranga.svg, Red Army 1935 collar small komandarm 1-go ranga.svg, RKKA 1935 chevron OF9a komandarm 1-go ranga.svg, {{center,

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

/ sleeve insignia

Appointment

1935

Appointment to ''Komandarm 1st rank'' as to the disposal of the

Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union The All-Union Central Executive Committee (russian: Всесоюзный Центральный исполнительный комитет, Vsesoyuznyy Tsentral'nyy ispolnitel'nyy komitet) was the most authoritative governing body of the USSR d ...

and the

Council of People's Commissars The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

(CPC) from November 11, 1935: * Kamenev, Sergey Sergeyevich (1881–1936) * Yakir, Iona Emmanuilovich (1896–1937) * Uborevičius, Jeronimas (1896–1937) * Belov, Ivan Panvilovich (1893–1938) * Schaposchnikow, Boris Mikhailovitch (1882–1945)

1938

* Fedko, Ivan Fyodorovich (1897–1939); as to CPC disposal February 20, 1938 * Frinovsky, Mikhail Petrovich (1898–1940); as to CPC disposal September 14, 1938

1939

Appointments as to as to CPC disposal February 8, 1939: * Kulik, Grigory Ivanovich (1890–1950) * Timoshenko, Semyon Konstantinovich (1895–1970)

Sources / references

Military ranks of the Soviet Union