Talk:Chief Marshal

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[edit] 3 Questions

Does the Russian Federation have equivalents to the Soviet ranks of Chief Marshal or Marshal of a troop arm? - Shaheenjim 09:05, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

If a Marshal of a troop arm is equivalent to the combined-armed rank General of the Army, then what's the difference between them? What are the US/British equivalents of the Soviet ranks Marshal of a troop arm and Chief Marshal of a troop arm? - Shaheenjim 03:40, 30 October 2007 (UTC)


  1. No. The rank has been superceeded by General of the Army.
  2. The difference is in the military specialiy of the corresponding general officer - this is not as easily interchangeable as in the Western Armies. This was probably purely a political decision to call top-ranking generals a "marshal" - some top "chief marshal" ranks were even never conferred to anyone.
  3. Both Chief Marshal and Marshal equal General of the Army, so US/British equivalent would General of the Army and Field Marshal, because there is no Brigadier-grade rank in the Russian system and a full General is called Colonel General. The ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of the Russian Federation are largely honorary, so even though they outrank Soviet/Russian General of the Army, their Western equivalence is the same, that is US General of the Army and UK Field Marshal.
PS. The articles on Russian military ranks have been vandalised by User:Roitr, you really shouldn't have followed then in your edits. --Dmitry (talk •contibs ) 20:03, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
Would you please elaborate on how the difference in military specialty corresponded to the ranks? Which specialties used Marshals and Chief Marshals, and which specialties used Generals of the Army? Thanks. - Shaheenjim 20:19, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
Other than Marhshals and Chief Marshals of the said 5 branches, there were no other special ranks that could be conferred in specific branches of the Soviet Army (which included the Navy and the Ground Forces). All other ranks were either all-forces - used in the ground forces (infantry, tank, artillery, engineer, communications etc.), marines, VVS and naval aviation etc. - or deck ranks - used in navy, EXCEPT marines and naval aviation.
Specifically, officers and soldiers in the ground forces (including aviation) wore distinct branch or service insignia on their collars and shoulders. The (incomplete) branch/service list, according to my 1983 Military Dictionary, includes motorized infantry, artillery and rocket troops, armoured troops, aviation (VVS), airborne troops (VDV), engineer troops, chemical troops, communications troops, railroad troops, automotive troops, construction troops, medical service, veterinary service, judicial service, and musicians.
'Oficially' you would include the name of branch or service with the rank - i.e. polkovnik of aviation, general of the armoured troops etc. - but this was not a different rank, just a service or branch distinction. Navy had no branches but rather 'specialities' - which included the naval infantry which didn't use deck ranks but rather all-forces ranks (I'm not sure if it was customary to call a marine 'of the naval infantry', but it was not an official requirement). The naval aviation which was a part of the VVS and used all-forces ranks as well. --Dmitry (talk •contibs ) 21:39, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
I want to be sure I understand what you're saying. Are you saying:
In the Infantry and Marines they used the rank General of the Army. In the Air Force, Artillery, Armoured Troops, Engineer Troops, and Signal Troops they instead used the ranks Chief Marshal of a Troop Arm and Marshal of a Troop Arm. In the Navy they instead used the rank Admiral of the Fleet.
Chief Marshal of a Troop Arm outranks Marshal of a Troop Arm, but both of those ranks are equivalent to the Soviet rank of General of the Army.
Chief Marshal of a Troop Arm, Marshal of a Troop Arm, and General of the Army are all roughly equivalent to the US rank of General of the Army.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia used General of the Army for the Air Force, Artillery, Armoured Troops, Engineer Troops, and Signal Troops instead of the ranks of Chief Marshal of a Troop Arm and Marshal of a Troop Arm. - Shaheenjim 22:27, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Exactly. I'm not sure if there ever were General officers in the Naval Infantry, since they are organized in brigades and these are commanded by Colonels. --Dmitry (talk •contibs ) 22:41, 3 November 2007 (UTC)