ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Comparative officer ranks of World War II

Okay, so you know how people who work have different job titles, right? Like some people are managers and some people are just regular workers.

In World War II, there were different job titles for soldiers too. The people in charge were called officers, and they also had different ranks.

Each country had their own system for how they ranked their officers, which could be kind of confusing. But there were some general similarities.

The lowest rank was usually called something like private or soldier. These were the people who did most of the fighting and following orders.

Then there were people with higher ranks who were in charge of groups of soldiers. For example, a sergeant might lead a small group of soldiers, while a captain might lead a whole company of soldiers.

The highest ranks were usually reserved for the most important leaders, like generals. They were responsible for making big decisions about the war and strategy.

It's important to remember that different countries might use different names for their ranks, and the exact roles of each rank could vary too. But in general, officers with higher ranks had more responsibility and authority.