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*Korporal*
Korporal;
	Heer shoulder and Marine sleeve insignia
Country	Germany
Service branch	German Army; German Navy; German Air Force;
Abbreviation	Korp
Rank group	Enlisted rank
NATO rank code	OR-4
Pay grade	A6
Formation	2021
Next higher rank	Stabskorporal
Next lower rank	Oberstabsgefreiter

Corporal
*Korporal*
Corporal; Korporal
	Army, Navy and Air force insignia
Country	Denmark
Service branch	Royal Danish Army; Royal Danish Navy; Royal Danish Air Force;
Rank group	Enlisted
NATO rank code	OR-4
Pay grade	M113
Formation	1609
Next higher rank	Sergent
Next lower rank	Overkonstabel af 1. grad; Marine-/Flyverspecialist;

*Korporal*
Korporal;
Country	Austria
Service branch	Austrian Land Forces; Austrian Air Force
NATO rank code	OR-3
Formation	1867
Next higher rank	Zugsführer
Next lower rank	Gefreiter

Korporal is the German and Danish spelling of the English corporal. Korporal is used in a number of armed forces as the lowest rank of the non-commissioned officers group. However, in the German Bundeswehr, it is considered a high enlisted personnel rank. In Switzerland the rank is used in the Fire Department as well.

In former German armed forces, the designation of the lowest NCO rank was "Corporal".

Austria

Korporal^[1] (Kpl) is a rank of the enlisted men rank group (EN group) in the Austrian Bundesheer, and is equivalent to NATO-Rang code OR-3. In the k.u.k Army it still counted to the NCO rank group and was allowed to wear the yellow-black port epée.

Today and in the comparison to the German Bundeswehr it is equivalent to the EN-rank “Hauptgefreiter/ Stabsgefreiter ”. In peacetime the Korporal might be tasked to command a small sub unit, e.g. a fireteam (de: Trupp, 2 to 8 men) or a squad (de: Gruppe, 8-13 men).

During United Nations missions and in NATO Partnership for Peace the rank Korporal will be designated in English with Corporal (Cpl) and is equivalent to NATO-Rang code OR-3.

k.u.k. Army

Korporal (Hungarian: Tizedes) was also a rank of the k.u.k. Austro-Hungarian Army. Rank insignia were two white celluloid-star on the stand-up collar of the Waffenrock on gorget patch (German: Paroli). Stand-up collar and background of the gorget patch showed a particular egalisation colour. This rank was corresponding to the ranks of enlisted men as follows:

Bataillonshornist (Battalion bugler)
Bataillonstambour (Battalion drummer)
Geschütz-Vormeister (Gunner-corporal) artillery
Gewehr-Vormeister (Machinegun-corporal ) infantry
Unterjäger (Rifles-corporal) mountain troops
Waffenmeister 3. Klasse (Weapon master 3rd class) artillery and weapon arsenal

Korporal in adjutation of the k.u.k. infantry

Inf.Rgt. Nr. 21
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 38
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 39
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 58
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 60
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 71
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 75
Inf.Rgt. Nr. 83

Denmark

In 1609, Christian IV of Denmark created a permanent organization with regiments of the Royal Danish Army. A regiment would be assigned one ritmester, one løjtnant, one fænrik, and two korporals.^[2]

The first given insignia in 1812, when the rank was given two chevrons.^[3] It was originally the lowest NCO.

By 1972, the rank was only temporarily given. On 1 October 2008, 23 Overkonstabel from the Army were the first to be permanently appointed korporals, since 1972, while simultaneously being made an enlisted rank.^[4]

On 9 March 2012, 12 naval and 12 aviation specialists, were appointed korporals. In the Navy, the degree is intended for employees who act as assistant instructors.^[5]^[6]

Germany

Korporal (abbr. Korp) is the second highest enlisted rank in the Bundeswehr, that might be comparable to corporal in Anglophone armed forces. However, korporal belongs to the rank group of enlisted men, as distinguished from the corporal in Anglophone armed forces which is a non-commissioned officer.

History

The ranks Korporal and Stabskorporal were introduced by the Bundeswehr in October 2021^[8] as the new most senior ranks for enlisted men, senior to Oberstabsgefreiter.^[9] This was done to allow soldiers who perform well and want to take more responsibility to reach a higher pay grade (A6 for Korporal, that is the same pay grade as the NCO rank Stabsunteroffizier (OR-5)) and thus make the career in the enlisted ranks more attractive.^[8]

Soldiers have to have served for at least three years in the rank of Oberstabsgefreiter before being considered for promotion.^[8]

In September 2021, the rank insignia for Korporal and Stabskorporal were introduced.^[10]

Norway

In Norway, the rank is only used by the Norwegian Army. Here Korporal is split into 4 classes and is the "specialist officer" (Norwegian: spesialistbefalet) rank group.^[11]

NATO Code	OR-4		OR-3	OR-2
Norwegian Army^[11]
Norwegian Army^[11]	Korporal 1. klasse	Korporal	Visekorporal 1. klasse	Visekorporal

Literal translation	Corporal 1st class	Corporal	Vice corporal 1st class	Vice corporal

Official translation^[12]	Corporal 1st class	Corporal	Specialist 1st class	Specialist

Switzerland

Korporal

Country	Switzerland
Service branch	Swiss Army Swiss Air Force
NATO rank code	OR-4
Next higher rank	Wachtmeister
Next lower rank	Obergefreiter

In the Military of Switzerland the Korporal is the lowest NCO-rank. The rank is higher than the enlisted rank Obergefreiter.

Until the so-called Army reform XXI (with effect from January 1, 2004) the regular Korporal appointment was to squad leader (de: Gruppenführer, 8-13 men). However, in 2014 this appointment was upgraded to Wachtmeister (OR-5). The Korporal rank was converted to military specialist without any command function.

Korporal is also a rank designation in the "Switzerland armed forces postal system", and in CBRN Defence.

In United Nations missions and in NATO Partnership for Peace the rank Korporal will be designated in English with Corporal (Cpl).

Other armed forces

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands the promotion to "Korporaal" is possible after a longer service time in the enlisted men rank group. There are two corporal ranks:

Korporaal OR-3
Korporaal der 1e klasse OR-4

Vatican City

In the Pontifical Swiss Guard there are two corporal ranks:

Korporal and
Vizekorporal

Poland

In the Polish armed forces there are the two Korporal OR4-rank :

Kapral [short: kpr.] (en: Corporal)
Starszy kapral [short: st. kpr.]) (en: Senior corporal)

Prussia

In Prussia the "Corporal" commanded an up to 30 men strong so-called Korporalschaft. The rank sequence was as follows:

Gefreiter
Korporal
Sergant and/or Feldwebel

In 1856 the designation korporal was changed to Unteroffizier. Until 1807 the (aristocrat) officer aspirants were called Freikorporal (transl. Free corporal).

Examples

Estonia
Kapral, OR-2
Latvia
Kaprālis, OR-4, Army
Netherlands
Korporaal, OR-3, Army
Norway
Korporal, OR-4
Poland
Kapral Army special forces

References

^ Duden; Origin and meaning of "Korporal", in German. [1]
^ Madsen, Emil (1904). "De nationale Tropper, samt Hærvæsenets Styrelse i det 16. Aarhundrede" (PDF). Historisk Tidsskrift (in Danish). 5 (7): 134. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
^ Petersen, Karsten Skjold (2014). Kongens klæder - Hærens uniformer og udrustning i Danmark-Norge [The king's clothes - Army uniforms and equipment in Denmark-Norway] (in Danish) (1st ed.). Slovenia: Historika. p. 106. ISBN 978-87-932-2900-6.
^ "Hæren får igen korporaler" [The Army gets corporals again]. forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Hærens Operative Kommando. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "Første korporaler udnævnt i søværnet" [First Corporals Appointed in the Navy]. forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Søværnets Operative Kommando. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ Hansen, Hanne (April 2012). "Fra konstabel til korporal" [From Constable to Corporal] (PDF). SKnyt: Marinekonstabelgruppens fagblad (in Danish). 15 (2). Rødovre: Specialtrykkeriet Viborg: 14–16. ISSN 1601-3204. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ "Die Laufbahn der Mannschaften (M/W/D)". bundeswehr.de (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cingi, Hanife (25 August 2020). "Korporal und Stabskorporal – Frequently Asked Questions für Soldaten und Soldatinnen". bundeswehr.de (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2021.
^ Fiebig-Schulze, Jennifer (3 August 2020). "Auftakt für die Korporale". bundeswehr.de (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2021.
^ Bombeke, Yann (24 September 2021). "Neue Dienstgrade: Korporal und Stabskorporal im Zulauf". dbwv.de (in German). Deutscher BundeswehrVerband. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Militære grader". forsvaret.no (in Norwegian). Norwegian Armed Forces. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^ "Military ranks". www.forsvaret.no. Norwegian Armed Forces. Retrieved 21 March 2022.