Captain_general_of_the_Army

Captain general of the Army

Captain general of the Army

Add article description

This article is about the Spanish Army rank. For other uses, see Captain general.

Captain General (Spanish: Capitán General) has been the highest rank in the Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) since the 18th century. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to a field marshal of the armies of numerous countries, a general of the Army of the United States, a captain general of the Spanish Navy (Armada Española) or a Captain general of the Air Force in the Spanish Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio). A Captain General's insignia consists of two command sticks under five four-pointed stars below the Royal Crown.

Quick Facts Captain general of the Army Capitán General, Country ...

A personal rank of captain general was created in the Spanish Army (and Navy) as the highest rank in the hierarchy, not unlike the Marechal de France. Since King Charles IV's reign (1788–1808), the monarchs used captain general insignia when wearing uniform. Briefly abolished by the Second Spanish Republic (except one honorary promotion), it was restored by Nationalist Spain in 1938; Francisco Franco himself was the only officer of this rank. The effective rank was reserved to the reigning monarch. A few posthumous honorary promotions and honorary promotions of retired officers to this rank were also made, such as José Moscardó Ituarte (1956), Agustín Muñoz Grandes (1957), Camilo Alonso Vega (1969) or Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado (1994). Some members of the Spanish Royal Family were promoted to the rank after periods of service and Queen Isabella II appointed her consort, Francis, Duke of Cádiz (1846). Two foreign monarchs, Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and four distinguished foreign military officers also held the honour.

Insignia history

  • 19th century
  • Early 20th century – 1931
  • 1931–1939 declared to be abolished
  • 1939–1943
  • 1943–1975
  • 1975–1986
  • 1986–1999
  • 1999–present

List of Captains general

More information Date of promotion, Image ...

See also

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    He abdicated on 6 May 1808 and kept under guard in France. Restored in 1814.
  2. [N 2]
    Accession of King Amadeo.
  3. [N 3]
    On 14 April 1931 Alfonso XIII renounced as head of state but did not formally abdicate.
  4. [N 4]
    Named himself.
  5. [N 5]
    At Civil War until 1 April 1939.
  6. [N 6]
    At Civil War.
  7. [N 7]
    Monarch since 22 November 1975.

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Francisco de Asís de Borbón. Biografías y vidas. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. [2]
    Ramón Cabrera y Griñó (1806–1877). Base documental d'Història Contemporània de Catalunya.. Acceded 12 January 2017
  3. [3]
    Royal Decree of the Ministry of War 7 April 1907. Gaceta de Madrid
  4. [4]
    Decree 16/1975, 20 November, por el que se promueve al empleo de Capitán General de los Ejércitos de Tierra, Mar y Aire a S. A. R. el Príncipe de España. Spanish Official Gazette

Sources

  • List of captain generals of the Spanish Army ASAVE (in Spanish)
  • Guaita Martorell, Aurelio. Capitanes y capitanías generales." Revista de Historia Militar, ISSN 0482-5748, Nº 65, 1988, pp. 125–172.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Captain_general_of_the_Army, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.