Generalissimo

Article in other languages:

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

For the 30 Rock episode, see Generalissimo (30 Rock).

Common military ranks
Officers
Navies	Armies	Air forces
Generalissimo
Admiral of the Fleet	Marshal / Field Marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air Marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air Commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group Captain
Commander	Lt. Colonel	Wing Commander
Lt. Commander	Major / Commandant	Squadron Leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
Ensign	2nd Lieutenant	Pilot Officer
Midshipman	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant Officer	Sergeant Major	Warrant Officer
Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading Seaman	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral and comparable to commander-in-chief (though with power not delegated from outside the military power structure, as commander-in-chief often is; e.g. an elected official).

Usage

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of Republic of China.

The word "generalissimo" is an Italian term, from generale, plus the suffix -issimo, itself from Latin -issimus^[1], meaning "utmost, to the highest grade".

Historically this rank was given to a military officer leading an entire army or the entire armed forces of a nation, usually only subordinate to the Sovereign. Other usage of the title is for a commander of united armies of several allied powers. Many generalissimos have been dictators. "Generalissimo" is sometimes used in modern English language to refer to a military officer who has obtained political power by a military coup, or in some cases to one who has suspended pre-existing constitutional mechanisms in order to retain power by means of a military hierarchy.^{[citation needed]}

Notable historical generalissimos

This article may contain parts which are misleading. Please help clarify this article according to any suggestions provided on the talk page.

Republic of China

Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925)
Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975)

From 1834 to 1910, the Kings of Portugal were considered "Generalissimo", in their constitutional role of Supreme Commanders of the Portuguese Army.

Russia and the Soviet Union

There were four holders of the Russian rank or title "generalissimus" prior to the 20th century. Menshikov both commanded military forces and ruled absolutely; Aleksei Shein and Aleksandr Suvorov, were principally field commanders rather than political figures. Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1714–1776), was appointed generalissimus by his wife Anna Leopoldovna but neither commanded nor ruled. From 1918 to 1945, there were no generalissimos in the country, until Joseph Stalin applied this rank to himself following victory in the Great Patriotic War, in order to differentiate himself from other USSR marshals (such as Zhukov). The rank was abolished with Stalin's death in 1953.

Aleksei Shein (1662–1700)
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov (1673–1729)
Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1714–1776)
Aleksandr Suvorov (1729–1800)
Joseph Stalin (1879–1953)

Spain

Francisco Franco

Don Juan de Austria (1547–1578)
Manuel Godoy, Prince of the Peace
Baldomero Espartero (1793-1879)
Francisco Franco (1892-1975)

Sweden

Lennart Torstenson (1603–1651)
Charles X Gustav (1622-1660, for the forces in Germany)
Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden and Norway (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte), later Charles XIV John of Sweden and Norway (1763–1844)