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The '''Codex Astartes''' is the doctrine of the [[Space Marine]] Chapters, governing all aspects of Chapter organization and battlefield tactics. For any given tactical situation, the Codex has hundreds of pages devoted to how it may be met and overcome. The wisdom of thousands of Imperial warriors have contributed to the Codex, and details on everything from unit markings to launching a full-scale planetary assault are contained within its pages.

The codex was written and formalized after the [[Horus Heresy]] by the [[Primarch]] of the [[Ultramarines]] [[Roboute Guilliman]]. A few Chapters, such as the Ultramarines and their successors, regard the codex as a holy text, and follow it without question. Many other chapters also follow the Codex, though not always as strictly as the Ultramarines, and all chapters that do follow the Codex are known as Codex Chapters. Among the Ultramarines, each battle brother must memorise whole sections of the codex, so that within a company there exists an entire record of the text.<sup>1</sup>

==Organizational Doctrine==

[[Image:CodexOrganisation.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Codex Astartes Space Marine Chapter organisational chart.]]

The Codex states that a Space Marine [[Chapter]] should be split into 10 companies of 100 Marines each, plus a Space Marine [[Captain]], [[Apothecary]], [[Company Standard]] and [[Chaplain]] for each [[company]].

Existing outside the Company level organization, each chapter has an [[Armoury]] consisting of the chapter's [[Techmarine]]s and tanks, a [[Librarium]] consisting of the Chapter's [[Librarian]]s, a Chapter Fleet and the [[Chapter Master]], plus various headquarters staff and the Chapter's [[servitor]]s and [[Chapter Serf|human serfs]].

===Veteran Company===
The '''1st Company''' consists of [[Veteran Squad]]s and/or [[Terminator Squad]]s. Support for the 1st company consists of [[Land Raider]]s and [[Dreadnought]]s. Only the 1st Company may use the hallowed suits of [[Terminator Armour]]

===Battle Companies===
The '''2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Companies''' are known as Battle Companies and all have the same organization. They are split into 6 [[Tactical Squad]]s, 2 [[Assault Squad]]s and 2 [[Devastator Squad]]s. The Assault Squads can instead be deployed as [[Bike Squadron]]s or [[Land Speeder]]s. Battle Companies often use [[Rhino]] and [[Razorback]] transports, and commonly have Dreadnoughts.

===Reserve Companies===
The '''6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Companies''' are Reserve Companies. The 6th and 7th are comprised entirely of Tactical Squads, the 8th of Assault Squads and the 9th of Devastator Squads. Like the Battle Companies the Reserve Companies also make extensive use of Rhino and Razorback transports, though Dreadnoughts are usually only found in the 9th Company. The 6th Company can be entirely deployed on Space Marine Bikes and the 7th on Land Speeders. The 8th Company can use either Space Marine Bikes or Land Speeders. These forces are held in reserve to be deployed at the discretion of force commanders as tactical situations evolve, often to bolster weak points or aid in breaking through enemy lines at specific locations.

===Scout Company===
The '''10th Company''' consists entirely of [[Scout Squad]]s and is often not 100 strong as recruitment does not provide a steady flow of new recruits. As such the 10th Company is the most lightly armed and is most often used as a recon force. Scouts are sometimes mounted on Space Marine Bikes, but do not use Rhino or Razorback transports.

==Heraldry==
Each Chapter has its own unique colour scheme and Chapter Badge; however, Codex Chapters all follow a common heraldry system, though there are many slight variations from the system below.

'''Company Colours''' - Each Company has a unique colour that its members wear, commonly on the shoulder plate rims, but some chapters use chest eagles, bolter cases, knee pads, helmets or other parts of a Space Marine's [[Power Armour]]. 

1st Company - White or Silver - Members of the 1st Company should also paint their helmet the company colour.

2nd Company - Yellow or Gold

3rd Company - Red

4th Company - Green

5th Company - Black

6th Company - Orange

7th Company - Purple

8th Company - Grey

9th Company - Blue

10th Company - Nominally white, however the company colour is not displayed in the members armour because they are Scouts.

'''Squad Markings''' - The left shoulder plate of a Space Marine in power armour always shows the Marine's Chapter Badge. The right pad shows the squad badge, this shows the type of squad the marine belongs to and the number of his squad. [[Veteran Squad]]s use a Maltese Cross, Tactical Squads use an arrow, Assault Squads use four perpendicular arrows pointing outwards and Devastator Squads use an inverted V. Space Marines in Terminator Armour wear the [[Crux Terminatus]] on their left pad, and their Chapter Badge on their right pad.

'''Officers and Specialists'''

[[Space Marine Captain]]s - Wear the heraldry of their company, sometimes embellished with their own personal heraldry

[[Librarian]]s - Wear blue armour, irrespective of what chapter they belong to, and wear their Chapter Badge as normal. (This practice is now widely ignored, even among the more standard chapters.)

[[Chaplain]]s - Wear black armour, irrespective of what chapter they belong to, and wear their Chapter Badge as normal.

[[Techmarine]]s - Wear red armour, irrespective of what chapter they belong to, and wear their Chapter Badge as normal.

[[Apothecary|Apothecaries]] - Wear white armour, irrespective of what chapter they belong to, and wear their Chapter Badge as normal.

[[Sergeant]]s - Wear the same heraldry as their squad, but carry the squad's banner, which displays the Chapter Badge and the squad's number, plus a red skull (the symbol of a sergeant). Sergeants often paint their helmets red, or in some cases wear a red skull on their helmet instead.

[[Veteran Sergeant]]s - Wear the same heraldry as their squad, but carry the squad's banner, which displays the Chapter Badge and the squad's number, plus a red skull (the symbol of a sergeant). Veteran Sergeants often paint their helmets red and add an additional white stripe or laurel wreath.

[[Terminator]]s - Veteran battle-brothers who make use of the [[Tactical Dreadnought Armour]].

==Related Articles==
* [[List of Imperial Tomes]]

==Sources==
*[[Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition)]]
*[[Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition)]]
*<sup>1</sup>: [http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=&catId=cat1290027&categoryId=600002&aId=2500035 GW website - Ultramarines Background]

[[Category:Space Marines]]
[[Category:Ultramarines]]
[[Category:Imperial Texts]]
[[de:Codex Astartes]]