The following is a list of Australians who have attained general officer rank in the Australian Army; that is, officers who have held the rank of field marshal (five-star rank), general (four-star rank), lieutenant general (three-star rank), major general (two-star rank) or brigadier general (one-star rank). The Commonwealth Military Forces were established on 1 March 1901, following the Federation of Australia, as Australia's ground forces. The service was reorganised and re-titled as the Australian Military Forces in 1916 and then to the Australian Army in 1980. Major Downes, commandant of the military forces in Victoria in 1901 and a retired British Army major general, saw his British Army rank reciprocated in the Commonwealth Military Forces; he thus became the first person to attain general officer rank in the Australian forces.
The number of general officers swelled during the First World War, as Australia committed five infantry and the core of two mounted divisions to the war effort. In 1917, on assuming command of the Desert Column, Sir Harry Chauvel became simultaneously the first Australian to command a corps and the first to be promoted to lieutenant general. Chauvel was made Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the Australian Military Forces, post-war and—alongside Sir John Monash—was in 1929 the first officer to be promoted to full general. The Australian Military Forces again mushroomed during the Second World War, peaking at eleven infantry and three armoured divisions. In recognition of his service as Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces during the war, Sir Thomas Blamey was promoted to field marshal in 1950. He remains the only non-royal to attain the substantive rank of field marshal in the Australian Army. A further twelve officers have achieved the rank of general, 47 lieutenant general, and at least 264 major general, while a further 31 achieved brigadier general before the rank was abolished and replaced by the senior officer (non-general) rank of brigadier in the 1920s. Eleven officers have additionally retired with the honorary rank of lieutenant general, and 29 as honorary major generals.
Field marshals
Name Born Died Date promoted Senior command(s) or appointment(s) in rank Notes + 1865 1951 1884 1951 Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces and Commander of Allied Land Forces, South West Pacific Area (1942–45) Charles III+ 1948 King of Australia (2022–) George VI 1895 1952 King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth (1936–52) 1921 2021 Prince Consort of Elizabeth II (1947–2021)
Generals
The rank of general is the most senior active rank in the Australian Army. Only the five-star rank of field marshal is higher, but it is reserved for exceptional circumstances and only Sir Thomas Blamey (1950) has attained the rank in a non-ceremonial capacity. There are currently no appointments in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at the five-star level. With the current structure of the ADF, the rank of general is held only when an officer of the Australian Army is appointed as Chief of the Defence Force.
Generals of the Australian Army are as follows:
Name Born Died Date promoted Senior command(s) or appointment(s) in rank Notes 1936 2007 Chief of the Defence Force (1995–98) Former ADF chief General Baker dies, The Australian, 9 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 1928 2023 Chief of the Defence Force (1984–87) Phillip Bennett, Chiefs of the Australian Defence Force :: 1958 to the present, www.defence.gov.au Chief of the Defence Force (2018–24) 1865 1945 Inspector-in-Chief Volunteer Defence Corps (1940–45), Chief of General Staff (1923–30) 1947 Chief of the Defence Force (2002–05) General Peter John Cosgrove, AC, MC (b. 1947), Fifty Australians, www.awm.gov.au 1932 Chief of the Defence Force (1987–93) 1918 2008 Chief of the Defence Force Staff (1976–77), Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (1975–76) 1953 Chief of the Defence Force (2011–14) 1919 1995 Chief of the Defence Force Staff (1977–79) 1865 1931 1876 1940 Chief of the General Staff (1920–23, 1940) 1910 1981 Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (1966–70)
Lieutenant generals
Lieutenant general is the highest permanent rank in the Australian Army. The rank of lieutenant general is always held by the Chief of Army, though is also held when an Australian Army officer is appointed as Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of Joint Operations, Chief of Joint Capabilities, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Chief of Personnel or an equivalent position.
Lieutenant generals of the Australian Army are as follows:
Name Born Died Date promoted Senior command(s) or appointment(s) in rank Notes 1887 1962 III Corps (1942–44) 1894 1981 Eastern Command (1946–53), I Corps (1944), II Corps (1943–44) 1899 1993 British Commonwealth Forces Korea (1954–56) 1965 Chief of Joint Operations (2019–2024) + 1894 1964 Southern Command (1949–51) + 1894 1971 British Commonwealth Forces Korea (1951–53), Eastern Command (1951) 1915 1994 Chief of the General Staff (1971–73) 1964 Chief of Army (2018–22) 1960 Chief Capability Development Group (2014–15) + 1892 1968 1932 2018 Chief of the General Staff (1990–92) * 1970 Chief of Army (2026–), Chief of Joint Capabilities (2024–26) 1913 2004 Chief of the General Staff (1966–71) 1923 2011 Chief of the General Staff (1977–82) 1903 1978 Eastern Command (1960–63), Southern Command (1958–60) 1953 2008 Chief of Joint Operations (2008–11) * Chief of Personnel (2023–) Chief of Joint Capabilities (2021–2024), National COVID Vaccine Taskforce (2021–22), Principal Deputy Director Australian Signals Directorate (2018–21) 1900 1977 Chief of the General Staff (1958–60), Southern Command (1954–58) 1952 Chief of Army (2008–11), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2005–08) 1939 Chief of the General Staff (1992–95) 1892 1982 I Corps (1942–44), New Guinea Force (1942–43), II Corps (1942) 1941 Chief of Army (1998–2000) + 1864 1938 1884 1948 Chairman of the Manpower Committee (1939–44) 1885 1957 / 18 June 1941 First Army (1942–44), I Corps (1941–42), Southern Command (1939–40) 1952 Chief of Army (2002–08) + 1860 1939 1863 1947 1882 1966 New Guinea Force (1943–44), Second Army (1942–44), Home Forces (1941–42) + 1864 1930 * National Cyber Security Coordinator (2024–) 1884 1958 Eastern Command (1940–41) 1956 Chief of Army (2011–15) 1889 1959 I Corps (1944–45), Second Army (1944), New Guinea Force (1944), II Corps (1943) 1943 Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2000–02) + 1893 1966 United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (1952–66) 1890 1966 British Commonwealth Occupation Force (1946), Chief of the General Staff (1940, 1942–45) 1933 2026 Chief of the General Staff (1987–90) + 1860 1931 * UN Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations (2024–) 1903 1978 Chief of the General Staff (1960–63), Eastern Command (1957–60) 1957 Chief of Joint Operations (2011–14) Chief of Defence Intelligence (2020–2024) 1894 1960 Southern Command (1953–54), British Commonwealth Forces Korea (1951), British Commonwealth Occupation Force (1946–51), First Army (1945–46) 1894 1975 Chief of the General Staff (1950–54), Vice Chief of the General Staff (1946–50), I Corps (1942) 1940 Chief of Army (1995–98), Commander Joint Forces Australia (1993–95), Commander United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (1992–93) 1890 1954 II Corps (1944–45), New Guinea Force (1944), I Corps (1944) + 1897 1962 Northern Command (1952–54), Eastern Command (1951–52) 1891 1961 Southern Command (1940–42) 1882 1940 Chief of the General Staff (1939–40), Inspector General of the Australian Army (1938–39) Chief of Army (2022–26) 1890 1966 Chief of the General Staff (1940–42, 1946–50), First Army (1944–45) 1898 1973 Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (1958–59), Chief of the General Staff (1954–58), British Commonwealth Forces Korea (1953–54), Southern Command (1951–53) + 1881 1952 Southern Command (1940) * Deputy Commander, United Nations Command (2026–) 1899 1967 Eastern Command (1953–57) 1886 1945 Lieutenant General Administration at Allied Land Headquarters (1942–44), Eastern Command (1941–42)
Major generals