military ranks - History Forum ~ All Empires

the major general stands for sargeant-major.

Sergeant Major General is a now extinct military rank that can trace its origins to the Middle Ages. Originally simply Sergeant Major, the title signified a general officer, commander of an army's infantry and typically third in command of the army as a whole (after the Lieutenant General and (Captain General); he also acted as a sort of chief of staff.

Early in the 17th century, individual regiments began appointing their own Sergeant Majors to perform a similar role on a smaller scale (these would evolve into modern-day Majors): the older, senior position became known as Sergeant Major General to distinguish it.

Over the course of the 17th century, the increasing professionalisation of armies saw Sergeant Major General become the most junior of the general ranks. At the same time, the Sergeant portion of the title was more and more commonly dropped; by the early 18th century, the rank's name had been permanently shortened to Major General.

Since Sergeant Major General had previously ranked below a Lieutenant General, the new rank of Major General appeared to create a precedence issue, in that a Major outranked a Lieutenant but a Lieutenant General now outranked a Major General. This oversight was never modified and has continued into the militaries of the present day.

In the 21st century, the rank of Sergeant Major General has ceased to exist but nearly every country in the world maintains the rank of Major General or a close equivalent. The rank is also referred to as a "2 Star General", most often in countries which maintain the lower rank of Brigadier General.