General

General

Général is the French word for general.

In France, army generals are named after the type of unit they command. In ascending order there are two ranks :

  • Général de brigade ("brigade general").
  • Général de division ("divisional general").

Officers of the rank of général de division can receive different positions and styles (rang et appellation) :

  • Général de corps d'armée ("corps general").
  • Général d'armée ("army general").

The appointment of maréchal de France, wearing seven stars, is purely honorary.

  • Maréchal de France ("Marshal of France").

Read more about General:  History

Famous quotes containing the word general:

    “The general feeling was, and for a long time remained, that one had several children in order to keep just a few. As late as the seventeenth century . . . people could not allow themselves to become too attached to something that was regarded as a probable loss. This is the reason for certain remarks which shock our present-day sensibility, such as Montaigne’s observation, “I have lost two or three children in their infancy, not without regret, but without great sorrow.””
    —Philippe Ariés (20th century)

    “A point has been reached where the peoples of the Americas must take cognizance of growing ill-will, of marked trends toward aggression, of increasing armaments, of shortening tempers—a situation which has in it many of the elements that lead to the tragedy of general war.... Peace is threatened by those who seek selfish power.”
    —Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)

    “It has been the struggle between privileged men who have managed to get hold of the levers of power and the people in general with their vague and changing aspirations for equality, for justice, for some kind of gentler brotherhood and peace, which has kept that balance of forces we call our system of government in equilibrium.”
    —John Dos Passos (1896–1970)