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Moved deviations out of the history section and to the bottom of the page, as it was less relevant and not time-related. also added some more info to the section
There is no such thing as a single version of the ''Codex Astartes'', and the original text no longer exists in any form.{{Fn|32a}} The earliest known copy is the [[Apocrypha of Skaros]].{{Fn|33}} Over the millennia, the work has been added to by successive hands so extensively that various competing versions have emerged. In some cases these are so divergent that chapters have gone to war over differing interpretations of the [[Primarch]]'s will. Therefore, although the doctrines presented in all are invaluable, and collectively the existing versions are perhaps the single greatest work on the art of war in the Imperium, attribution of each individual part of the text is nigh impossible, even with the help of its putative author. {{Fn|32a}}
===Recent Reformation===
Some Chapters choose to display squad information on other parts of the armour, e.g. on kneepads.{{Fn|18b}}{{Fn|18c}}
===Vehicles and Dreadnoughts===
Vehicles attached to a company will generally bear the company's colour and number in a small roundel somewhere on the hull, as well as an identifier number to distinguish between different attached vehicles, although the exact meaning of identifier numbers vary.{{Fn|Note 2}}{{Fn|26c}} Transport vehicles attached to a specific squad also bear that squad's heraldry, including squad number and battlefield role insignia.{{Fn|26c}}
Battlefield roles can be given to aircraft, with some having the close support role.{{Fn|40}}
Aircraft can form mixed-type units, such as a [[Storm Wing]], which contains a [[Stormraven Gunship]] escorted by two [[Stormtalon GunshipsGunship]]s.{{Fn|40}}
===Ranks===
*''"The Codex Astartes leaves no doubt, you cannot touch the warp and remain unscathed."''<br>- [[Leandros]], voicing his concern over the inexplicable survival of [[Demetrian Titus]] having held [[Project Aurora]]'s [[warp]] infused power source unshielded.{{Fn|30}}
==Deviations==
===Imperial Fists===
While the Imperial Fists are one of the most Codex-compliant Chapters, they are known to exploit a vagueness in the Codex's progression scheme. While it is taken to mean that marines are to progress from the 10th Company to the 1st in reverse numerical order by most other Chapters, this is not explicitly stated in the Codex. The Imperial Fists hence use this to direct their 10th Company initiates into the 8th Company before the 9th, meaning they purge themselves of tendency for close-range physical violence before moving onto the precision-oriented Fire Support role in the 9th, retaining this combat style throughout the higher Companies.{{Fn|41}}
Secretly, Rogal Dorn alsoa formulated his own protocol to possibly circumvent the Codex Astartes known as the [[Last Wall]], a code phrase that would require the Imperial Fists and the Successor Chapters to bind together under one supreme commander.{{Fn|12}}
===Dark Angels===
Similar to the Imperial Fists, the [[Dark Angels]] and their successors, while dividing into chapters, have remained united in their single-minded pursuit of the [[Fallen]].{{Fn|26}}
===Space Wolves===
The [[Space Wolves]] Legion, however, never fully accepted the new doctrine; rather they held sacred the teachings of their Primarch, Leman Russ. For that reason, the Wolves consist of twelve [[Great Company|Great Companies]], rather than the ten mandated by the Codex, and their system of organisation and promotion bears little resemblance to that of hardline Codex chapters, such as the Ultramarines. Although the Space Wolves attempted to create Successor Chapters, the genetic instability of their [[gene-seed]] made a disaster of their first attempt, the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]].{{Fn|9}}
===Flesh Tearers===
In the immediate aftermath of the Heresy, [[Nassir Amit]], the founder and first chapter master of the [[Flesh Tearers]], expressed little but scorn for the Codex, finding it amusing that Guilliman, who had been absent from the [[Battle of Terra]], should think himself fit to impose restrictions on the other Legions.{{Fn|13}}
==Notes==
*{{Endn|39}}: [[Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem]], pg. 110
*{{Endn|40}}: [[Flyers of the Dark Millennium]], pgs. 4-19
*{{Endn|41}}: [[Codex Supplement: Imperial Fists (8th Edition)]], pgpgs. 10 & 21
===Uncited===