The concept comes from Arabic, as it is formed from the root amir, which means commander or chief . In relation to its current significance, the admiral is a senior officer in the armed forces of the Navy. Within his military rank he is equivalent to the general of the army of ground forces.
Admiral classification in its context
The term armada is used in reference to a nation’s navy . If we take the Spanish armada as a reference, the military rank is as follows:
1) The troop or seamanship is divided into three levels: sailor, corporal and first corporal,
2) at a higher level are the non-commissioned officers (from sergeant to senior non-commissioned officer),
3) Continuing the step are the officers (the lowest is the frigate ensign and the highest is the captain of the ship),
4) finally, the general officers are those in the higher categories, which include the figure of Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral, General Admiral, with the Captain General being the highest.
It should be noted that in some countries there is a figure of the Commodore, who is at a lower level than the Rear Admiral.
Álvaro de Bazán and Isoroku Yamamoto
War at sea has been decisive on many occasions throughout history. Large battles with high strategic value took place between armadas of two or more nations. Admirals who won the victory are remembered for their strategy, courage and determination.
Spanish Admiral Álvaro de Bazán played a decisive role in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This episode took place near the Greek coast, more specifically in the Gulf of Lepanto. Two armadas clashed: the Ottoman Turks against a Christian alliance formed by a Spanish, Venetian and Papal fleet. The victory of the Christians definitively curbed Ottoman expansionism throughout the Mediterranean.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had great victories throughout World War II and many of them were led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
From a strategic point of view, he believed that naval forces should not be understood as a simple weapon to support ground troops, but should be used as offensive attack forces. On the other hand, he was the propellant of naval aviation in the Japanese navy.
Yamamoto has been in command of the Japanese fleet since the attack on the military base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 began. His victories at sea were so decisive that the Americans decided to end their lives to definitively weaken the naval power of the Japanese . After his death, the Emperor of Japan appointed him Marshal of the Admirals.
