Rising from the ranks


Rising from the ranks, 'through the ranks or commissioned from the ranks' refers to enlisted soldiers being commissioned as officers. In class-conscious societies of the past, such as Britain during the Victorian era, for example, this was a relatively rare occurrence.

Revolutionary and Napoleonic France

Despite the nickname "the little corporal", Napoleon did not rise from the ranks. However, he did famously state, "Tout soldat français porte dans sa giberne le bâton de maréchal de France." That is, any soldier could attain such a lofty rank. And indeed, many seized the opportunities opened to them by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars to serve as such under his command, including:

Post-Napoleonic France

François Achille Bazaine, over the course of four decades of service, rose from private to Marshal of France in 1863.

United Kingdom

An 1857 report stated the following numbers of non-commissioned officers received commissions in the British Army:
  • 23 for 1853–4
  • 101 for 1854–5
  • 100 for 1855–6
  • 147 for 1856–7
British soldiers promoted from the ranks during the two World Wars were sometimes known as temporary gentlemen.
GeneralsEnlistedRank attainedDate attainedNotes
John Horsford 1772, East India CompanyMajor generalJune 1811Major-general in the East India Company's Bengal Army.
Sir John Elley 1789, Royal Regiment of Horse GuardsMajor generalAugust 1819Fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Sir John Elley 1789, Royal Regiment of Horse GuardsLieutenant general10 January 1837Fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet 1877, trooper, 16th (The Queen's) LancersBrigadier29 November 1907Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Only soldier in the history of the British Army to rise from an enlisted rank to its highest rank.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet 1877, trooper, 16th (The Queen's) LancersMajor general26 December 1910Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Only soldier in the history of the British Army to rise from an enlisted rank to its highest rank.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet 1877, trooper, 16th (The Queen's) LancersLieutenant general13 September 1914Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Only soldier in the history of the British Army to rise from an enlisted rank to its highest rank.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet 1877, trooper, 16th (The Queen's) LancersGeneral23 December 1915Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Only soldier in the history of the British Army to rise from an enlisted rank to its highest rank.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet 1877, trooper, 16th (The Queen's) LancersField marshal29 March 1920Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Only soldier in the history of the British Army to rise from an enlisted rank to its highest rank.
Hector MacDonald 1870, Inverness-shire Highland Rifle VolunteersBrigadierOctober 1899
Hector MacDonald 1870, Inverness-shire Highland Rifle VolunteersMajor general26 March 1902
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet 1939, Queen's Own Cameron HighlandersBrigadier11 April 1944Rose to the rank of brigadier during the Second World War.
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet 1939, Queen's Own Cameron HighlandersMajor general16 June 1947Rose to the rank of brigadier during the Second World War.
Enoch Powell 1939, Royal Warwickshire RegimentBrigadier3 May 1945Rose to the rank of brigadier during the Second World War.

United States

"Mustang" is American military slang for soldiers who rise from the ranks. Notable mustangs include:

Fiction

In military fiction, this is a not uncommon trope, Richard Sharpe being a prime example.
In Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, the main character Juan "Johnny" Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry as a private, and later receives a direct appointment to lieutenant.