In many nations, the highest military ranks are classed as being equivalent to, or are officially described as, five-star ranks. However, a number of nations have used or proposed ranks such as generalissimo, which are senior to their five-star equivalent ranks. Forms Generalissimo and Generalissimus Adopted from Italian (generalissimo) and Latin (generalissimus), the rank titles literally mean "the utmost general". A number of countries, including the Republic of China, France, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Sweden and the USSR, have used these ranks. In most of these countries, the rank has only been held by one or two men. Grand marshal The militaries of the Empire of Japan, Republic of China and North Korea use the rank of grand marshal (). Six-star ranks The United States Armed Forces have proposed and used two six-star ranks: General of the Armies and Admiral of the Navy. These are ranked directly above their five-star counterparts, General of the Army and Fleet Admiral. By nation China (PRC and ROC) During the early years of the Republic of China, three individuals assumed the rank of "grand marshal of the army and navy" (陸海軍大元帥): Yuan Shikai in 1913, Sun Yat-sen in 1917 and Zhang Zuolin in 1927. The rank of "general special class" or "generalissimo" (特級上將) was awarded to Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. No one in the People's Republic of China has ever been awarded the rank, though the supreme rank of "grand marshal of the People's Republic of China" (中華人民共和國大元帥 zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó dà yuánshuài) was proposed for Mao Zedong after the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, but was never conferred. France Maréchal général The title Maréchal général des camps et armées du roi ("Marshal General of the King's camps and armies") was given to signify that the recipient had authority over all the French armies in the days when a marshal usually governed only one army. This dignity was bestowed only on Marshals of France, usually when the dignity of Constable of France was unavailable or, after 1626, suppressed. Maréchal de France Marshal of France (French: Maréchal de France, plural Maréchaux de France) is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank but is granted to generals for exceptional achievements. It was one of the great officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration and one of the great dignitaries of the Empire