An army general is not just a military rank, it is a personal military rank, meaning the highest (or one of the highest) military positions in the armies of almost all modern states. Above the rank of general - only the rank of Marshal or Field Marshal, which are used in some countries. And if there is no such rank, then the rank of general is the highest military post. Examples of such countries are the United States and Ukraine.
However, in the history of this title there are some atypical moments. For example, in Spain, the rank of "captain-general" is assigned, approximately corresponding to the rank of field marshal, which is higher than the rank of general.
To better understand the concept of "army general", you should compare the ranks of the generals of the USA and the USSR.
In the Republican states of the United States, the title of Marshal, which is subconsciously associated with the monarchy, has never been. No serious attempts have been made to introduce it. As its counterpart in July 1866, Congress established the highest military rank - Army General, rewarding them with W. S. Grant, who had the glory of a Civil War hero who later became President of America. At that time, it existed only as a personal military title, and not as a regular army rank. And at the same time, only one military leader could carry this title.
In the mid 40-ies of the twentieth century, the title was revised by Congress and established as a permanent military rank. However, from September 20, 1950, this title is no longer used, although it is still spelled out in the army charter. US Army generals began to have a title equivalent to the rank of Fleet Admiral and Air Force General, which were then introduced.
In the USSR, this title was given a slightly different meaning. Here, the title “Army General” was a personal military rank below the Marshal of the Soviet Union and above the rank of Colonel General. After a soldier left the service, the words “retired” or “reserve” were added to the rank.
The military rank of army general was one of the four highest ranks that were introduced in the 1940th year in the Soviet Army. Before the revolution in Russia, the rank of army general, in fact, did not exist, because the supreme military rank belonged to the tsar. The first generals of the Soviet army - G.K. Zhukov, I.V. Tyulenev, K.A. Meretskov. Since then, the rank of General of the Soviet Army, as well as Marshal of the Soviet Union, was not assigned to anyone until 1943, when shoulder straps with 4 stars were solemnly presented to A.M. Vasilevsky.
Subsequently, during the Great Patriotic War, the rank of army general was assigned to an additional eighteen military leaders, of whom ten were later awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Their main task was to manage strategic directions. During the war period, the army general was assigned the role of front commander, and at the end of the war his deputy.
After the war, the rank of general was no longer conferred on outstanding military merits, but on the fact of the position held by members of the senior management of the state’s military units, including members of the security agencies and political workers.