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Lord Commander

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Lord Commander is a rank which occurs several times, past and present, in the upper echelons of the Imperium.

Imperial Navy

Occasionally referenced as Lord Militant Commander and also referred to as Lord High Admiral[11], a Lord Commander of the Imperial Navy has jurisdiction over the Imperial Navy in a Segmentum of the Imperium.[7] Of these, the Lord Commander of the Segmentum Solar is the foremost, and is often appointed to a position on the High Lords of Terra.[7][9]

Notable Lord Commanders of the Imperial Navy

Imperial Guard

Part of a series on the:
Imperial Guard Hierarchy

A strategic rank of the Imperial Guard subordinate only to the Lord Commander Militant, the five Lord Commanders of the Imperial Guard are each responsible for the Guard forces in each of the Imperium's segmentums.[10]

Notable Lord Commanders of the Imperial Guard

Imperial Army

During the Great Crusade, a Lord Commander of the Expedition Fleet was a position in the Imperial Army, the highest of its kind. A Lord Commander was in charge of an entire Expedition Fleet, unless a Primarch was attached to it; in which case the Primarch took precedence and the Lord Commander was chiefly in charge of the soldiers of the Imperial Army.[3][5]

Notable Lord Commanders of the Imperial Army

Astartes

Main Articles: Legion Master, Praetor (Rank)

Lord Commander was a title often used by Legion Masters in the Legiones Astartes[12], as well as being of the titles given to the members of the Astartes in charge of a Chapter formation during the Great Crusade.[1] It was notably used by the Praetors of the Emperor's Children.[17]

In M41, at least one Space Marine Chapter, the Silver Skulls, styles its Chapter Master as Lord Commander. The current holder of the title is Argentius.[19]

Emperor's Children

In the Emperor's Children, for example, each of the Company Captains within the legion was assigned and reported directly to a specific Lord Commander. The Emperor's Children were taught to lead by example, and it was expected of Astartes to emulate their superior officers in the quest to become the perfect warriors. In this way the Company Captains reflected the beliefs of their Lord Commanders, and in turn passed these traits to the Sergeants and Initiates under them. [2]

During the Great Crusade, the Emperor's Children were lead by several Lord Commanders, most notably Eidolon and Vespasian. Command of the III Legion's thirty companies was divided amongst them. As the Warmaster planned the legions' betrayal at Isstvan, Fulgrim realized that the companies under Vespasian's command were likely to remain loyal to the Emperor. He personally murdered Vespasian and sent the Lord Commander's men, including Captains Demeter and Lucius, to their doom on the the planet's surface. Vespasian's followers were beseiged by their corrupted brethren on the wasted remains of Isstvan III. Lucius, however, betrayed his friends Saul Tarvitz and Captain Demeter to the rebels, and all the marines that remained loyal to the Emperor were eventually killed. This treachery earned Lucius the title Lord Commander. [4]

Lord Commander of the Imperium

Lord Commander of the Imperium is the highest known military rank within the Imperial hierarchy, second only to the Emperor himself.[14] The first known holder was the Primarch Rogal Dorn, who had the title during much of the Horus Heresy but later ceded it to Roboute Guilliman.[21] After the Heresy Guilliman took command of the entirety of the Imperial armed forces and took the title of Lord Commander in order to stabilize the Imperium and begin the reforms for which he is famous. He was the only person in the history of the Imperium to control all of the Imperial armed forces (before this, the Imperial war machine was administered by the War Council). The Lord Commander of the Imperium was one of the High Lords of Terra during its use. [6]

Even after Guilliman's wounding at the hands of Fulgrim, the title of Lord of Commander of the Imperium was still used and its holder served as both chairman of the High Lords and commander-in-chief of the Imperium's disparate military forces. In honor of the Primarch, the Lord Commander was often simply referred to as "Lord Guilliman". The title is no longer used as of M41, but continued at least until mid-M32. Known holders of the title during this time include Udin Macht Udo[14] and Chapter Masters Koorland and Maximus Thane. In the aftermath of the War of the Beast and The Beheading, the position of Lord Commander of the Imperium was abolished.[16]

Later at the end of the 41st Millennium, the reborn Roboute Guilliman returned to Terra and declared himself Lord Commander once more.[18]

Adeptus Mechanicus

Knights of Taranis

The Knights of Taranis, a Knight House on Mars, was ruled by joint commanders each known as a Lord Commander of the Knights of Taranis.[8]

See Also

Sources

Uncited


Members of the High Lords of Terra
Permanent Members Master of the AdministratumEcclesiarchInquisitorial RepresentativeFabricator-GeneralGrand Provost MarshalPaternoval EnvoyMaster of the AstronomicanMaster of the Adeptus Astra TelepathicaGrand Master of AssassinsLord Commander of the Imperium
Rotating Members Lord Commander of Segmentum SolarLord Commander MilitantCardinals of the Holy SynodAbessChancellor of the Estate ImperiumSpeaker for the Chartist CaptainsLord High AdmiralCaptain-General
Lesser Members Chirurgeon-GeneralChancellor of the Imperial CouncilCommandant of the Schola ProgeniumLord Constable of the SynopticonMistress Plenary of the Catacombs
Former Members High Lord of the Imperial Chancellery