Military ranks of Germany

thumb|upright|Grenadier of Old Guard (France)|Napoleon's Old Guard c.1812 by [[Édouard Detaille]]

'''''' (; ) was an honorary military rank, specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II, and the highest rank in the . It was senior to the rank of (, equivalent to field marshal, which was previously the highest rank in the ), but was merely a ceremonial appointment to accentuate Göring's position as Hitler's designated successor. No actual subordination of the other field marshals or a superior position of the holder followed from it. It was equivalent to General of the Armies in the United States, or in other countries.

thumb|250px|Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian marshal's baton, awarded to Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1895.]]

Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural Gefreite) is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be promoted.

commissioned officer military rank

light infantry

thumb|upright|Rittmeister in the Karabinier-Regiment Graf Hatzfeld, 1748 Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries.

' (), abbreviated as PzG (WWII) or PzGren''' (modern), meaning "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conjunction with infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) – that is, armoured troop carriers designed to carry a mechanized squad of six to eight soldiers into, during and out of combat while providing direct fire support for those troops.

general officer rank in the German Imperial Army, the interwar Reichswehr, and the Wehrmacht

'''' () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as captain''.

general officer rank in the German Imperial Army, the interwar Reichswehr, and the Wehrmacht

Schütze in German means "rifleman" or "shooter", or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or as Schütz, as in the opera Der Freischütz. The word itself is derived from the German word schützen, meaning to protect, or to guard. It was originally used for archers as they protected castle walls, and is the German equivalent to Sagittarius, the mythical form which held bow and arrow.

naval military rank

general officer rank in the German Wehrmacht

lowest ranking commissioned officer, etymologically the carrier of the ensign flag

thumb|270px|Seeing off a (), by Ilya Repin (1879)thumb|270px|German Rekruts on outpost

Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, ranks are often incorrectly compared with the rank of ensign, which shares a similar etymology but is a full-fledged (albeit junior) commissioned officer rank.

second highest rank in the German Imperial Army, Reichswehr or Wehrmacht

'''' (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, Oberleutnant is also a designation for certain positions in the federal police and prison guards. In the former West Germany, it was also a rank in the Federal Border Protection (Bundesgrenzschutz'').

WW2-era branch general rank in the German Luftwaffe

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thumb|Staff captain, Russian artillery, wearing a [[Pickelhaube, about 1858]] Stabskapitän (English: staff captain), in the cavalry also Stabsrittmeister ("staff riding master" or "staff cavalry master"), or Kapitänleutnant (captain lieutenant), was a historic military rank in the Prussian Army. In reference to the German Stabskapitän the equivalent rank in the Imperial Russian Army used to be the rank shtabs-kapitan ().

general officer rank in the German Wehrmacht

general officer rank in the German Wehrmacht

thumb|right|upright|Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten here as Generaloberst

Fahnenjunker (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the Presidential order of the Federal president on rank insignia and uniforms of soldiers.

(Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia and Bulgaria.

German airforce general officer

'''''' () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. The Dutch version (onderofficier) is used by the Dutch armed forces. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.

Oberst () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti and the Icelandic rank ofursti.

thumb|1941, Lithuania: An Oberschütze talks to two elderly Jewish men. (; ) was a German military rank first used in the Bavarian Army of the late 19th century.

military rank

highest rank of the German Army and German Air Force

luftwaffe branch rank position

Obergefreiter (abbr. OGefr.) is an enlisted rank of the German and Swiss militaries which dates from the 19th century.

general officer rank in the German Wehrmacht

'''''' () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The Swedish rank is a direct translation, as is the Finnish rank .

'''''' () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces.

thumb|190px|Hungarian Wachtmeister, hussar-regiment 18th century.

highest rank of German Army and Air Force

overview of the rank of the German Bundeswehr

Gruppenkommandeur is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A Gruppenkommandeur usually has the rank of Major or Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel), and commands a Gruppe, which is a sub-unit of a Geschwader. A Gruppe usually consists of three or four Staffeln (each of which is commanded by a Staffelkapitän).

military rank

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ranks used by Luftwaffe

19th century European military service type

'''''' () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.

'''''' is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries.

thumb|Oberleutnant Egon Albrecht, Staffelführer in [[Zerstörergeschwader 76.]] Staffelkapitän is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries.

Sonderführer (; "special leader"; in full: , "special leader with military command power"), abbreviated Sdf or Sf, was a specialist role introduced in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in 1937 for the mobilization plan of the German armed forces.

WW2-era German branch general rank

general officer rank in the Luftwaffe branch of the German Wehrmacht

19th-century German infantryman armed with a rifled musket and used in a skirmishing role

'''''' () was a rank of the Wehrmacht from 1935 until 1945. It was also used in the East German National People's Army from 1956 to 1990. The equivalent to Unterfeldwebel in the Bundeswehr of West Germany and later the Federal Republic of Germany is the rank Stabsunteroffizier (OR-5).

' (; OFw or OF') is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force.

Stabsfeldwebel (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Officer Class 2 in the British Army. Promotion to the rank requires at least twelve years total active duty, of which at least eleven years have elapsed since promotion to unteroffizier, with at least ten years since promotion to stabsunteroffizier, and nine years since promotion to feldwebel. In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as Herr

'''''' () is a German language variant of senior captain.

' (OFähnr or OFR') designates in the Heer of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the last or highest Officer Aspirant (OA – de: ) rank. According to the salary class it is equivalent to the ranks of or , and of .

' (, abbreviated OStGefr, on lists OSG'; "Senior Staff Gefreiter") was the highest enlisted rank in the German Bundeswehr before the new ranks Korporal and Stabskorporal were introduced in October 2021. The rank can be comparable to corporal in Anglophone armed forces.