Lord General Militant, also known as Lord Militant, is a general officer rank of the Astra Militarum.
Lord General Militant is the highest operational rank within the Astra Militarum, and its holder serves as the supreme military commander of an entire designated theatre of operations or Imperial Crusade, assigned to those responsibilities by the Departmento Munitorum or directly by decree of the High Lords of Terra.
The promotion to Lord General Militant usually comes to a Lord General or General of the Astra Militarum through his or her powerful noble family connections as well as a combination of the achievements earned during their prior command experiences and service to the Emperor.
Those who rise to the rank of Lord General Militant often receive additional organisational training to prepare them to effectively lead potentially tens of millions of personnel across multiple Imperial organisations.
Every Lord General Militant forms a General Staff comprised of lower-ranking Astra Militarum general officers who provide counsel and serve as the pool of officers from which the Lord General Militant can select new subordinate commanders within the theatre. Only one Lord General Militant is ever appointed per sector of the Imperium of Man.
Notable Lord General Militants
- Arian Vois - Arian Vois was the Lord Militant who commanded the Crusade of Fire at some unknown date in the 41st Millennium that sought to retake the Corvus Sub-sector from an assault by the Forces of Chaos. During that campaign he commanded the efforts of the Imperial Crusade Fleet to counter a Chaos ambush upon first entering the Corvus Sub-sector.
- Cybon - Lord Militant Cybon was one of the senior Imperial military commanders who served under the Warmaster Slaydo and the Warmaster Macaroth during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Known for his tendency to use his men as cannon fodder, Cybon was a contender to become Warmaster of the Crusade following the death of Slaydo but was passed over due to his draconian attitudes towards the Imperial Guard's common soldiers. When Marshal Macaroth became the new Crusade Warmaster, Cybon was enraged as he saw Macaroth as beneath him. But as the conflict continued and Macaroth's accomplishments became apparent, Cybon grew to respect him. Still, Macaroth relegated Cybon to second-line logistical duties, a position he felt was beneath his considerable tactical abilities.
- Drusus - Drusus was a Lord General Militant of the Astra Militarum in the early 39th Millennium who commanded the Angevin Crusade to take the Calyx Expanse for the Imperium. He was originally a subordinate Lord General to Lord Militant Golgenna Angevin, the original commander of the Crusade. After the mental breakdown of Angevin, Drusus would take over command of the failing Crusade against the xenos Yu'vath and their allies. As Drusus gained the favour of the High Lords of Terra, his rival generals attempted to kill him by employing assassins. Though supposedly slain in one of these assassination attempts, Drusus was seemingly resurrected as a Living Saint, leading many to believe that he was held high in the esteem of the Emperor. As a result, Drusus was formally given command of the Angevin Crusade, promoted to Lord Militant, and lead a great Imperial offensive that saw the final destruction of the Yu'vath. Drusus is still hailed as a hero and an Imperial Saint across the Calixis Sector he helped to bring into being to this day.
- Esbet Athelstane- Esbet Athelstane was the only known woman to achieve the rank of Lady General Militant in Imperial history. She commanded the Imperial Guard forces that fought on Charys against the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion.
- Hechtor Dravere - The Lord Militant Hechtor Dravere was one of the senior Imperial commanders that served under Warmaster Slaydo and Warmaster Macaroth during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Dravere was passed over by Slaydo for promotion to the position of Warmaster after the latter's untimely death in 765.M41. A bitter man, Dravere met his ultimate fate during the assault on Menazoid Epsilon in late 765.M41, less than eight solar months after Slaydo's death.
- Huxlow - Lord General Militant Huxlow was the Imperial officer who approved the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer for distribution to the rank-and-file of the Astra Militarum.
- Slayban Bellrath - Slayban Bellrath was a Lord General Militant of the Astra Militarum. Born a powerful noble on Terra, he commanded the Bellrath Crusade from 182-453.M38 to liberate the area of space designated as the Laanath Rifts, a dangerous and uncharted region located in the northwest fringes of Segmentum Pacificus, from the xenos Hellgrammaite species.
- Solomon Tetrarchus - Solomon Tetrarchus is a Lord General Militant of the Astra Militarum and the current commander of the Achilus Crusade into the Jericho Reach. Tetrarchus took the command when his predecessor, Warmaster Tiber Achilus, was lost in the Warp after his Grand Cruiser's Gellar Field malfunctioned. Though a capable commander and charismatic leader, as the Crusade experienced more and more difficulties, Tetrarchus has begun to exhibit signs of paranoia, insisting his ranks are full of "traitors." He has also experienced friction with the Space Marine forces taking part in the Crusade, as they, like all Adeptus Astartes forces, act autonomously and are not under his direct command.
- Vichres - Lord Militant Vichres was one of the senior Imperial commanders who served under Warmaster Slaydo during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Vichres died in 760.M41 on the world of Cociaminus during the Sabre Bridge Incident when he and 47 of his men were ambushed by enemy armour.
Sources
- Crusade of Fire (6th Edition), pg. 15
- Dark Heresy Timeline (RPG Download)
- Deathwatch Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 344-346
- Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault (RPG), pg. 133
- First and Only (Novel) by Dan Abnett
- Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two, pp. 98-99
- Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book) by Dan Abnett, pp. 14, 25, 36
- Tactica Imperialis (Background Book), pg. 26
- Wolf's Honour (Novel) by Lee Lightner
Astra Militarum Hierarchy | |
---|---|
General Officers | Lord Commander Militant • Warmaster (Lord Solar) • Lord Commander • Lord General Militant • Lord General • General |
Officers | Colonel • Major • Captain • Lieutenant |
Non-Commissioned Officers and Enlisted | Sergeant • Corporal • Trooper (Guardsman) |
Specialists | Inquisitor • Commissar • Priest • Tech-Priest • Enginseer • Sanctioned Psyker • Primaris Psyker • Wyrdvane Psyker |