Brigadier general or brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops (two regiments or four ).
In some countries, this rank is given the name of brigadier, which is usually equivalent to brigadier general in the armies of nations that use the rank.
The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a "brigadier general", or simply a "brigadier", would command a brigade in the field.
In the first quarter of the 20th century, British and Commonwealth armies used the rank of brigadier general as a temporary appointment, or as an honorary appointment on retirement; in the 1920s this practice changed to the use of brigadier, which was not classed as a general officer.
The rank name général de brigade () was first used in the French revolutionary armies.
It used both brigadier general and major general because it is used for the designated rank of the general officers that the country stipulates as brigade commanders' class by law.
The Argentine Army does not use the rank of brigadier-general, instead using brigade general () which in turn is the lowest general officer before Divisional General () and Lieutenant General ().
The rank insignia was like that of the current major general, but without the star/pip. Brigadier generals wore the same gorget patches (a line of gold oak leaf embroidery down the centre), cap badge (crossed sword and baton within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown in gold embroidery) and cap visor (two rows of gold oakleaf embroidery) as other generals.
As in the United Kingdom, the rank was later replaced by colonel commandant in 1922 and brigadier in 1928. However, those holding the rank of brigadier general continued to do so throughout the inter-war period, until the last of them retired or was promoted during the Second World War. A brigadier general was a general officer, but brigadiers were not generals, which is shown by the rank insignia being like that of a colonel, but with an extra (third) star/pip, and a brigadier wore the same gorget patches (scarlet cloth with a line of crimson gimp), cap badge (the Royal Crest in gold embroidery), and cap visor (one row of gold oakleaf embroidery) as a colonel.
The rank title brigadier-general is still used notwithstanding that brigades in the army are now commanded by colonels. Until the late 1990s brigades were commanded by brigadier-generals. In the air force context, brigadier-generals used to command air force groups until these bodies were abolished in the late 1990s.
The rank insignia for a brigadier-general on air force uniforms is a single wide braid on the cuff, as well as a single silver maple leaf beneath crossed sabre and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, worn on the of the service dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The rank insignia on army uniforms is a gold maple leaf beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, on the shoulder straps. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves; the air force wedge cap features silver braid on the edges of the ear flaps. The cap insignia for a general officer is a modified version of the Canadian Forces insignia. Army brigadier-generals wear gorget patches on the collar of the service dress jacket or the service dress short-sleeved shirt.
Brigadier-generals are initially addressed verbally as "General" and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am" in English or "mon général" in French. They are normally entitled to .
Until unification in 1968 of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Navy, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern. This system of rank insignia was reinstated in 2013, but general officers reverted to the 1968 system in 2016. In army usage, the term "brigadier" was used to denote what is now known as a brigadier-general while the air force used the rank of air commodore.
Until 1793, the 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 maréchal de camp (literally "camp marshal"). When rank insignia were introduced, brigadier des armées wore one star and a maréchal de camp 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 des armées was abolished and the normal brigade command rank, maréchal de camp, was replaced by brigade general. The rank of brigade general inherited the two stars of the rank of maréchal de camp, explaining the absence since 1793 of a French rank with only one star. For this reason, in France, the rank corresponding to brigade general was changed to brigadier general after NATO was established on April 4, 1949, and before that, it corresponded to major general.
Nowadays, a French général de brigade generally commands a brigade. The rank can also be awarded in an honorary fashion to retiring colonels. The insignia are two stars, worn on the shoulder or at the sleeve of the uniform, depending on the order of dress. Two different are issued: the service kepi sports the two stars, while the formal kepi features a large band of oak leaves (the kepi of a division general has two smaller such bands).
Charles de Gaulle held the rank of brigade general. He was given a temporary promotion to this rank in May 1940 as commander of the 4th Armoured Division (4 division cuirassée). However his initial authority as head of the Free French really came from being the only cabinet member (Under-Secretary of State for National Defence and War) outside occupied France, not from his military rank. As a reminder of his war position, he refused any further promotion.
The rank was reintroduced in 1999. Before that, simply as brigadeiro, it existed from 1707 to 1864 and again from 1929 to 1947, not being considered a general rank. From 1947 to 1999, brigadeiro become the two-star general rank in the Portuguese Army. As two-star rank, it was substituted by the rank of major-general in 1999.
File:Argentina-Army-OF-7.svg|General de brigada
(Argentine Army)
File:Bangladesh-army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Bangladesh Army)
File:13.BDF-BG.svg|Brigadier general
(Barbados Regiment)
File:Belize-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Belize Defence Force)
File:blank.svg|Général de brigade
(Benin Army)
File:GenBrigEB.svg|General de brigada
(Bolivian Army)
File:Bosnia&Herzegovina-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadni general
(Bosnian Ground Forces)
File:Brazil-Army-OF-7.svg|General de brigada
(Brazilian Army)
File:16.RBrLF-BG.svg|Brigedier jeneral
(Royal Brunei Land Force)
File:15. Burkina Faso Army - BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Burkina Faso Ground Forces)
File:Blank.svg|Général de brigade
(Burundi Army)
File:Cameroon-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Cameroon Ground Forces)
File:Canadian Army OF-6.svg|Brigadier-general
(Canadian Army)
File:16.CAGF-BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Central African Ground Forces)
File:Chile-Army-OF-7.svg|General de brigada
(Chilean Army)
File:Colombia-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Colombian National Army)
File:DR Congo Army OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Land Forces of the DR Congo)
File:14-ROCongo Army-BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Congolese Ground Forces)
File:Cuba-Army-OF-6.svg|General de brigada
(Cuban Revolutionary Army)
File:Djibouti-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Djiboutian Army)
File:Capona General de Brigada Ejercito Nacional.svg|General de brigada
(Dominican Army)
File:15.ECA-BG.svg|General de brigada
(Ecuadorian Army)
File:13. EGLF-BG.svg|General de brigada
(Army of Equatorial Guinea)
File:15.EA-BG.svg|ብርጋዴር ጄኔራል
Birigadēri jēnērali
(Ethiopian Ground Forces)
File:France-Army-OF-6 Sleeve.svg|Général de brigade
(French Army)
File:20.GLF-BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Gabonese Army)
File:13.Gambian Army-BG.svg|Brigadier general
(Gambian National Army)
File:Guatemala-army-OF-6.svg|General de brigada
(Guatemalan Army)
File:Mali-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Guinea Ground Forces)
File:12. Guinea-Bissau BG.svg|Brigadeir-general
(Army of Guinea-Bissau)
File:HON-army-OF-6.svg|General de brigada
(Honduran Army)
File:19-TNI Army-BG.svg|Brigadir jenderal
(Indonesian Army)
File:Ivory Coast-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Ivory Coast Ground Forces)
File:Kosovo-Army-OF-6 2024.svg|Gjeneralbrigade
(Kosovo Security Force)
File:Liberia-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Liberian Ground Forces)
File:Madagascar-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Madagascar Ground Forces)
File:Malaysia-army-OF-6.svg|Brigedier jeneral
(Malaysian Army)
File:13.Mali Army-BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Mali Army)
File:Mexico army OF6.svg|General brigadier
(Mexican Army)
File:Mexico army OF7.svg|General de brigada
(Mexican Army)
File:Mongolian Army-BRG-service.svg|Бригадын генерал
Brigadyn gyenyeral
(Mongolian Ground Force)
File:17-Moroccan Army-BG.svg|Général de brigade
(Royal Moroccan Army)
File:17.Nepalese Army-BG.svg|Brigadier general
(Nepalese Army)
File:14-Nicaragua Army-BG.svg|General de brigada
(Nicaraguan Army)
File:Blank.svg|Général de brigade
(Niger Army)
File:Nigeria-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Nigerian Army)
File:Paraguay-Army-OF-7.svg|General de brigada
(Paraguayan Army)
File:Peru-Army-OF-7.svg|General de brigada
(Peruvian Army)
File:PA Brig. Gen.png|Brigadier general
(Philippine Army)
Army-POL-OF-06.svg|Generał brygady
(Polish Land Forces)
File:13-Rwanda Army-BG.svg|Brigadier general
(Rwandan Land Forces)
File:E 4 16 GB.png|General de brigada
(Salvadoran Army)
File:Senegal-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Senegalese Army)
File:08-RSA-OF06.svg|Brigadier general
(Singapore Army)
File:SAA-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(South African Army)
File:14-Tanzania Army-BG.svg|Brigedia jenerali
(Tanzanian Army)
File:Timor-Leste-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadeiro-general
(Timor-Leste Army)
File:Togo-Army-OF-6.svg|Général de brigade
(Togolese Army)
File:TaT-Army-OF-6.svg|Brigadier general
(Trinidad and Tobago Regiment)
File:Grade Terre tunisienne O8.png|Général de brigade
(Tunisian Army)
File:Uganda-Army-OF-8.svg|Brigadier general
(Ugandan Land Forces)
File:US Army O7 (Army greens).svg|Brigadier general
(United States Army)
File:GBEJB-GNB.png|General de brigada
(Venezuelan Army)
File:blank.svg|Brigadier general
(Zambian Army)
|
|