Bliss and March Regarding Bliss and March I m not sure there s a single online source that references all that information Essentially the temporary ranks of general and lieutenant general were only authorized in the National Army which was the conscript volunteer force authorized by emergency legislation for World War I the equivalent of the World War II Army of the United States Only two temporary generals were actually authorized for the National Army so when Bliss was replaced by March as chief of staff Bliss was made a brevet general to maintain his four star status for the duration of the war which I guess made him a temporary temporary general The National Army was disestablished on June 30 1920 by the Army Reorganization Act of that year and the general and lieutenant general ranks went with it Pershing only got to keep his rank thanks to special Congressional legislation that commissioned him a permanent general in the Regular Army See the following articles from the NYTimes free archive Bliss and March retired as major generals but were advanced to general on the retired list in 1930 when Congress passed legislation that restored all retired officers to their highest wartime ranks You can reference this in the individual Bliss and March biographies in Commanding Generals or by consulting the NYTimes pay archive