Brigade general

Brigade general is a rank used in many armies to denote the lowest rank of general, corresponding to command of a brigade. The rank is mostly used in countries where it is used as a modern alternative to a previous older rank of brigadier or brigadier general. Some countries of Latin America such as Brazil and Chile use Brigade general as the equivalent of major-general. The corresponding NATO code is OF-7. In addition, Japan of major-general, equivalent to Brigade general in these countries. The rank was first used the French revolutionary armies.

The Land Component, the Air Component and the Medical Component of the Belgian Armed Forces use the rank of brigade general (French: général de brigade, Dutch:brigadegeneraal). However, in this small military there are no permanent promotions to this rank, and it is only awarded as a temporary promotion to a full colonel who assumes a post requiring the rank, notably in an international context (e.g. as Military Attaché in a major embassy such as Washington, D.C.).

Belgian Land Component général de brigade

France uses the rank of brigade general. 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" (e.g., notably General Charles de Gaulle) without any implication that he is an army general.

Until 1793, a rank of brigadier des armées ("brigadier of the armies") existed in the French Army, which could be described as a senior colonel or junior brigade commander. The normal brigade command rank was field marshal (maréchal de camp) (which elsewhere is a more senior rank). A "brigadier of the armies" wore one star and a "field marshal" wore two stars. During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries' drive to rationalise the state led to a change in the system of ranks. The rank of "brigadier of the armies" was abolished and the normal brigade command rank, field marshal, was replaced by brigade general. The rank of brigade general inherited the two stars of the rank of field marshal, explaining the absence since 1793 of a French rank with only one star.

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