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The General Field Marshal (or simply Field Marshal, in German Generalfeldmarschall or Feldmarschall) was a rank in the Prussian Army which could be granted to active officers only in the war. In the Prussian Army and in the Third Reich the rank had several privileges, e.g. a constant escort/protection. In 1870 Prince Friedrich Karl and Kronprinz Friedrich William became the first Prussian princes appointed field marshals. Still, in the year 1854 the rank of Colonel-General had been invented, in order to be able to carry prince Wilhelm, without breaking this rule.In the German armies the rank of General Field Marshal was the highest military rank until 1945. Its equivalent in the navy was Grand Admiral. The rank was, in effect, abolished after the fall of the Third Reich and the reconstituted Bundeswehr adopted a rank system modelled on that used by the US Army: currently, the highest rank in the German armed forces is General.
The Nationale Volksarmee ( NVA) of the GDR knew the rank of the Marschall der DDR (Marshal of the GDR). A general could be appointed to this rank by the Staatsrat (head of state of the GDR) during war or for exceptional military achievement. During the few years between the rank's creation in the early 1980's to the end of the GDR in 1990, nobody had been appointed to the rank of Marschall der DDR.
The rank of Generalfeldmarschall existed in the Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony separate from Prussia until the latter's incorporation in republican Germany after 1918. Listed below are Marshals, sorted by year and political affiliation.
1 Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony
- 21 June 1631 - Johann Georg Graf von Arnim
- 24 November 1632 - Duke Franz Albrecht of Saxony-Lauenburg
- 19 October 1638 - Rudolf Graf von Morzin (also Morozin)
- 1 January 1666 - Ernst Albrecht Freiherr von Eberstein
- 28 August 1681Events March 4 Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. October 12 A London woman is publicly flogged for the crime of "involving herself in politics. August 31 Titus Oates is told to le - Joachim Rüdiger Freiherr von der Goltz
- 8 September 1688Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the " Immortal Seven", invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. November 5 Glorious Revolution begins: William of Orange lands at Brixham but James II of England was prevented from meeting him in - Heino Heinrich Graf von FlemmingHeino Heinrich Reichsgraf von Flemming ( 8 May 1632 1 March 1706) was a Saxon, later Brandenburger army leader and Field Marshal and Governor of Berlin. Flemming came from an old noble Brandenburg family that probably emigrated from the Netherlands. After
- 9 April 1691Events March 5 French troops under Marshal Louis-Francois de Boufflers besiege the Spanish-held town of Mons March 29 Siege of Mons ends to the city’s surrender Treaty of Limerick penalizes public worship of catholics and Presbyterians Change of emperor o - Hans Adam von Schöning
- 10 May 1693 - Jeremias von Chauvet
- 30 September 1697 - Prince Heinrich VI of Reuss-Plauen
- 27 August 1699 - Adam Heinrich Graf von Steinau
- 3 December 1706 - Georg Benedikt Freiherr von Ogilvy
- 22 February 1712 - Jakob Heinrich Graf von Flemming
- 17 April 1730 - Christoph August Graf von Wackerbarth
- 26 November 1735 - Duke Johann Adolf II of Saxony-Weissenfels
- 11 January 1749 - Friedrich August Graf Rutowski
- 27 July 1763 - Johann Georg Chevalier de Saxe
- 6 January 1775 - Prince Friedrich of Anhalt-Dessau
- 11 July 1871 - Crown Prince Albert (later King) of Saxony
- 15 June 1888 - Crown Prince Georg (later King) of Saxony
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