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17-478: Army general 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 four-rank system, it is the rank of a general commanding a field army . However, in some countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, which have adopted the three-rank system,

34-432: A "captain-general", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of captain-general began appearing around the time of the organisation of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "captain-general" contracted to just "general". The following articles deal with the rank of general, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries: Some countries (such as

51-516: A month of the execution of Charles I , the Council of State decided to put the office of Lord High Admiral into abeyance, and Colonel Robert Blake , Colonel Edward Popham and Colonel Richard Deane were appointed by Parliament as the first generals at sea and Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy. After Popham's death in 1651 he was succeeded in 1652 by General George Monck . Deane

68-408: A new naval code: Duties of a Commander at Sea, 1664, Instructions by Sir W. Penn ). His pre-eminence was testified to by Pepys, who acknowledged his naval skill and was jealous of him as a result. In January 1656, Edward Montagu was appointed general at sea. Blake continued to serve until his death at sea on 7 August 1657, and Montagu until 1665. Included: Generals at Sea in command of

85-516: Is more senior, and corresponds to marshal or field marshal . General officer In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel . The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks: In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of

102-750: The Western Design against Spanish colonies in the West Indies in 1655, which resulted in his temporary imprisonment in the Tower of London . Although Penn was forced to resign his commission as a result of this, he must have been recalled by Cromwell later, as he was recorded by the Dutch Ambassador to England in March 1658 as being in charge of a fleet. During the unstable political times of Cromwell's final illness and after, he decided to leave

119-487: The British Royal Air Force and many current and former Commonwealth air forces—e.g. Royal Australian Air Force , Indian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Air Force , Nigerian Air Force , Pakistan Air Force , etc. In most navies , flag officers are the equivalent of general officers, and the naval rank of admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of general. A noteworthy historical exception

136-592: The King knighted him, and on the journey back the ship was renamed from Naseby to Charles . Penn was subsequently appointed one of the commissioners for the navy and worked alongside Samuel Pepys in the Navy Board (and at one point was also his neighbour in Navy Board accommodation in Seething Lane). He was one of the most distinguished naval commanders of his era who had revolutionized naval tactics (writing

153-560: The Navy of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland ), and approximates to the current rank of admiral . Alongside others, the generals at sea were also appointed as Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy . The generals at sea were referred to both by the title of 'general' and by their former army ranks interchangeably. Today, the title 'admiral' is also commonly – if incorrectly – used. In February 1649, within

170-469: The United States) use the general officer ranks for both the army and the air force , as well as their marine corps ; other states only use the general officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use air officers as the equivalent of general officers. They use the air force rank of air chief marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of general. This latter group includes

187-440: The air force, fleet admiral) being used only in wartime or as honorary titles. In some armies, however, the rank of captain general , general of the army , army general or colonel general occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a "full" general or to a field marshal five-star rank (NATO OF-10). The rank of general came about as

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204-482: The most senior chaplain, (chaplain general), is also usually considered to be a general officer rank. In the old European system, a general, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a " full general "), is usually the most senior type of general, above lieutenant general and directly below field marshal as a four-star rank (NATO OF-9). Usually it is the most senior peacetime rank, with more senior ranks (for example, field marshal, marshal of

221-577: The navy in order to play his part in the maintenance of law and order and successfully stood as Member of Parliament for Weymouth in 1660 (after failing in Bristol). However, his pre-eminence as a sailor was manifest in the fact that despite having been a leading naval officer under Cromwell, Penn was chosen by parliament to welcome King Charles II onto the Naseby to bring him back to England from his exile. At their meeting, off Scheveningen on 23 May,

238-403: The rank of army general is immediately above that of divisional general . As such, it is the rank of commander of an army corps or larger formations. The equivalent position in the Commonwealth , U.S. , and several other countries is simply general , four-star rank , or informally " full general ". The title "army general" should not be confused with the rank " general of the army ", which

255-641: Was recalled to serve in the army in May 1651, before resuming his post as general at sea in 1652, but was killed at the start of the Battle of the Gabbard on 1 June 1653. Following the death of Deane, Blake and Monck continued to serve alone until 3 December 1653, when Parliament decided to increase the number of generals at sea to four, with a quorum of two, appointing Major-General John Desborow and Vice-Admiral William Penn (who had been recommended by Monck, and who

272-603: Was the Cromwellian naval rank " general at sea ". In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use flag officer and flag rank to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively. General at sea The rank of general at sea (occasionally referred to as "general of the fleet" ), was the highest position of command in the English Parliamentary Navy (later

289-429: Was the first sailor, rather than the traditional soldier, to be promoted to that rank ) to serve alongside Blake and Monck as generals at sea, with all four also serving as Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy along with Colonel Philip Jones, Colonel John Clerk, John Stone, Major William Burton, Vincent Gooking and Lieutenant-Colonel Kelsey. Penn's naval career was suspended after the failure to successfully execute

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