General en Chef was not a grade but a title related to either particular assignments or functions. It was usually given to generals of division commanding a corps. Lieutenant General and Commandant du place were the same type of titles and were not grades. For example, a Commandant du place could be anyone who commanded a fortress or a town and his grade might range from a chef de bataillon to a general of division. In peacetime the term usually used was gouverneur for the same assignment.

The title of lieutenant general was used during 1794-1800 as a temporary grade for generals of division who commanded a wing of the army in the field. From 1804-1815 the term was used for a 'lieutenant of the Emperor' who was commanding in a theater where Napoleon was not present. He would outrank any of the marshals assigned to the army in that theater.

The only two general officer grades in the French army of the period were general of brigade and general of division. In 1814 the grade of general of brigade reverted to marechal de camp, the old Royal Army title. General of Division reverted to the old lieutenant general under the Bourbons in 1814.

Marshal of the Empire, or more usually marshal, was an honorary grade given to 'deserving' generals of division. It was not a superior military grade but a personal title of honor.