Comparative officer ranks of World War I

The following table shows comparative officer ranks of several Allied and Central powers during World War I. Not all combatant countries are shown in the table. For modern ranks refer to List of comparative military ranks. See also: Comparative officer ranks of World War II

Table

	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Austro-Hungarian Army [lower-alpha 1][1]																No equivalent
Austro-Hungarian Army [lower-alpha 1][1]	Feldmarschall Tábornagy		Generaloberst Vezérezredes	General der Waffengattung Tábornok	Feldmarschall-Leutnant Altábornagy	Generalmajor Vezérőrnagy		Oberst Ezredes		Oberstleutnant Alezredes	Major Őrnagy	Hauptmann / Rittmeister Százados / Kapitány		Oberleutnant Főhadnagy	Leutnant Hadnagy	No equivalent
Austro-Hungarian Navy [lower-alpha 1][1]			No equivalent
Austro-Hungarian Navy [lower-alpha 1][1]	Großadmiral Vezérőrnagy		No equivalent	Admiral Tengernagy	Vizeadmiral Altengernagy	Kontreadmiral Ellentengernagy		Linienschiffkapitän Sorhajókapitány		Fregattenkapitän Fregattkapitány	Korvettenkapitän Korvettkapitány	Linienschiffsleutnant Sorhajóhadnagy		Fregattenleutnant Fregatthadnagy	Korvettenleutnant Korvetthadnagy	Seekadett
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
British Army [2]																No equivalent
British Army [2]	Field Marshal		General	Lieutenant-General	Major-General	Brigadier-General		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel	Major	Captain		Lieutenant	Second lieutenant	No equivalent
Royal Navy [2]
Royal Navy [2]	Admiral of the Fleet		Admiral	Vice-Admiral	Rear-Admiral	Commodore 1st class[3]	Commodore 2nd class	Captain		Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant		Sub-Lieutenant	Chief Commissioned Warrant Officer	Commissioned Warrant Officer/ Midshipman
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
French Army [4]			[lower-alpha 2][5]			No equivalent
French Army [4]	Maréchal de France[lower-alpha 3]		Général de division ayant un commandement supérieur (général)	Général de division (lieutenant-général)	Général de brigade (major-général)	No equivalent		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel	Commandant	Capitaine		Lieutenant	Sous-Lieutenant	Aspirant
French Navy [4]			[lower-alpha 2]			No equivalent
French Navy [4]	Amiral de France[lower-alpha 3]		Vice-amiral ayant un commandement supérieur (amiral)	Vice-amiral	Contre-amiral	No equivalent		Capitaine de vaisseau		Capitaine de frégate	Capitaine de corvette	Lieutenant de Vaisseau		Enseigne de vaisseau de 1^re classe	Enseigne de vaisseau de 2^e classe	Aspirant
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Imperial German Army [6]																No equivalent
Imperial German Army [6]	Generalfeldmarschall	Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall	Generaloberst	General der Waffengattung	Generalleutnant	Generalmajor		Oberst		Oberstleutnant	Major	Hauptmann / Rittmeister		Oberleutnant	Leutnant	No equivalent
Imperial German Navy [6][7]			No equivalent
Imperial German Navy [6][7]	Großadmiral		No equivalent	Admiral	Vizeadmiral	Konteradmiral		Kommodore	Kapitän zur See	Fregattenkapitän	Korvettenkapitän	Kapitänleutnant		Oberleutnant zur See	Leutnant zur See	Seekadett
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Royal Italian Army [8]
Royal Italian Army [8]	Generale d'Esercito		Tenente Generale capo di stato maggiore esercito in Comando d'Armata	Tenente Generale in Comando di Corpo d'Armata in Comando di Divisione	Maggior Generale in Comando di Divisione in Comando di Brigata	Brigadier Generale		Colonello		Tenente Colonello	Maggiore	Capitano		Tenente	Sottotenente	Aspirante
Royal Italian Navy
Royal Italian Navy	Ammiraglio		Vice Ammiraglio		Contrammiraglio	Sottoammiraglio		Capitano di Vascello		Capitano di Frigata	Capitano di Corvetta	Tenente di Vascello		Sottotenent di Vascello	Guardiamarina	Aspirante Guardiamarina
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Imperial Japanese Army [9]						No equivalent
Imperial Japanese Army [9]	Daigensui-Rikugun-Taishō 大元帥陸軍大将	Gensui-Rikugun-Taishō 元帥陸軍大将	Rikugun-Taishō 陸軍大将	Rikugun-Chūjō 陸軍中将	Rikugun-Shōshō 陸軍少将	No equivalent		Rikugun-Taisa 陸軍大佐		Rikugun-Chūsa 陸軍中佐	Rikugun-Shōsa 陸軍少佐	Rikugun-Tai-i 陸軍大尉		Rikugun-Chūi 陸軍中尉	Rikugun-Shōi 陸軍少尉	Jun-i 准尉
Imperial Japanese Navy [9]						No equivalent
Imperial Japanese Navy [9]	Daigensui-Kaigun-Taishō 大元帥海軍大将	Gensui-kaigun-Taishō 元帥海軍大将	Kaigun-Taishō 海軍大将	Kaigun-Chūjō 海軍中将	Kaigun-Shōshō 海軍少将	No equivalent		Kaigun-Daisa 海軍大佐		Kaigun-Chūsa 海軍中佐	Kaigun-Shōsa 海軍少佐	Kaigun-Dai-i 海軍大尉		Kaigun-Chūi 海軍中尉	Kaigun-Shōi 海軍少尉	Hēsōchō 兵曹長
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Ottoman Army [lower-alpha 4][10]						No equivalent
Ottoman Army [lower-alpha 4][10]	Müşir		Birinci Ferik	Ferik	Mirliva	No equivalent		Miralay		Kaymakam	Binbaşı	Kolağası	Yüzbaşı	Mülazım-ı evvel	Mülazım-ı sani
Ottoman Navy [11]						No equivalent
Ottoman Navy [11]	Müşir Amiral		Birinci Ferik Amiral	Ferik Amiral	Liva Amiral	No equivalent		Kalyon Kaptanı		Fırkateyn Kaptanı	Korvet Kaptanı	Yüzbaşı		Mülazım
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Portuguese Army [12]			No equivalent		No equivalent
Portuguese Army [12]	Marechal[lower-alpha 5]		No equivalent	General[lower-alpha 6]	No equivalent	Brigadeiro		Coronel		Tenente-coronel	Major	Capitão		Tenente	Alferes	Aspirante
Portuguese Navy [12]					No equivalent
Portuguese Navy [12]	Almirante[lower-alpha 5]		Vice-almirante	Contra-almirante	No equivalent			Capitão de mar e guerra		Capitão de fragata	Capitão-tenente	Primeiro-tenente		Segundo-tenente	Guarda-marinha	Aspirante
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Imperial Russian Army [lower-alpha 7] [13]
Imperial Russian Army [lower-alpha 7] [13]	Generalfeldmarschall		General roda voisk		General-leytenant	General-mayor		Polkovnik[lower-alpha 8]		Podpolkovnik / Voyskovoy starshina		Kapitan / Rotmistr / Esaul	Shtabs-kapitan / Shtabs-rotmistr / Podesaul	Poruchik / Sotnik	Podporuchik / Kornet / Korunzhy	Praporshik
Imperial Russian Navy [13]																No equivalent
Imperial Russian Navy [13]	General-admiral		Admiral		Vitse-admiral	Kontr-admiral		Kapitan 1-go ranga		Kapitan 2-go ranga		Starshy leytenant		Leytenant	Michman	No equivalent
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
Royal Serbian Army [14]																No equivalent
Royal Serbian Army [14]	Bojni Vojvoda[lower-alpha 9]		General[lower-alpha 10]					Pukovnik		Potpukovnik	Major	Kapetan 1. klase	Kapetan 2. klase	Poručnik	Potporučnik	No equivalent
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers
United States Army [15]																No equivalent
United States Army [15]	General of the Armies[lower-alpha 11]		General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Brigadier General		Colonel		Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain		First Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	No equivalent
United States Navy [15]																Various
United States Navy [15]	Admiral of the Navy[lower-alpha 11]		Admiral	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commodore		Captain		Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant		Lieutenant (junior grade)	Ensign	Midshipman
	General officers							Field officers				Junior officers

Notes

Austro-Hungarian ranks are shown in both German and Hungarian, as would have been contemporary practice.
One horizontal bar under or above the three-star.
Maréchal de France and Amiral de France were as much a dignity of state as a military title. Thus British Field Marshals consulted with French Generals in 1914. The elevation of Joffre to Maréchal in 1916 actually marked a diminution of his powers of command. There was no Amiral de France alive during World War I.
Military personnel in the Ottoman Empire were assigned different duties according to their capabilities in order to administer the Armed Forces and particularly to be successful in battle. They were given various ranks so that they could conduct relations with each other and be fully aware of their duties. The issue of what sort of duties should be allocated to which unit or to which military institution used to be determined by the ranking within the Armed Forces. In Islamic countries, certain 'degrees', instead of ranks, were given in accordance with the categorization of government duties. In the course of time, these 'degrees' had taken on certain characteristics. In the Ottoman Empire, besides the ranks that were awarded after passing through certain stages of promotion, there was also the rank of "Pasha" that was given directly by the Ottoman Sultan. This rank, which continued until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, was also given to civilian administrators who were approved of and found suitable. After the establishment of the Republic, the Sultanate was abolished, and the title became synonymous with the General rank, restricted to the Armed Forces only. Paymaster of a regiment - Captain of the Right Wing (Alay Emini - Sağ Kolağası): The rank of the Captain of the Right Wing was very high. The rank of the Adjutant and Paymaster of a regiment was also high but such individuals were not from the military class and they dealt with clerical duties and equipment needed by the regiment. Captain of the Wing - The Captain of the Left Wing- (Kolağası - Sol Kolağası): Captain of the Wing or the Captain of the Left Wing was the senior Captain. If he was educated in the regiment, he was called "Ağa" but if he was the son of a pasha, he was called "Bey".
Almirante and Marechal were only honorary ranks, not held by anyone during World War I.
The Portuguese Army had the particularity of having only a single rank of General Officer. A Portuguese General could be assigned to command from a brigade to the entire Army.
For transliterations, refer to History of Russian military ranks.
Army/cavalry ranks. Cossack cavalry had distinct ranks below Podpolkovnik: войсково́й старшина́ (Voiskovoy Starshina), есау́л (Yesaul), подъесау́л (Sub-Yesaul), со́тник (Sotnik), хору́нжий (Khorunzhiy)
Field Marshal of Serbia (Voivode) was the highest rank in the army of the Kingdom of Serbia. Radomir Putnik held title from beginning of the war since he was promoted in 1912.
Like the Portuguese Army, the Serbian Army had only a single rank of General Officer. A Serbian General could be assigned to command from a division to the entire Army.
The US rank Admiral of the Navy was a unique rank created for Admiral George Dewey after the Spanish–American War; it has never been held by any other person and debate still goes on over whether it was a "five-star" or "six-star" rank. General of the Armies is similarly ambiguous; it was granted to General Pershing at the end of the war, and previously had been held (or a rank of the same name had been held) by Generals Grant and Sherman after the Civil War, but its equivalency to modern ranks is disputed.

References

Over the Front. "Austro-Hungarian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "British Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Ranks.htm
Over the Front. "French Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
CAIRN.INFO. "Général de corps d'armée". CAIRN INFO.
Over the Front. "German Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Strauß, Matthias. "Dienstgrade und Uniformen". kleiner-kreuzer-dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "Italian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "Japanese Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
"1909 TILL 1918 OTTOMAN RANK INSIGNIA". ottoman-uniforms.com. Ottoman Uniforms. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
"1916 TILL 1918 OTTOMAN NAVY". ottoman-uniforms.com. Ottoman Uniforms. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
Over the Front. "Portuguese Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "Russian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "Serbian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Over the Front. "American Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

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[Austria-1] Austro-Hungarian ranks are shown in both German and Hungarian, as would have been contemporary practice.

[bar-6] One horizontal bar under or above the three-star.

[france-8] Maréchal de France and Amiral de France were as much a dignity of state as a military title. Thus British Field Marshals consulted with French Generals in 1914. The elevation of Joffre to Maréchal in 1916 actually marked a diminution of his powers of command. There was no Amiral de France alive during World War I.

[13] Military personnel in the Ottoman Empire were assigned different duties according to their capabilities in order to administer the Armed Forces and particularly to be successful in battle. They were given various ranks so that they could conduct relations with each other and be fully aware of their duties. The issue of what sort of duties should be allocated to which unit or to which military institution used to be determined by the ranking within the Armed Forces. In Islamic countries, certain 'degrees', instead of ranks, were given in accordance with the categorization of government duties. In the course of time, these 'degrees' had taken on certain characteristics. In the Ottoman Empire, besides the ranks that were awarded after passing through certain stages of promotion, there was also the rank of "Pasha" that was given directly by the Ottoman Sultan. This rank, which continued until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, was also given to civilian administrators who were approved of and found suitable. After the establishment of the Republic, the Sultanate was abolished, and the title became synonymous with the General rank, restricted to the Armed Forces only. Paymaster of a regiment - Captain of the Right Wing (Alay Emini - Sağ Kolağası): The rank of the Captain of the Right Wing was very high. The rank of the Adjutant and Paymaster of a regiment was also high but such individuals were not from the military class and they dealt with clerical duties and equipment needed by the regiment. Captain of the Wing - The Captain of the Left Wing- (Kolağası - Sol Kolağası): Captain of the Wing or the Captain of the Left Wing was the senior Captain. If he was educated in the regiment, he was called "Ağa" but if he was the son of a pasha, he was called "Bey".

[PORMar-17] Almirante and Marechal were only honorary ranks, not held by anyone during World War I.

[18] The Portuguese Army had the particularity of having only a single rank of General Officer. A Portuguese General could be assigned to command from a brigade to the entire Army.

[19] For transliterations, refer to History of Russian military ranks.

[21] Army/cavalry ranks. Cossack cavalry had distinct ranks below Podpolkovnik: войсково́й старшина́ (Voiskovoy Starshina), есау́л (Yesaul), подъесау́л (Sub-Yesaul), со́тник (Sotnik), хору́нжий (Khorunzhiy)

[23] Field Marshal of Serbia (Voivode) was the highest rank in the army of the Kingdom of Serbia. Radomir Putnik held title from beginning of the war since he was promoted in 1912.

[24] Like the Portuguese Army, the Serbian Army had only a single rank of General Officer. A Serbian General could be assigned to command from a division to the entire Army.

[USA-26] The US rank Admiral of the Navy was a unique rank created for Admiral George Dewey after the Spanish–American War; it has never been held by any other person and debate still goes on over whether it was a "five-star" or "six-star" rank. General of the Armies is similarly ambiguous; it was granted to General Pershing at the end of the war, and previously had been held (or a rank of the same name had been held) by Generals Grant and Sherman after the Civil War, but its equivalency to modern ranks is disputed.

[Austria-2] Over the Front. "Austro-Hungarian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[British-3] Over the Front. "British Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[4] ttp://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Ranks.htm

[France-5] Over the Front. "French Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[7] CAIRN.INFO. "Général de corps d'armée". CAIRN INFO.

[Germany-9] Over the Front. "German Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[10] Strauß, Matthias. "Dienstgrade und Uniformen". kleiner-kreuzer-dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[11] Over the Front. "Italian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[Japan-12] Over the Front. "Japanese Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[14] "1909 TILL 1918 OTTOMAN RANK INSIGNIA". ottoman-uniforms.com. Ottoman Uniforms. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[15] "1916 TILL 1918 OTTOMAN NAVY". ottoman-uniforms.com. Ottoman Uniforms. Retrieved 2 July 2018.

[Portugal-16] Over the Front. "Portuguese Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[Russia-20] Over the Front. "Russian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[serbian-22] Over the Front. "Serbian Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[USA-25] Over the Front. "American Ranks". Over the Front. Retrieved 1 July 2018.