Military/Navy Ranking Systems

[Rtas Vadum]

Speaking of both SW and real life, that is. I notice that there are similarities, but nothing that defines them all. While there are various pages on the web to describe real life rankings, their are things that I can't find, for both real life and SW.

 

Such as something like these:

 

WWII Era Germany - name for a officer that would be second to the Chancellor(Not exactly enlisted, but more like a de facto second in command)

 

WWII Era Germany - Name for a Ship-borne officer, that is one or two below the commanding Admiral(speaking of a Bismarck-class battleship)

 

While I can find pages breaking down Military and Navy structures, most of them are for currents, not WWII era. As to SW universe rankings, I don't have any questions, but I wouldn't mind if their was a page breaking those down too.

[JediAthos]

Here is an article on the command structure of the German armed forces under Hitler

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberkommando_des_Heeres

 

There are links within the article to various other articles which describe other portions of the command structure in greater detail.

 

Here's an article on the Kriegsmarine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsmarine#Comparative_ranks_.28during_World_War_II.29

 

I couldn't find anything specifically for the type of ship you described. If it is an Admiral in command, the ship would still likely have a captain that with the admiral typically being a temporarily embarked officer, and on smaller ships the captain may possibly not be a captain by rank, but is addressed as a captain because he is in command of the ship.

[Salzella]

The only star wars universe army that has such breakdowns in specifics is the imperial army, with some info on the republic clone army aswell, both on wookipedia. the information on the actua republic armed forces is sketchy, and I imagine you could pretty much make it up.

 

however, i also suspect that machiavelli, as in the user, would be your best bet for a question like this.

[machievelli]

Here is an article on the command structure of the German armed forces under Hitler

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberkommando_des_Heeres

 

There are links within the article to various other articles which describe other portions of the command structure in greater detail.

 

Here's an article on the Kriegsmarine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsmarine#Comparative_ranks_.28during_World_War_II.29

 

I couldn't find anything specifically for the type of ship you described. If it is an Admiral in command, the ship would still likely have a captain that with the admiral typically being a temporarily embarked officer, and on smaller ships the captain may possibly not be a captain by rank, but is addressed as a captain because he is in command of the ship.

 

In the case of an admiral, he is merely a passenger on the ship in question. There was an admiral assigned to the Bismarck, but he was in command of two ships, BIsmarck and Prinz Eugen. The ship an admiral is on is the flagship.

[machievelli]

Speaking of both SW and real life, that is. I notice that there are similarities, but nothing that defines them all. While there are various pages on the web to describe real life rankings, their are things that I can't find, for both real life and SW.

 

Such as something like these:

 

WWII Era Germany - name for a officer that would be second to the Chancellor(Not exactly enlisted, but more like a de facto second in command)

 

WWII Era Germany - Name for a Ship-borne officer, that is one or two below the commanding Admiral(speaking of a Bismarck-class battleship)

 

While I can find pages breaking down Military and Navy structures, most of them are for currents, not WWII era. As to SW universe rankings, I don't have any questions, but I wouldn't mind if their was a page breaking those down too.

 

Military ranks and positions have not changed much since WW I. The biggest change was creating standardized units larger than the Regiment. The names didn't change, just the formations were codified.

 

As for second in command, Rudolph Hoess was called Vice Chancellor, and was second in command under Hitler before his capture. As for enlisted, a Noncommisioned officer is very low in rank. Lutjens, the Admiral aboard Bismarck was an Admiral (Four stars).

[vanir]

According to the Imperial Sourcebook of old d6 SWRPG days the Imperial ranking system was an abstract adaptation of the Nazi Party (SS) rankings and Military (Wehrmacht) rankings, described as the COMPNOR and Imperial Naval ranks (with CompForce and Imperial Army as attached units under the same respective rank systems).

 

In the same way an Obergruppenführer-SS is equivalent to a General des Heeres for example, an Imperial Attache is roughly equivalent to a Rear Admiral (Commodore) or an Imperial Army General in power and command (ie. one Star Destroyer or an Army plus attachments).

A Royal Emissary is a unique figure and generally equivalent to a Grand Moff in terms of power, whom is en par with a Reichsführer-SS or a Reichsmarschall, or in the USSR a Marshal of the Soviet Union, in Allied forces a Supreme (Theatre) Commander.

For example in SW: ANH Vader was an Imperial Attache. In SW: ESB he was promoted to Royal Emissary.

 

Generally Imperial ranks of a Royal nature (COMPNOR ranks) are given by assignment. The highest standard rank is a Stormtrooper Colonel, whom whilst given the command of a Legion (1010 troops and support personnel with equipment, all are effective and armoured combatants unlike regular formations), his actual rank may under any circumstances directly related to the protection of the Royal interest, have approximately the authority equivalence of an Imperial Fleet Captain. Fleet orders can be countermanded by any Stormtrooper Colonel at will, which is quite a bit of power, typically used for bridge executions where loyalties become placed in doubt.

 

COMPNOR stands for the Commission for the Protection of the New Order, which is the SW galaxy's version of the SS. In the movies they are represented by the Stormtroopers, or by the black garbed fleet troopers occasionally seen in the background, usually on bases rather than starships (Fleet uniforms are blue-grey with the same black helmet). Minor officer ranks of Captain and Lieutenant exist, only seen at Stormtrooper base security stations and again in stark black versions of Fleet uniforms. Technical personnel wear sky blue with black caps. CompForce Troops you never see in the movies, are the COMPNOR equivalent of Imperial Army occupational troops, but instead of brown uniforms they wear orange and white, with some blast armour and the latest weapons. These are youths recruited from Core Worlds to Imperial troop service. The entry requirements are generally a little lower than Naval ones, equipment is better, and fanaticism in combat is extreme.

[machievelli]

In the same way an Obergruppenführer-SS is equivalent to a General des Heeres for example, an Imperial Attache is roughly equivalent to a Rear Admiral (Commodore)

 

The only country I know that doesn't use Commodore (Except as a brevet rank for Squadron commanders) is the US. Instead, they have Rear Admiral (Lower half) and Rear Admiral (Upper half). This can cause confusion when a Brigadier salutes a man he later finds is actually of a lower rank by seniority.