Admiral General
Admiral General was a high, usually the highest rank in the Navy. It was introduced in various navies in the early modern period . After the Grand Admiral , he was the highest rank in the Navy of the German Wehrmacht . He corresponded to the Colonel General in the Army and Air Force .
history
This rank was first awarded to Prince Moritz von Nassau in the Dutch Navy in 1588 . Here it was the title of commander-in-chief of all naval forces until 1650. The Luitenant-admiraal-generaal for the commander-in-chief of the Dutch fleet, which was awarded only twice, was later created here as a special admiral rank . It was created for Michiel de Ruyter in 1673, who was followed by Cornelis Tromp in 1679, who had also been Admiral-General of the Danish Navy since 1676 .
The Imperial Russian Navy also knew this rank (генера́л-адмира́л), where it was on an equal footing with the General Field Marshal . In the Portuguese Navy it was the highest rank between the years 1892-1910 and reserved for the king as supreme commander.
The Spanish Navy knows the title as the second highest rank (OF-9), as only the king himself may hold the highest rank. In the Swedish Navy he was often awarded to the Commander in Chief of the Navy.
German Navy
General Admirals of the Navy
| Rank | ||
| lower: admiral |
.svg){kind=small} Admiral General |
higher: Grand Admiral |
A German Admiral General wore the same gold badges as an Admiral on his sleeve - three stripes above the broad Admiral Stripe - but he wore a third star on the shoulder pieces. However, if an Admiral General served as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (Erich Raeder from April 20, 1936 to April 1, 1939), he wore the sleeve badge of a Grand Admiral (four stripes to the Admiral's stripe). The shoulder piece did not change.
The first general admiral was the later Grand Admiral Erich Raeder , who received this rank on April 20, 1936.
Complete list (without Erich Raeder, who was promoted to Grand Admiral):
- Conrad Albrecht (1880–1969), April 1, 1939
- Alfred Saalwächter (1883–1945), January 1, 1940
- Rolf Carls (1885–1945), July 19, 1940
- Hermann Boehm (1884–1972), April 1, 1941
- Karl Witzell (1884–1976), April 1, 1941
- Otto Schultze (1884–1966), on August 31, 1942
- Wilhelm Marschall (1886–1976), February 1, 1943
- Otto Schniewind (1887–1964), March 1, 1944
- Walter Warzecha (1891–1956), March 1, 1944
- Oskar Kummetz (1891–1980), on September 16, 1944
- Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (1895–1945), May 1, 1945
Correspondence in the German Navy
There is no rank of Admiral General in the Bundeswehr ; the corresponding rank in the German Navy is the admiral (NATO code: OF-9).
Naval forces of other states
Imperial Russian Navy
The highest rank in the Imperial Russian Navy was that of the General Admiral , who was, however, on an equal footing with the Field Marshal. It was only awarded relatively rarely:
| year | Surname | Life dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1708 | Count Fyodor Metveyevich Apraxin | 1661-1728 |
| 1740 | Count Johann Friedrich Ostermann | 1687-1747 |
| 1756 | Prince Mikhail Golitsyn the Younger | 1684-1764 |
| 1762 | Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich Romanov (later Emperor) | 1754-1801 |
| 1831 | Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Romanow | 1827-1892 |
| 1883 | Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov | 1850-1908 |
Some of the admirals general are also included:
- François Le Fort (1656–1699), also called Admiral General from 1695 ; It is controversial whether it was a question of a position instead of a rank
- Ivan Grigorjewitsch Tschernyschow , from 1796 General Field Marshal of the Fleet
- Fyodor Alexejewitsch Golowin (1650–1706), from 1700 the first Russian general field marshal at the same time as general admiral of the fleet
Swedish Navy
The Swedish Navy also had the rank of General Admiral in the forms of amiralgeneral and generalamiral , it replaced the post of Reichsadmiral that existed from 1561/71 to 1676/80 .
| year | Surname | Data |
|---|---|---|
| 1675 | Lorentz Creutz the Elder | 1615-1676 |
| 1677 | Henrik Henriksson Horn af Åminne | 1618-1693 |
| 1681 | Hans Wachtmeister to Johannishus | 1641-1714 |
| 1780-1784 | Henrik af Trolle | 1730-1784 |
| 1792-1794 | Carl August Ehrensvärd | 1745-1800 |
| 1812-1815 | Johan af Puke | 1751-1815 |
| 1818 | Victor von Stedingk | 1751-1823 |
| 1823-1828 | Olof Rudolf Cederström | 1764-1833 |
Danish Navy
For the first time in 1663, Cort Adeler, the vice-president of the Admiralty College , whose president was the Reichsadmiral, was appointed General Admiral and Commander of the Fleet - a function previously held by the Reichsadmiral, which was finally abolished in 1680. From 1700 the Danish general admiral corresponded to only one admiral; below him there were the ranks General Admiralleutnant ( Vice Admiral ) and Schoutbynacht ( Rear Admiral ).
