^ Traditionally captains of Polish cavalry held the rank of rotmistrz, a direct equivalent of the rank of kapitan in other branches of the military. ^ a b This rank was never awarded during the War. ^ Reintroduced in 1943. ^ This rank was only proposed and never used. ^ Elevated to position equal to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1945.

Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention NATO reference codes. These are the NATO rank reference codes, used for easy comparison among NATO countries. Links to comparison charts can be found below.

See also: Comparative officer ranks of World War I ^ Traditionally captains of Polish cavalry held the rank of rotmistrz, a direct equivalent of the rank of kapitan in other branches of the military. ^ a b This rank was never awarded during the War. ^ Reintroduced in 1943.