Military Power

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.

A Lieutenant General normally ranks immediately below a General and above a Major General. The term Major General is a shortened version of the previous term Sergeant Major General, which was in turn subordinate to Lieutenant General, which is why a Lieutenant General outranks a Major General whereas a Major is senior to a Lieutenant.

In many countries, a rank of Corps General has replaced the earlier rank of Lieutenant-General (e.g. France). However, for convenience, this is often translated into English as Lieutenant General.

Sergeant Major General is a now extinct military rank that can trace its origins to the Middle Ages. Originally simply Sergeant Major[citation needed], the title signified a general officer, commander of an army's infantry and typically third in command of the army as a whole (after the Lieutenant General and Captain General); he also acted as a sort of chief of staff.

Early in the 17th century, individual regiments began appointing their own Sergeants Major to perform a similar role on a smaller scale (these would evolve into modern-day Majors): the older, senior position became known as Sergeant Major General to distinguish it.

Over the course of the 17th century, the increasing professionalisation of armies saw Sergeant Major General become the most junior of the general ranks. At the same time, the Sergeant portion of the title was more and more commonly dropped; by the early 18th century, the rank's name had been permanently shortened to Major General.

Since Sergeant Major General had previously ranked below a Lieutenant General, the new rank of Major General appeared to create a precedence issue, in that a Major outranked a Lieutenant but a Lieutenant General now outranked a Major General. Within some militaries this oversight has not been modified and continues into the present day.

In the 21st century, the rank of Sergeant Major General has ceased to exist but nearly every country in the world maintains the rank of Major General or a close equivalent. The rank is also referred to as a "Two Star General", most often in countries which maintain the lower rank of Brigadier General.