British Army officer rank insignia some time to become familiar with them all. Those in the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant are often referred to as subalterns. Those of Brigadier, Colonel, Lt. Colonel and Major are considered to be of field officers. All above these are considered to be of general officer rank. For a short period, the British Army used the rank of sub-lieutenant, before that was changed to second lieutenant. Before 1767, there were no definite badges for Field Marshals and General officers. In 1767, the British Army issued an order to distinguish Field Marshals (once the rank was established in
Ranks and insignia of the German Army (1935–1945) Non-commissioned officers wore their rank insignia on their shoulder-straps, consisting of braid and pips (pyramidal "stars"). An "Unteroffizier's" (corporal's) epaulette was edged with "Tresse" on three sides and an "Unterfeldwebel's" (sergeant's) on all four. Senior NCO's ("Unteroffiziere mit Portepee") added one to three pips; in addition, their unit identifiers took the form of white-metal pins rather than embroidery. Shoulder-straps were made in both a standard width (4.5 cm, 1¾") and a wider one for three-digit unit numbers (5.3cm, 2"), and in three lengths depending on the size of the man. There was in addition an extra-large size for the overcoat