Army corps general Army corps general An army corps general or corps general is a senior rank in several armies, including those of France and Italy. The rank is the equivalent of a lieutenant general in the armies of other countries and of ancient regime France. The rank of "général de corps d'armée" was created in November 1994 as the highest rank in the Armée nationale populaire (ANP), the rank below it being Major General. Its rank badge shows three stars. The first officer to be promoted to the rank was general Mohamed Lamari, chief of staff of the ANP (1993-2004). In 2006
General officers in the United States was that of Major General, with Thomas Holcomb becoming the first three-star Marine general and Alexander Vandegrift becoming the first four-star Marine general (both on active duty) in history. Vandegrift's rank was awarded after becoming the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The second version of General of the Army, colloquially known as a "Five-star General" was created by Pub.L. passed on 14 December 1944, first as a temporary rank, then made permanent 23 March 1946 by an act of the 79th Congress. It was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts holding