| Post: | German: Stabschef SA |
| Flagcaption: | Earlier (left) and later (right) command flag |
| Insignia: | SA-Logo (no white background).svg |
| Insigniasize: | 70 |
| Status: | Commanding officer of a paramilitary organisation |
| Department: | German: [[Sturmabteilung]] |
| Member Of: | German: Oberste SA-Führung |
| Reports To: | German: [[Supreme SA Leader|Oberste SA-Führer]] |
| Appointer: | Adolf Hitler |
| Formation: | October 1929 |
| First: | Otto Wagener |
| Last: | Wilhelm Schepmann |
| Abolished: | 5 May 1945 |
| Deputy: | German: [[Stabsführer]] |
German: Stabschef (pronounced as /de/,) was an office and paramilitary rank in the German: [[Sturmabteilung]] (SA), the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi Party. It was a rank and position held by the operating chief of the SA. The rank was equivalent to the rank of German: [[Generaloberst]] in the German Army and to General in the U.S. Army.
The position of German: SA-Stabschef, not yet a rank, was established in 1929 to assist the German: Oberste SA-Führer (Supreme SA Leader) with the administration of the fast-growing organisation. Otto Wagener held the office under German: Oberste SA-Führer Franz Pfeffer von Salomon from 1928 to 1930, and effectively headed the SA from Hitler's assumption of the title German: Oberste SA-Führer in August until Ernst Röhm replaced him in January 1931.
The actual SA rank of German: Stabschef was created by Röhm for himself in 1933 after Hitler became chancellor. Although Hitler became the supreme commander of the SA in 1930, the day-to-day running of the organisation was left to the chief of staff. Thus, the men who held the rank of German: Stabschef after 1930 were the actual leaders of the SA.
The office of German: Stabschef was held by four different people between 1929 and 1945 and was, in all but the first case of succession, inherited due to the death of a predecessor. The following SA officers held the office of German: Stabschef:
Early insignia for German: Stabschef consisted of an oak leaf patch worn on the collar of the stormtrooper uniform. Photographic evidence shows Ernst Röhm wearing such an insignia in his early days as the SA Chief of Staff. As Röhm's authority increased, so did his insignia and by mid 1931 photographic evidence shows him wearing wreathed star that was designed after that of a Bolivian general's collar, due to Röhm's previous military experience as a military adviser in Bolivia.
After 1933, the insignia for German: Stabschef consisted of a "crossed lances" pattern, wreathed by a half oak leaf circle. After 1934, the insignia was changed to a wreathed tri-foil oak leaf pattern similar to the SS rank insignia of German: [[Reichsführer-SS]]. With the fall of Nazi Germany, the German: Sturmabteilung ceased to exist and with it the German: Stabschef.
| Junior rank SA-German: [[Obergruppenführer]] | SA rank German: Chef des Stabes der SA | Senior rank German: [[Supreme SA Leader|Oberster SA-Führer]] |