Editing Lieutenant general (section)

{{short description|Military rank}} 
{{see also|Lieutenant colonel general}}
{{about|the military rank|the royal office of "lieutenant general" in Italian-speaking monarchies|Luogotenente}}
{{Military ranks|state=expanded}}

'''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 [[Division (military)|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 (rank)|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.<ref name="Albanian_Army" />

In contrast, in [[Russia]] and a number of other countries of the former [[Soviet Union]], lieutenant general is a rank immediately below [[colonel general]], and above [[major general]]&nbsp;– in these systems there is no use of the [[brigadier general]] of many Western countries.

In addition, some countries use the lieutenant general as the rank of divisional commander, and some have designated them with 
[[General officer#French Revolutionary system|French revolutionary system]]. For example, some countries of South America use [[divisional general]] as the equivalent of lieutenant general.