Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a captain general. In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and above

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

; it is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral, and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal. A lieutenant general commands an army corps, made up of typically three army divisions, and consisting of around 60 000 to 70 000 soldiers (U.S.). The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general (whereas a

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

outranks a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

) is due to the derivation of major general from

sergeant major general Sergeant major general is a now mostly extinct name of military rank. A prominent example was Philip Skippon in the English New Model Army as organized by Oliver Cromwell. Over the course of the 17th century, the increasing professionalisation ...

, which was a rank subordinate to lieutenant general (as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major). In contrast, in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and a number of other countries of the former

Soviet Union 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 ...

, lieutenant general is a ''two''-star rank, immediately below

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

, and above

– in these systems this last rank having one star, without any use of the

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

of many Western countries. However, some countries of Latin America (such as Brazil and Chile) use divisional general as the equivalent of lieutenant general. In addition, because no brigadier general rank is used in Japan and Taiwan, lieutenant general is the rank of divisional commander. Therefore, it corresponds to divisional general of these countries. In a number of smaller states which employ NATO and western style military organisational structures, because of the limited number of soldiers in their armies, the rank of lieutenant general is the highest army rank in use. In Latvia, Lithuania, and Singapore, the chief of defence is a lieutenant general, and in the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

and Israel Defence Forces, the Chief of Staff holds this rank.

Lieutenant general ranks by country

Lieutenant general (Australia) Lieutenant general (abbreviated LTGEN and pronounced 'lef-tenant general') is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army. It was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general, and is considered a ...

Lieutenant general (Bangladesh) Lieutenant General (abbreviated as Lt. Gen. and in contraction simply known as 'general') is a senior rank in the Bangladesh Army. It is the second-highest active rank of the Bangladesh Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British ...

* '' General-pukovnik'' (Bosnia & Herzegovina) * Lieutenant-general (Canada) * (Finland) * (Estonia) * (Germany) * Lieutenant General (India) * Lieutenant general (Pakistan) * Lieutenant general (Sri Lanka) * (Sweden) * Lieutenant general (United Kingdom) *

Lieutenant general (United States) In the United States Armed Forces, a lieutenant general is a three-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force. A lieutenant general ranks above a major general and below a general. The pay grade ...

Army ranks

File:ALB-Army-OF-8.svg,
(

Albanian Army The Albanian Land Force ( sq, Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the land force branch of the Albanian Armed Forces. Mission The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territorial ...

) File:Angola-Army-OF-8.svg,
(

Angolan Army The Angolan Army () is the land component of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). History On August 1, 1974, a few months after a military coup d'état had overthrown the Lisbon regime and proclaimed its intention of granting independence to Angol ...

) File:Argentina-Army-OF-9.svg,
(

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the comman ...

) File:Armenia-Army-OF-7.svg,

( Armenian Ground Forces) File:Australian Army OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
(

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

) File:Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Generalleutnant.png,
(

Austrian Army 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 nat ...

) File:17.AzLF-LG.png,
( Azerbaijani Land Forces) File:Bangladesh-army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general

( Bangladesh Army) File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-7.svg,

( Belarusian Ground Forces) File:Army-BEL-OF-08.svg,
(

Belgian Land Component The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard ...

) File:15.Bhutan Army-LG.svg,
Lieutenant general
(

Royal Bhutan Army The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; dz, བསྟན་སྲུང་དམག་སྡེ་, bStan-srung dmag-sde) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereign ...

) File:Rank insignia of Генерал-лейтенант of the Bulgarian Army.png,

( Bulgarian Land Forces) File:Botswana-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( Botswana Ground Force) File:18.RBrLF-LG.svg,
( Royal Brunei Land Forces) File:Blank.svg,

( Burundi Army) File:Canadian Army OF-8.svg, Lieutenant-general

(

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

) File:DR Congo Army OF-8.svg,
( Land Forces of the DR Congo) File:CzArmy 2011 OF8-Generalporucik shoulder.svg,
( Czech Land Forces) File:Denmark-Army-OF-8-M11.svg,
(

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

) File:Capona Teniente General Ejercito Nacional.svg,
( Dominican Army) File:Estonia-Army-OF-8.svg,
( Estonian Land Forces) File:Kenraaliluutnantti M05.svg,

( Finnish Army) File:15.Gambian Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general
(

Gambian National Army The Gambia Armed Forces, also known as the Armed Forces of The Gambia, consists of three branches: the Gambia National Army (GNA), the Gambia Navy, and the Republican National Guard (RNG). It formerly included the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG) ...

) File:Georgia-Army-OF-8.svg,

( Georgian Land Forces) File:HD H 63 Generalleutnant.svg,
(

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

) File:15-Ghana Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general
( Ghana Army) File:14. Guinea-Bissau LG.svg,
( Army of Guinea-Bissau) File:Haiti-Army-OF-8.svg,
(

Haitian Army The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...

) File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg, Lieutenant general

(

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

) File:21-TNI Army-LG.svg,
( Indonesian Army) File:Ireland-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant-general

( Irish Army) File:IT-Army-OF8.svg,
(

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

) File:Jamaica-Army-OF-8 (new).svg, Lieutenant general
( Jamaican Army) File:18-RKGF-LG.svg,

( Kazakh Ground Forces) File:15. Kenyan Army LG.svg, Lieutenant general
( Kenya Army) File:Kosovo-Army-OF-8.svg,
( Kosovo Security Force) File:LV-Army-OF8.png,
( Latvian Land Forces) File:Blank.svg, Lieutenant general
( Lesotho Army) File:Liberia-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( Liberian Ground Forces) File:21-Lithuania Army-LG.svg,
( Lithuanian Land Forces) File:15. Malawi Army - LG.svg, Lieutenant general
( Malawi Army) File:Malaysia-army-OF-8.svg,
(

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army ( ms, Tentera Darat Malaysia; Jawi: تنترا دارت مليسيا) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do th ...

) File:Mongolian Army-LTG-service.svg,

(

Mongolian Ground Force The Ground Force of Mongolia (, ''Mongol Ulsyn Zevsegt hüchniy Huurai zamyn tsereg'', ) is the land force of the Mongolian Armed Forces, formed from parts of the former Mongolian People's Army in 1992. It was known as the "Mongolian General Purp ...

s) File:Mozambique-Army-OF-7.svg,
( Mozambican Army) File:15-Namibia Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general
( Namibian Army) File:Nl-landmacht-luitenant generaal.svg,
( Royal Netherlands Army) File:19.Nepalese Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general

( Nepali Army) File:New Zealand-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant-general
( New Zealand Army) File:Nigeria-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
(

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

) File:Norway-army-OF-8.svg,
( Norwegian Army) File:OF-8 PakistanArmy.svg, Lieutenant general

( Pakistan Army) File:PA Lt. Gen.png, Lieutenant general
( Philippine Army) File:Army-POR-OF-08.svg,
( Portuguese Army) File:Romania-Army-OF-8.svg,
(

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

) File:Russia-Army-OF-7-2010.svg,

(

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

) File:15-Rwanda Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general
( Rwandan Land Forces) File:Blank.svg, Lieutenant general
( Sierra Leone Army) File:10-RSA-OF08.svg, Lieutenant general
( Singapore Army) File:Army-SVK-OF-08.svg,
(

Slovak Ground Forces The Slovak Ground Forces, also known as the Slovak Army, is the land specialized service branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Structure Ground Forces Command * Ground Forces Command, in Trenčín (Commander: 2 Star General) ** Command Suppo ...

) File:Spain-Army-OF-8.svg,
( Spanish Army) File:Sri Lanka-army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( Sri Lanka Army) File:SAA-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( South African Army) File:Blank.svg, Lieutenant general
( South Sudan Army) File:Blank.svg, Lieutenant general
( Eswatini Army) File:Sweden-Field-OF-8 (2019).svg,
(

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav ...

) File:Tajikistan-Army-OF-7.png,

( Tajik National Army) File:16-Tanzania Army-LG.svg, Lieutenant general

( Tanzanian Army) File:Timor-Leste-Army-OF-8.svg,
( Timor-Leste Army) File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-7.svg,
( Turkmen Ground Forces) File:Uganda-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( Ugandan Army) File:Погон генерал-лейтенанта ЗСУ (2020).svg,

(

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They ...

) File:British Army OF-8.svg, Lieutenant-general
(

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

) File:US Army O9 (Army greens).svg, Lieutenant general
(

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

) File:Blank.svg,
( National Army of Uruguay) File:Uzbekistan-army-OF-7.svg,
( Uzbek Ground Forces) File:Blank.svg, Lieutenant general
( Zambian Army) File:Zimbabwe-Army-OF-8.svg, Lieutenant general
( Zimbabwe National Army)

Air force ranks

File:ALB-Airforce-OF-8.svg, Gjeneral lejtant
(

Albanian Air Force The Albanian Air Force ( sq, Forca Ajrore e Republikës së Shqipërisë - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force of Albania and one of the branches of the Albanian Armed Forces. History Early history In 1914 the governmen ...

) File:BE-Air Force-OF8.svg, ''Lieutenant général'' / ''Luitenant-generaal''
(

Belgian Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

) File:Rank insignia of Генерал-лейтенант of the Bulgarian Air forces.png, ''Генерал-лейтенант''
( Bulgarian Air Force) File:RDAF Lt Gen.svg, ''Generalløjtnant''
( Royal Danish Air Force) File:16 - FAE - Pala de Teniente General - Lieutenant General.jpg, ''Teniente general''
( Ecuadorian Air Force) File:Finland-AirForce-OF-8.svg, '' Kenraaliluutnantti /

Generallöjtnant Lieutenant General (LtGen) ( sv, Generallöjtnant, Genlt) is a three-star commissioned officer rank in the Swedish Army, Swedish Air Force and Swedish Amphibious Corps. Lieutenant general ranks immediately above major general and below a general. ...

''
(

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

) File:Georgia Air Force OF-9.png, ''გენერალ ლეიტენანტი''
(

Georgian Air Force The Aviation and Air Defence Command of the Defence Forces ( ka, თავდაცვის ძალების ავიაციისა და საჰაერო თავდაცვის სარდლობა, tr), (''formerly'' ...

) File:Nl-luchtmacht-luitenant generaal.svg, ''Luitenant-generaal''
( Royal Netherlands Air Force) File:PAF LTGEN Svc.svg, ''Tenyente heneral''
(

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Fo ...

) File:Rank insignia of generał broni of the Air Force of Poland.svg, ''Generał broni''
(

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mi ...

) File:TenGen t.jpg, ''Tenente-general''
(

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

) File:Russia-Airforce-OF-7-2010.svg, ''Генера́л-лейтена́нт''
( Russian Aerospace Forces) File:SP-08 Teniente General EA.svg, ''Teniente-general''
( Spanish Air Force) File:OF-8_Generallöjtnant_FV.jpg, ''Generallöjtnant''
(

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the e ...

) File:Turkey-air-force-OF-8.svg, ''Korgeneral''
( Turkish Air Force) File: UAAF shoulder mark 20.svg, Генерал-лейтенант
(

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force ( uk, Пові́тряні си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its headquarters are in the city of Vinnytsia. Wh ...

) File:US Air Force O9 shoulderboard.svg,

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

(

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

)

Naval infantry

Generic-Navy-O11.svg,
( Colombian Naval Infantry) 21-TNI Navy-VADM.svg,
( Indonesian Marine Corps) Maldives Army OF-8.svg,
Lieutenant general
( Maldivian Marine Corps) Netherlands-Navy-OF-8.svg,
( Netherlands Marine Corps) 0infant.png,
( Spanish Marine Infantry) Sweden-Navy-OF-8.svg,
( Swedish Amphibious Corps) British Royal Marines OF-8.svg, Lieutenant-general
(

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

) US Marine O9 shoulderboard vertical.svg, Lieutenant general
(

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

) UAN shoulder mark 20.svg,

( Ukrainian Naval Infantry)

References

External links