Generalissimo

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Image:Sketch of miranda.jpg
Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral.

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[edit] Usage

The word "generalissimo" comes from the (latin)Italian generale, general, plus the suffix -issimo, meaning "utmost, to the highest grade". The rank was historically given to a military officer leading an entire army or the entire armed forces, only subordinated to the Sovereign. The contemporary use of "generalissimo", has in the English language come to refer to a military officer who has obtained political power by a military coup, or in some cases one who has suspended pre-existing constitutional mechanisms in order to retain power by means of a military hierarchy. For example Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were not generalissimos, but other generalissimos were subordinated to them.

[edit] Famous historical generalissimos

[edit] Republic of China

Image:Chiang Kai-shek.jpg
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

[edit] Cuba

[edit] France

[edit] Germany

[edit] The Holy Roman Empire / Austrian Empire

[edit] Mexico

[edit] Poland

[edit] Russia and the Soviet Union

There were four holders of the Russian rank or title "generalissimus" prior to the 20th century. Menshikov both commanded military forces and ruled absolutely; two others, Aleksei Shein and Aleksandr Suvorov, were principally field commanders rather than political figures, and hence are listed below. Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1714–1776), was appointed generalissimus by his wife Anna Leopoldovna but neither commanded nor ruled.

[edit] Kingdom of Spain

For a time Baldomero Espartero and the Prince of the Peace, Manuel Godoy, were called generalissimo.

[edit] Sweden

[edit] Venezuela

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] United States of America

Image:General John Joseph Pershing head on shoulders.jpg
General John Joseph Pershing


On October 11, 1976, by Act of Congress, Washington was posthumously appointed "to the grade of "General of the Armies of the United States". The appointment was backdated to July 4, 1776 and was a designation that, by law, made George Washington the most-senior United States military officer.

[edit] Venice

[edit] Other Italians

[edit] See also

de:Generalissimus es:Generalísimo hr:Generalissimus ka:გენერალისიმუსი lt:Generalisimas mk:Генералисимус nl:Generalissimo ja:大元帥 pl:Generalissimus pt:Generalíssimo ro:Generalisim ru:Генералиссимус fi:Generalissimus th:จอมทัพ vi:Đại Thống chế uk:Генералісимус

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