General ( Germany ) General ( ) is the highest rank of the German Army and German Air Force . As a four - star rank it is the equivalent to the rank of admiral in the German Navy . Early history . The German rank of general most likely saw its first use within the religious order s of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation , albeit in modified forms and usage from the current understanding of general . By the 16th century , with the rise of standing armies , the German states had begun to appoint generals from the nobility to lead armies in battle . A standard rank system was developed during the Thirty Years War , with the highest rank of " General " usually reserved for the ruling sovereign ( e . g . the Kaiser or Elector ) and the actual field commander holding the rank of " Generalleutnant " . " Feldmarschall " was a lower rank at that time , as was " Generalwachtmeister " . By the 17th and 18th centuries , the rank of general was present in all the militaries of the German states , and saw its greatest usage by the militaries of Bavaria and Prussia . It was these two militaries that created the concept of the “ general staff ” , which was often manned entirely by members of the nobility . To be a general implied membership in the noble class as a count or " Graf " , baron or " Freiherr " ( this also accounts for most German generals of this era having the prefix “ von ” before their names ) . 19th century . During the Napoleonic Wars , the ranks of German generals were established in four grades , beginning with " Generalmajor " , followed by " Generalleutnant " , " General " and " Generalfeldmarschall " . The standard uniforms and insignia , used for over a century , also developed during this period . The title of " General " ( three stars ) included the officer ' s branch of service , leading to the titles of " General der Infanterie " ( " general of the infantry " ) , " General der Kavallerie " ( " general of the cavalry " ) and " General der Artillerie " ( " general of the artillery " ) . In 1854 , Prussia introduced the rank of " Generaloberst " ( supreme general , usually ( mis ) translated colonel - general ) so that officers could be promoted further than " General " without becoming a " Generalfeldmarschall " , as this rank was usually bestowed only for extraordinary achievements during wartime service . Later , another special grade known as " Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls " ( colonel general in the rank of a field marshal ) was first used in Bavaria to denote colonel ( i . e . , supreme ) generals who were given the authority of field marshals without the actual rank . During the German Empire , the insignia of German generals was established as a heavy golden shoulder board with up to four pips ( stars ) denoting seniority as a general . The rank of " Generalfeldmarschall " displayed a crossed set of marshal ' s baton s on the shoulder board . German generals also began wearing golden ornaments ( " Arabeske " ) on their collars , in contrast to the collar bars ( " Doppellitzen " ) worn by elite units , or the plain colored collars of the rest of the German military forces . The grade of " supreme general in the rank of a field marshal " ( " Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls " ) was introduced in the Prussian / Imperial army in 1871 . It was bestowed on senior generals usually holding the appointment of an army inspector and therefore army commanders designate in the case of hostilities . The shoulder board rank was crossed batons with three pips . The rank of supreme general proper ( with three pips only ) was created in 1901 . In the Prussian army , the rank of field marshal could be awarded only to active officers in wartime if they had won a battle or stormed a fortress . In times of peace , the rank was awarded as an honorary rank to friendly princes and as Charakter ( honorary ) to generals of merit when they retired — " general with the honorary rank of field marshal " ( " General mit dem Charakter eines Generalfeldmarschall " ) - which was cancelled in 1911 . At the same time , the rank insignia for colonel general with the rank of field marshal was changed to four pips without batons . World War II . The German rank of " General " saw its widest usage during World War II . Due to the massive expansion of the German armed forces ( " Wehrmacht " ) , a new “ wave ” of generals was promoted in the 1930s that would lead Germany into war . " Reichsmarschall " . The post of the " Reichsmarschall " was the highest military ranking that a German could reach . The post was held solely by Hermann Göring the most powerful Nazi leader in Germany apart from Hitler . Göring also happened to serve as the head of the Luftwaffe and was responsible for handling Germany ' s war economy . " Generalfeldmarschall " . In 1936 , Hitler revived the rank of field marshal ( pic . 1 and 2 ) . " Generaloberst " . The rank of " Generaloberst " ( pic . 3 ) , usually translated as " colonel general " , but perhaps better as " senior general " . A " Generaloberst " was usually an army commander . " General " . This rank ( pic . 4 ) was formally linked to the branch of the army " Heer " , or air force Luftwaffe , in which the officer served , and ( nominally ) commanded : in addition to the long established " General der Kavallerie " , " General der Artillerie " and " General der Infanterie " , the Wehrmacht also had " General der Panzertruppe n " ( armoured troops ) , " General der Gebirgstruppe n " ( mountain troops ) , " General der Pioniere " ( engineers ) , " General der Fallschirmtruppe n " ( parachute troops ) , " General der Flieger " ( aviators ) , " General der Flakartillerie " ( anti - aircraft ) , " General der Nachrichtentruppe n " ( communications troops ) and " General der Luftnachrichtentruppe n " ( air communications troops ) . A " General " was usually a corps commander . " Generalleutnant " . The German " Generalleutnant " ( pic . 5 ) was usually a senior division commander . " Generalmajor " . The German " Generalmajor " ( pic . 6 ) was usually a junior division commander . The staff corps of the " Wehrmacht " , medical , veterinary , judicial and chaplain , used special designations for their general officers , with " Generalarzt " , " Generalveterinär " , " Generalrichter " and " Feldbischof " being the equivalent of " Generalmajor " ; " Generalstabsarzt " , " Generalstabsveterinär " and " Generalstabsrichter " the equivalent of " Generalleutnant " ; and ( the unique ) " Generaloberstabsarzt " , " Generaloberstabsveterinär " and " Generaloberstabsrichter " the equivalent of " General " . With the formation of the Luftwaffe , air force generals began to use the same general ranks as the German army . The shoulder insignia was identical to that used by the army , with the addition of special collar patches worn by Luftwaffe general officers . The supreme rank of " Reichsmarschall " ( Reich Marshal ) was created in 1940 for Hermann Göring . Waffen - SS . In 1941 , the " Waffen - SS " began using general ranks in addition to standard SS ranks . An " Oberst - Gruppenführer " of the " Waffen - SS " , for example , would be titled " Oberst - Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen - SS " . The " Ordnungspolizei " ( Orpo ) also used similar police ranks . The " Waffen - SS " had no field marshals , but the rank of " Reichsführer - SS " held by Heinrich Himmler was considered to be the equivalent of a field marshal ( " Generalfeldmarschall " ) during the war years . The senior colonel rank of " SS - Oberführer " has sometimes been considered to be a brigadier general equivalent ; however , this is incorrect . The rank ( in particular among the " Waffen - SS " ) was not considered equivalent to a general officer , was not entitled to the grey trouser stripes and lapel facings of a general , and wore the shoulderboards of an army full - colonel or " Oberst " . Modern usage . After World War II , the West German " Bundeswehr " and the East German " Nationale Volksarmee " adopted the rank systems of their respective military blocs . In the " Bundeswehr " , the rank of " Brigadegeneral " was inserted below the rank of " Generalmajor " . While the rank titles of " Generalmajor " , " Generalleutnant " and " General " were retained , each of those titles now denotes a higher rank than before ( e . g . the " Generalleutnant " is now a three - star general ) . Prior to the reunification of Germany , general officer rank designations in the German Democratic Republic were based on the Soviet model . " Generalmajor " was still the lowest general officer grade , followed by " Generalleutnant " , " Generaloberst " ( now three stars instead of four ) and " Armeegeneral " . In 1982 , the GDR government established the rank of " Marschall der DDR " , although no one was ever promoted to this rank .