Colonel general is a four-star rank in the army, equivalent to that of a full general in the US Army. North Korea and Russia are two countries that have used the rank extensively throughout their histories. The rank is also closely associated with Germany, where Generaloberst has been a rank above full General and below Generalfeldmarschall.
Colonel general (Generaloberst) was the second-highest rank in the Austro-Hungarian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915. The rank was not used after World War I in the Austrian Army of the Republic.
The People's Liberation Army rank of Da jiang (大将: literally, "grand general") was a rank used from 1955 to 1965. There were four grades of general officers during this period. They were (from senior to junior), 大(grand)将(general), 上(senior)将(general),中(middle)将(general),少(junior)将(general). China did not and does not have brigadier general, but instead an officer of this rank is awarded 大校(grand colonel). 大将 (grand general) corresponded to the Soviet rank of colonel general. All ranks in the PLA were abolished between 1965 and 1988. When it was restored, 大将 (grand general) was not reintroduced.
The rank of colonel general (generálplukovník) was created in the Czechoslovak army in 1950; it was dropped after the 1993 dissolution of the state.
The Egyptian Army uses a rank that translates as "colonel general". It is equal to the rank of 4-star or "full" general. Colonel general is, however, junior to the rank of field marshal and is an honorary distinction usually held only by defense ministers.
In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in nominal command of all the regiments of a particular branch of service (i. e. infantry, cavalry, dragoons, Swiss troops, etc.) was known as the colonel general. This was not a rank, but an office of the Crown.