Army General is not just a military rank, it is a personal military rank, meaning the highest (or one of the highest) military position in the armies of almost all modern states. Above the rank of general are only the ranks of marshal or field marshal, which are used in some countries. And if there is no such rank, then the rank of general is the highest military position. The United States and Ukraine are examples of such countries.
However, there are some atypical moments in the history of this title. For example, in Spain they assign the rank of "captain general", approximately corresponding to the rank of field marshal, which is higher than the rank of general.
To better understand the concept of "general of the army", you should compare the ranks of the generals of the USA and the USSR.
In the Republican states of the United States, the rank of marshal, which is subconsciously associated with the monarchy, has never existed. There have been no serious attempts to introduce it. As its counterpart, in July 1866, Congress established the highest military rank, General of the Army, by awarding it to W. S. Grant, who had the glory of a Civil War hero who later became President of America. At that time, it existed only as a personal military title, and not as a regular army rank. AndOnly one commander could wear this title at a time.
In the mid-40s of the twentieth century, the title was revised by Congress and established as a permanent military rank. However, since September 20, 1950, this title is no longer used, although it is still spelled out in the army regulations. US Army generals began to have a title equivalent to the ranks of Admiral of the Fleet and General of the Air Force, which were then introduced.
In the USSR, this title was given a slightly different meaning. Here the title "general of the army" was a personal military rank below the marshal of the Soviet Union and above the rank of colonel general. After the serviceman left the service, the words "retired" or "reserved" were added to the rank.
The military rank of army general was one of the four highest ranks that were introduced in 1940 in the Soviet Army. Before the revolution in Russia, the rank of general of the army, in fact, did not exist, because the supreme military rank belonged to the tsar. The first generals of the Soviet army - G. K. Zhukov, I. V. Tyulenev, K. A. Meretskov. Since then, the title of General of the Soviet Army, as well as Marshal of the Soviet Union, was not assigned to anyone until 1943, when epaulets with 4 stars were solemnly presented to A. M. Vasilevsky.
Subsequently, during the Great Patriotic War, the rank of Army General was awarded to an additional eighteen commanders, of which ten were later awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Their main taskwas in charge of strategic directions. During the war period, the army general was entrusted with the role of front commander, and at the end of the war - his deputy.
After the war, the rank of general was no longer awarded for outstanding military merits, but on the basis of the position held by members of the highest commanding staff of the military formations of the state, including security officers and political workers.
