Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 (or colonel 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. In the United States, a lieutenant general has a three star insignia and commands an army corps, typically made up of three army divisions, and consisting of around 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers.
The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general (whereas a major outranks a lieutenant) is due to the derivation of major general from sergeant major general, which was a rank subordinate to lieutenant general (as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major). Several countries (e.g. Balkan states) use the rank of lieutenant colonel general instead of lieutenant general, in an attempt to solve this apparent anomaly.<br />(Albanian Army)
File:Angola-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Angolan Army)
File:Argentina-Army-OF-9.svg|<br />(Argentine Army)
File:Armenia-Army-OF-7.svg|<br /><br />(Armenian Ground Forces)
File:Australian Army OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Australian Army)
File:Genlt OF8-Rockkragen AT.png|<br />(Austrian Army)
File:General-leytenant AzSQ.svg|<br />(Azerbaijani Land Forces)
File:Bangladesh-army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br /><br />(Bangladesh Army)
File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-7.svg|<br /><br />(Belarusian Ground Forces)
File:Belgium-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Belgian Land Component)
File:15.Bhutan Army-LG.svg|<br />Lieutenant general<br />(Royal Bhutan Army)
File:Rank insignia of Генерал-лейтенант of the Bulgarian Army.png|<br /><br />(Bulgarian Land Forces)
File:Botswana-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Botswana Ground Force)
File:18.RBrLF-LG.svg|<br />(Royal Brunei Land Force)
File:Blank.svg|<br /><br />(Burundi Army)
File:Canadian Army OF-8.svg|Lieutenant-general<br /><br />(Canadian Army)
File:DR Congo Army OF-8.svg|<br />(Land Forces of the DR Congo)
File:CzArmy 2011 OF8-Generalporucik shoulder.svg|<br />(Czech Land Forces)
File:Denmark-Army-OF-8-M69-service.svg|<br />(Royal Danish Army)
File:Capona Teniente General Ejercito Nacional.svg|<br />(Dominican Army)
File:Estonia-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Estonian Land Forces)
File:Kenraaliluutnantti kauluslaatta.svg|<br ><br />(Finnish Army)
File:15.Gambian Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Gambian National Army)
File:Georgia-Army-OF-8.svg|<br /><br />(Georgian Land Forces)
File:HD H 63 Generalleutnant.svg|<br />(German Army)
File:15-Ghana Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Ghana Army)
File:14. Guinea-Bissau LG.svg|<br />(Army of Guinea-Bissau)
File:Haiti-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Haitian Army)
File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg|Lieutenant general<br /><br />(Indian Army)
File:21-TNI Army-LG.svg|<br />(Indonesian Army)
File:Ireland-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant-general<br /><br />(Irish Army)
File:IT-Army-OF8.svg|<br />(Italian Army)
File:Jamaica-Army-OF-8 (new).svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Jamaican Army)
File:18-RKGF-LG.svg|<br /><br />(Kazakh Ground Forces)
File:15. Kenyan Army LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Kenya Army)
File:Kosovo-Army-OF-8 2024.svg|<br />(Kosovo Security Force)
File:Latvia-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Latvian Land Forces)
File:Blank.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Lesotho Army)
File:Liberia-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Liberian Ground Forces)
File:21-Lithuania Army-LG.svg|<br />(Lithuanian Land Forces)
File:15. Malawi Army - LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Malawi Army)
File:Malaysia-army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Malaysian Army)
File:Mongolian Army-LTG-service.svg|<br /><br />(Mongolian Ground Forces)
File:Mozambique-Army-OF-7.svg|<br />(Mozambican Army)
File:15-Namibia Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Namibian Army)
File:Netherlands-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Royal Netherlands Army)
File:19.Nepalese Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br /><br />(Nepali Army)
File:New Zealand-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant-general<br />(New Zealand Army)
File:Nigeria-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Nigerian Army)
File:Norway-army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Norwegian Army)
File:OF-8 PakistanArmy.svg|Lieutenant general<br /><br />(Pakistan Army)
File:PA Lt. Gen.png|Lieutenant general<br />(Philippine Army)
File:Portugal-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Portuguese Army)
File:Romania-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Romanian Land Forces)
File:Russia-Army-OF-7-2010.svg|<br /><br />(Russian Ground Forces)
File:15-Rwanda Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Rwandan Land Forces)
File:Blank.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Sierra Leone Army)
File:10-RSA-OF08.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Singapore Army)
File:Army-SVK-OF-08.svg|<br />(Slovak Ground Forces)
File:Spain-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Spanish Army)
File:Sri Lanka-army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Sri Lanka Army)
File:SAA-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(South African Army)
File:Blank.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(South Sudan Army)
File:Blank.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Eswatini Army)
File:Sweden-Army-OF-8 (M1987).svg|<br />(Swedish Army)
File:Tajikistan-Army-OF-7.png|<br /><br />(Tajik National Army)
File:16-Tanzania Army-LG.svg|Lieutenant general<br><br />(Tanzanian Army)
File:Timor-Leste-Army-OF-8.svg|<br />(Timor-Leste Army)
File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-7.svg|<br />(Turkmen Ground Forces)
File:Uganda-Army-OF-8 (2019).svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Ugandan Army)
File:Погон генерал-лейтенанта ЗСУ (2020).svg|<br /><br />(Ukrainian Ground Forces)
File:British Army OF-8.svg|Lieutenant-general<br />(British Army)
File:US Army O9 (Army greens).svg|Lieutenant general<br />(United States Army)
File:Blank.svg|<br />(National Army of Uruguay)
File:Uzbekistan-army-OF-7.svg|<br />(Uzbek Ground Forces)
File:Blank.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Zambian Army)
File:Zimbabwe-Army-OF-8.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(Zimbabwe National Army)
</gallery>
Air force ranks
<gallery class="center">
<!-- In sort by Country -->
File:PLAAF-0719-LTG.png|Kōngjūn zhong jiang (People's Liberation Army Air Force)
File:Taiwan-airforce-OF-8.svg|Tiong-chiòng (Republic of China Air Force)
File:Russia-Airforce-OF-7-2010.svg|General-leytenant (Russian Aerospace Forces)
File:US Air Force O9 shoulderboard.svg|Lieutenant general<br />(United States Air Force)
File:Ukraine-AirForce-OF-8 (2020).svg|Heneral-leytenant (Ukrainian Air Force)
</gallery>
Naval infantry
<gallery class="center">
File:21-TNI Navy-VADM.svg|<br />(Maldivian Marine Corps)
Netherlands-Navy-OF-8.svg|<br >(United States Marine Corps)
</gallery>
See also
- Comparative military ranks
- Lieutenant-general insignia
- List of lieutenant generals in the United States Army before 1960