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
Brigadier general in the armies of most other NATO nations, brigadier general is the lowest of the general ranks, usually a brigade commander. In the Estonian military, the rank is called "Brigaadikindral". France uses the rank of "brigade general" ("général de brigade"). It formerly used the historic rank, until 1793, of "brigadier des armées" ("brigadier of the armies"). The rank contrasts with the French sub-officer rank of brigadier. As with all French general officers, a French brigade general is titled "general" without any implication that he is an army general; for instance General Charles de Gaulle never rose higher than brigade general.