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This is my first part for a crash course in military expertise. Let's start right away with the ranks, namely those that are currently on everyone's lips.
colonel
The colonel is an officer rank and the last in a long line. After the colonel come the ranks of general.
According to Duden, there is no plural for colonel, which is of no use to the soldiers if they encounter several colonels at the same time. If you now want to excel in the German media as a military expert — which is mostly unserved here in Germany — then please don't talk about colonels. Because colonels are soldiers who like to stage coups against democratic governments. Here you will find good examples e.g. B. in Greece from 1967 to 1974, people like to speak of the "regime of the colonels".
When you talk about colonels, you insult all colonels, especially those who have no plans to putsch, and also assume that they have an anti-democratic attitude.
But let's now come straight to the most important contacts of our German military experts, because these experts have long since stopped doing it, because without being a general yourself, you don't understand the wisdom of this mixture of Clausewitz and Gottschalk at all.
General
General is the highest rank of any armed force I know of. This highest rank is also often referred to as a "four-star general" or very rarely as a "five-star general". In Germany this rank was called Generaloberst until 1945. And so today only ÖRR newscasters are allowed to address a general as a general colonel - with everyone else with some expertise, a general would also and quite rightly take this as an insult.
The plural form of general is generals. We have so many of them that even the Duden dictionary recognizes this plural.
That's why I recommend you to use this plural as well. However, if you are at loggerheads with both the military and the German language, you can continue to use the "plural" generals. As a proven military expert, you should be aware that this is also an insult, since generals are the officers assigned to the armed forces as "political agitators" — more commonly known as politruks.
As a proven military expert, you must be wondering why there are four-star generals? They exist because the highest ranks in the armed forces are usually combined into a separate rank group of generals, with the gradations already mentioned above. Starting with the "one-star general" (German: brigadier general) to the "two-star general" (German: major general), then the "three-star general" (German: generalleutnant) to the "four-star general" (general).
Then, in times of war, there is sometimes a further boost for special achievements, and a general could get his fifth star, e.g. B. Dwight D. Eisenhower (General of the Army) or Douglas MacArthur (General of the Army). In Germany, these generals were known as Field Marshals. And if you've googled it now, you know that there was even a "six star general" twice, for one George Washington and to the other John J Pershing (both Generals of the Armies).
Another special feature can be found in the navies (please do not confuse them with marinas). Because then a “water colonel” becomes a captain, and from a general a Admiral. Another very nice side note. In France, those in the Air Force and the Army with a higher rank are addressed with Monsieur and rank, e.g. B. Mon Général — which should not be confused with "my general". But the gentlemen of the navy all without a monsieur—a peculiarity that is still evident Napoleon Bonaparte should go back and even from Charles de Gaulle (both generals) was not discarded.
That's the end of it for today, and once you've mastered all of that, then the next war can come!
"A good soldier always dreams of becoming a general."
Russian proverb
