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Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's storehouse of human knowledge26-Feb-1993
Dear Cecil:
Why does a lieutenant general outrank a major general while a major
outranks a lieutenant? --Bob Spertus, Berkeley, California
Cecil replies:
This question has gnawed at me for years, Bob. As near as I can
make out, here's the deal: In your modern army (modern defined as
dating from the 1500s onward), you've got three basic units: your
company, commanded by a captain; your regiment, commanded by a
colonel; and your army or division, commanded by (ultimately) the
sovereign. In the past as today, the individuals who actually held
these lofty posts, sovereign included, were often no-talent dweebs
whose principal qualification was that they had clout, noble blood,
or some unsavory combination of the two. Lest the army be
massacred, those behind the scenes manuevered to have "lieutenants"
(deputies) appointed to assist the nominal commanders. These
lieutenants, lieutenant colonels, and lieutenant generals did much
of the actual decision making.
To help them with the scutwork of war, the lieutenants turned to
parties known as "sergeants-major." You had a low-level sergeant
major who kept the grunts in line; a regimental sergeant major who
got the companies organized for battle; and a sergeant major
general, who helped get the army in battle order. For simplicity,
the regimental sergeant major eventually became a major and the
sergeant major general became a major general. I'm oversimplifying
to beat the band, you realize. But the point is, major-somethings
(or something-majors) have always been outranked by
lieutenant-whatevers.
--CECIL ADAMS
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