Colonel general
In the Austro-Hungarian Army, the second-highest rank was colonel general (German: Generaloberst, Hungarian: vezérezredes).
[citation needed] Since 1991, vezérezredes has been the highest rank in the Hungarian Defence Forces, and is officially translated as General.
[1] The rank of colonel general (generálplukovník) was created in the Czechoslovak army in 1950; it was dropped after the 1993 dissolution of the state.
In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in nominal command of all the regiments of a particular branch of service (i. e. infantry, cavalry, dragoons, Swiss troops, etc.)
The Republic of Georgia adopted Soviet designations after its independence in 1991 so that the rank of colonel-general (Georgian: გენერალ-პოლკოვნიკი, general-polkovniki) exists, yet it is only used as highest possible rank in the Patrol Police and Border Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The rank of Generaloberst was introduced in the Prussian Army in 1854, originally as Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal (Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall) as field marshal was a wartime promotion and excluded members of the royal family.
The rank continued in the National People's Army of East Germany until German reunification in 1990.
Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps, making the rank equivalent to a United States lieutenant general.
[citation needed] Other than that, the Soviet and Russian rank systems sometimes cause confusion in regard to equivalence of ranks, because the normal Western title for brigadier or brigadier general ceased to exist for the Russian Army in 1798.
Colonel general (generalöverste) has also been a senior military rank in Sweden, used principally before the 19th century.
In Ukraine, colonel general (Ukrainian: генерал-полковник, romanized: heneral-polkovnyk) is now an obsolete military rank of general officers of the Ground Forces, Air Force, and Navy (only Marine Corps, Naval Aviation and Shore Establishment).
