An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a
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 ...
who commands an
army 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
. The rank originates from the
French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the
divisional general
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...
and below the
army general
Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime.
In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
, so it usually corresponds to the
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 ...
. However, in some countries such as Spain, Brazil, and Peru, the rank of army corps general is not used, in Spain the rank of army corps general is replaced by the rank of lieutenant general, while in some countries such as Brazil and Peru, the rank of army general is immediately above that of divisional general.
Algeria
The rank of was created in November 1994 as the highest rank in the
Armée nationale populaire (ANP), the rank below it being
Major General. Its rank badge shows three stars. The first officer to be promoted to the rank was general
Mohamed Lamari, chief of staff of the ANP (1993-2004). In 2006 three officers were promoted to the rank -
Ahmed Gaid Salah, chief of staff of the ANP,
Bennabes Ghzeiel, military advisor to president
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as the seventh president of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019.
Before his stint as an Algerian politician, Bouteflika s ...
and former head of the
gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
, and
Toufik Mediene, head of the
Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité. After Ghezeiel's death in July 2014, only Toufik and Gaid Salah were the only living holders of the rank. Since July 2015, they have been joined by general
Ahmed Bousteila, commander of the Gendarmerie nationale, and general Benali Benali, commander of the Garde républicaine.
Czechoslovakia
In the
Czechoslovak Army
The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá armáda'') was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary.
History
In t ...
, the rank of a corps general (, ) existed between 1947 and 1953. It was replaced by the
colonel general
Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...
() rank under
Soviet Army
The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army.
After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
influence in 1953.
Cuba
The
Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include Cuban Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Army, Cuban Revolutionary Navy, Revolutionary Navy, Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary A ...
rank of operates similarly to that in France and Algeria.
France
The rank of ("general of an army corps" is junior to the rank of and senior to . Officially, it is not a rank, but a style and position ( in French) bestowed upon some (which is the highest substantive rank in the French Army). It is the third of four general ranks. The first mention of the rank is in a circular on uniforms dated 17 March 1921 which gives the rank of to certain divisional general and the rank of to divisional generals who were also members of the . These ranks were simplified by a decree creating the ranks of and on 6 June 1939
[Service historique du ministère de la Défense]
"Les grades dans l'armée française"
The rank insignia is four silver stars arranged in a diamond pattern.
The equivalent rank in the
Air and Space Force is ("general of air army corps") and in the
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
is ("
vice-admiral of squadron").
However,
Général
is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...
under the
ancient regime
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient hi ...
and the
Général en chef under the imperial regime correspond to the army corps general, but are equivalent to
general
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 ...
.
File:France-Army-OF-8 Sleeve.svg, in the French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
File:France-Navy-OF-8 Sleeve.svg, in the French ''Gendarmerie''
File:France-Airforce-OF-8 Sleeve.svg, in the French Air and Space Force
The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air F ...
Italy
In Italy the rank of or is shown by three stars and a '
greca' for the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Guardia di Finanza
The Guardia di Finanza (; G. di F. or GdF; or ) is an Italian militarised law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), Ministry of Economy and Finance, instead of the Ministry of Defence (Italy), Ministry of Defence ...
and
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...
. It is equivalent to
squadron admiral in the
Italian Navy
The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...
and in the
Italian Air Force
The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...
.
Army corps general's insignia
15.PNA-LG.svg,
(Algerian People's National Army
The People's National Army (PNA) () is the military of the Algerian republic. It is the direct successor of the National Liberation Army (ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front, which fought French colonial rule d ...
)
( Benin Army)
( Burkina Faso Ground Forces)
( Cameroon Ground Forces)
18.CAGF-LG.svg,
( Central African Ground Forces)
Chad-Army-OF-8.svg,
(Chadian Ground Forces
The Chadian Ground Forces (, ) are the main and largest component of the Military of Chad, Chadian National Army. Historically Chad has had one of the strongest armies in the Sahara Desert, Sahara region, larger than the Malian Army, Malian or Cen ...
)
16-ROCongo Army-LG.svg,
( Congolese Ground Forces)
(Cuban Revolutionary Army
The Cuban Revolutionary Army () serve as the ground forces of Cuba. Formed in 1868 during the Ten Years' War, it was originally known as the Cuban Constitutional Army. Following the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary military forces was recon ...
)
(French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
)
( Guinea Ground Forces)
Rank insignia of generale di corpo d'armata of the Army of Italy (1973).svg,
()
(Italian Army
The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
)
( Ivory Coast Ground Forces)
( Madagascar Ground Forces)
( Malian Ground Forces)
(Moldovan Ground Forces
The Moldovan Ground Forces, known officially as Land Forces Command is the Army, land armed-forces branch of the Moldovan National Army, National Army of the Moldovan Armed Forces. The Moldovan Ground Forces date back to the dissolution of the Sovi ...
)
(Royal Moroccan Army
The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations.
The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...
)
( Niger Ground Forces)
( Senegalese Ground Forces)
Grade Terre tunisienne O10.png,
(Tunisian Army
The Tunisian Land Army (, ) is the ground component of the Tunisian Armed Forces . The Land Forces Command is located in Bizerte. The TAF itself was created on June 30, 1956.
The Land Army is the largest service branch within the Tunisian Armed ...
)
References
{{Reflist
Military ranks of France
Military ranks of Algeria
Military ranks of Italy