Lieutenant general Lieutenant general Lieutenant general, lieutenant-general and similar (abbrev Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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. In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general and above major general; it is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral, and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal. A lieutenant general
Major (France) rank of Major also designated the general officer () in charge of maintaining the materials and security of a port or naval base, the position was known as the "Major" General of the Arsenals (). In a squadron, the Squadron Major (), was a general officer as Ship-of-the-line captain, and upheld the function of the general staff headquarters of the squadron. The actual organization of the Armies instituted, first in the military hierarchy, a "function" (not a rank) of "Major General" for the ensemble of the Armies or each one of the: Major General of the Armies (), Major General