Antoine Antonelle

Antoine Antonelle
Title/Honours	Master of Fifth Legion, later Equerry to the Primarch Gaspard Lumey
Aliases	Papa Antoine
Legion	Fifth
Great Crusade Command	various operational and administrative postings
Distinguishing Traits	Patient, humble
Flaws	Cautious, quiet

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Antoine Antonelle (b. 762.M30, d. 016.M31) was the first master of the Fifth Legion and became Gaspard Lumey's right-hand man after the Primarch was rediscovered. He was particularly notable for his patience and humility, rare virtues among the Adeptus Astartes.

He was appointed to head the Fifth Legion following the death of Mamercus and his squad of the Sacred Band in the San Angelus Incident. Antonelle's time as the chief of the Legion was the most difficult in the Void Angels' history, as they struggled to recruit and develop following the loss of their officer cadre. He had great difficulty persuading the Governor of Luna, Pallas Eugenesis, to allocate genetic resources to the Fifth Legion and as a result Antonelle's command was always small. Never the less, he pioneered the Legion's squadron formations and tactical doctrine and mentored a small cadre of Marines. Antonelle was distinct among the early Legion Masters for commanding from Terra and entrusting field operations entirely to his subordinates. His main field commanders were Uli Dreier and Fabrice Diallo. Antonelle was generally unpopular among the early heroes of the Great Crusade due to his quiet nature and hands off command style, but he made a favourable impression on the War Scribes Primarch Arelex Orannis. The Steel Marshals' Roman Albrecht also offered the struggling Fifth Legion considerable assistance.

After Lumey took over the Legion and established its new recruiting base in the Markian subsector, Antonelle put a particular emphasis on training and integrating the Legion's new recruits. The youngsters of the Fifth Legion recognised Antonelle's efforts with the affectionate nickname him Papa Antoine, and many of those he mentored went on to play a prominent role in the Legion's battle history - not least of which was Mai Dac Kien, who would be appointed Chapter Master of the Void Angels in the Imperial Reformation. He maintained close ties with the father of the Imperial Army, Gufarnus Altmakar and had good working relationships with many of Altmakar's subordinates. Antonelle patronised the Eighth Expeditionary Front of the Kondrus Aeroguard among others, and the formations friendly to him would often be deployed in the Auxilia Armies of the Fifth Legion alongside the famous Ciban Chasseurs.

His battlefield role as the Primarch's right hand would never be showy, but it would always be important. Antonelle did not command an Expedition Fleet, instead remaining an agent at large for the Primarch. He dealt with key administrative problems and also contributed greatly to operational planning. It was common for Antonelle to toake brief instructions from Gaspard Lumey and worked them up into full battle plans, or supervise key build-ups for the Legion. In the most striking instance, which required him to depart from the field of battle for a year and a half, Antonelle's careful planning led to the Winged Victory's famous victory in the Pacification of the Harakien Sector. It is perhaps surprising that he often clashed with Lumey on the strategic course, being far more cautious than the audacious Primarch. Yet both warriors greatly valued their differences of opinion, however, sharing the belief that a diversity of views allowed for a better understanding of any situation.

Antoine Antonelle was slain by Tribulus Bercilak during the Battle of Rai, after the Strike Cruiser Endurance was brought down by fire from the Life Bringers under the command of Nikephoros Galen. His eulogy was written by Gaspard Lumey but the Primarch was too overcome with grief to deliver it in person. Fabrice Diallo briefly succeeded Antonelle as the Fifth Legion's second in command, before the position was assigned to Augustin Carron.