The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The reason why the Astartes don't need military ranks is simple: they just don't need them, it's unnecessary.

The Chapter has a very flat command structure. The Chapter Master not only directly commands the company captains, but can also command a squad subordinate to a certain company, and can even combine squads from different companies. At the same time, the Chapter Master has absolute authority over the Chapter, even to the point of being called the 'Lord of XX.' In addition, the Astartes' chain of command is very clear, smooth, and direct, without having to consider multi-level consumption and buck-passing. Moreover, the Astartes have a high degree of tactical awareness, so even if the organization is disrupted, they can fight on their own without relying on ranks to clarify superiors and subordinates and rebuild the chain of command.

So, does the Phoenix Legion assembled by Solzhenitsyn have these characteristics?

Yes, but not all of them.

Because the Eldar have a psychic network guided by seers, their chain of command for information transmission and processing is even more efficient than that of the Astartes. Although it is also relatively susceptible to interference, it is definitely smooth. In addition, the Eldar's combat literacy is sufficient to support their tactical awareness.

However, the scale of the Phoenix Legion is very large (relative to a Chapter), which means that there will be more command levels. Moreover, the supreme commander, Solzhenitsyn, cannot possibly dispatch to every squad, which would be a very stupid thing. In this case, military ranks can indeed help the efficient operation of the chain of command to a certain extent.

And how should I put it, the Phoenix Legion also has to face the problem of how to recruit soldiers. Even if they are selected from the militia, they must be made more willing to join the army. However, it is impossible for the Eldar society to rely on material incentives, after all, they really don't lack anything, and they don't pursue luxury and enjoyment. It is also not appropriate to rely on power. The only thing Solzhenitsyn can think of is honor.

After thinking about it, he decided to establish a set of military ranks, and considering that the Phoenix Legion has relatively few command levels, the military ranks are also relatively simplified, divided into 5 classes and 13 levels. The 5 classes are Marshal, General, Colonel, Lieutenant, and Sergeant. The 13 levels are Marshal, General, Lieutenant General, Brigadier General, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Warrant Officer, Sergeant Major, and Sergeant. The title of Marshal, in a sense, is beyond the scope of military rank, and being awarded the title of Marshal also means becoming one of the courtiers of the Phoenix King.

This level is quite rudimentary compared to the Empire's military rank system, but it is enough for Solzhenitsyn, after all, the Phoenix Legion is a highly flexible force.

6. Restructuring the Phoenix Legion's weapon research and development, manufacturing, and many logistical departments.

Until now, the Eternal Court's weapons and equipment are somewhat chaotic in terms of both manufacturing and management, and much of the equipment relies on the joining of various Craftworlds. Doral didn't bring out much equipment from the Bloody Forest Conspiracy Group, and there was a lack of weapon artisans. Although this situation has changed since the Yemlock Craftworld joined and Doral painstakingly abducted a large number of weapon artisans from Commorragh, the organizational structure has always been chaotic. The Navy has already established naval manufacturing bases on the two Vals of Protection after the Great Vortex Expedition, and established an independent naval equipment department, and the Phoenix Legion will naturally follow suit.

Especially after witnessing the infighting, buck-passing, and wrangling between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the various armed forces of the Empire, Solzhenitsyn did not intend to create such a relationship in the Court.

According to the latest reorganization plan, both the Val artisans and the Spirit Anvil Guard of Yemlock Craftworld will be incorporated into the newly established Phoenix Grand Armory, along with the Bonesingers from Kynshala and the weapon artisans from Commorragh, so as to break the problem of a single shrine having too much influence on the Court's armed forces.

The main task of the Phoenix Grand Armory is to organize the Phoenix Legion's equipment manufacturing, research and development, management, and support work, with subordinate research institutes, manufacturing departments, planning departments, logistics departments, and several equipment test sites. The most critical of these are the research institute and the manufacturing department. Although the Eldar's current equipment is still extremely advanced in the galaxy, complacency means that one day they will encounter problems that the cards in their hands cannot solve. More importantly, the Eldar, like humans, have lost too much past technology, which means that the current equipment is far from the limit that the Phoenix Legion can reach.

Therefore, the task of the research institute is very important, and Solzhenitsyn divided it into three parts.

The research and development department, according to the new opponents that the Court may encounter in the future, especially the Tyranid, develops targeted weapons - Solzhenitsyn discovered early on that the Eldar's equipment is indeed advanced and powerful, but it has not changed in tens of thousands of years. What it was like during the Fall is still what it is like now. Perhaps what is enough now does not mean it will be enough in the future, and what is effective against enemies in the galaxy does not mean it will be effective against enemies outside the galaxy. According to the battle situation of the past Craftworld Eldar against Tyranid creatures that he consulted with Doral, it is not very optimistic.

The improvement department mainly proposes improvement plans for existing weapons and equipment. After all, the research and experimental cycle of new weapons is very long. If the current weapons can be improved to improve certain combat effectiveness, it is also necessary, after all, a distant water cannot quench a thirst.

The archeology department is somewhat similar to the Adeptus Mechanicus, that is, to find and reverse-engineer ancient lost technologies, so as to restore those lost technologies and equipment. The main method is to send exploration teams to the ruins of ancient empires to find any valuable relics, or to inquire in other Craftworld worlds or savage kingdoms whether there are ancient technological relics and try to buy and exchange them from the other party.

As for the manufacturing department, it is in charge of the large and small weapon foundries or Val forges under the Court and various Craftworlds. Currently, Kalesh 'Toh has developed the 'Spirit Thread Format King' that allows spindle drones to assist in the manufacture of weapon parts. Therefore, huge semi-automatic arsenals are already being built inside the two Vals of Protection. In the future, some of the Court's scattered small workshops will be moved to the two Vals of Protection. Relying on the two royal arsenals, it will basically be able to meet the Phoenix Legion's needs from rifles to tanks to Titans.

And the person in charge of the Phoenix Grand Armory is naturally Kalesh 'Toh, who already has the title of Grand Artificer. The key is that only this world-renowned Bonesinger master can have enough authority to persuade those Val artisans and Bonesingers to work together.

In addition to the weapons department, Solzhenitsyn also established functional departments such as field medical care, engineering construction, and military law enforcement. However, compared with the human troops' incredibly bloated logistics structure, it is still considered simple. After all, one advantage of the Eldar is that they are less dependent on logistics. Vehicles do not rely on fuel, shooting does not rely on ammunition, and even soldiers have no problem not eating or drinking for several months.