() is the German-language variant of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

, used in some German speaking countries.

Austria

Generalleutnant is the second highest

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

rank of OF-8.

Germany

''Generalleutnant'', short ''GenLt'', ('lieutenant general') is the second highest

rank in the

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

(''Heer'') and the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

(''Luftwaffe''). This three-star rank in other countries is

Rank in modern Germany

The rank is rated OF-8 in

, and is grade B9 in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence. It is equivalent to '' Vizeadmiral'' in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

(''Marine''), or to

Generaloberstabsarzt and are the top Joint Medical Service (Germany), Joint Medical Service OF8-ranks of the German . The equivalent to this ranks in the German Army, ''Heer'' is ''Generalleutnant'' and in the German Navy the ''Vizeadmiral''. ''Bundeswehr'' In ...

, and Admiraloberstabsarzt in the '' Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr''. On the shoulder straps (Heer, Luftwaffe) there are three golden pips (stars) in golden oak leaves.

History

German armies and air forces until 1945

=Generalleutnant of the Wehrmacht

= ''Generalleutnant'' was in the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

, and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

the second lowest

rank, comparable to the

two-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usuall ...

in many NATO-armed forces (Rangcode OF-7). It was equivalent to '' Vizeadmiral'' in the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'', and SS-Gruppenführer in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

until 1945. ;Rank insignia Generalleutnant/ Vizeadmiral:

National People's Army

was in the so-called ''armed organs of the GDR'' (), represented by Ministry of National Defence, and Ministry for State Security, the second lowest

rank, comparable to the

in many NATO-Armed forces. This was in reference to Soviet military doctrine and in line with other armed forces of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

Insignia

Notes

References

Military ranks of Germany Two-star officers of Nazi Germany Three-star officers of the Bundeswehr {{German military ranks de:Generalleutnant