Lieutenant colonel general Lieutenant colonel general Lieutenant colonel general or sub-colonel general (Serbo-Croat: "генерал-потпуковник" or "general-potpukovnik") is a general officer rank in a number of Balkan armed forces. Its literal meaning is "sub-colonel general". The rank of lieutenant colonel general represents a rationalisation of the situation in some armies of a lieutenant general outranking a major general, when a major outranks a lieutenant. In the Serbian Army, the rank of "sub-colonel" ("potpukovnik" / "потпуковник") is used rather than "lieutenant colonel" ("poručnik pukovnik" / "поручник пуковникin"). In the Serbian Army and Air Force ("генерал-потпуковник" or "general-potpukovnik"), it is the rank immediately below colonel-general. The
Colonel general Colonel general Colonel general is a three or four-star rank in some armies, usually equivalent to that of a full general in other armies. North Korea and Russian Federation have used the rank in that fashion throughout their histories. The rank is also closely associated with Germany, where "Generaloberst" has formerly been a higher rank above full "General" but below "Generalfeldmarschall". Colonel general ("Generaloberst") was the second-highest rank in the Austro-Hungarian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The rank was not used after World War I in the Austrian Army of the Republic. The People's Liberation Army had