Supreme commander of the Imperial fleet was a position given to the leader of the Imperial Navy during the Galactic Civil War. In being granted the rank, the Sith Lord Darth Vader in fact held control over the Imperial Military overall, supplanting the previous rank of Supreme Commander.

Powers[]

Darth Vader's new position of supreme commander of the Imperial fleet granted him full authority over the Imperial Navy, in addition to personal control over the vaunted Death Squadron task force and its flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor. Vader could also re-assign or recall naval assets as he deemed fit, which included bringing elements of the former 7th Fleet back into the fold. With his new role placing him in control of anti-Rebel operations, the Dark Lord of the Sith imposed a singular focus on the Imperial Navy's objectives and disjointed efforts to deal with insurgency. Vader's own relationships with the galaxy's kingpins removed the need for piracy disruption, since crime syndicates feared the consequences of preying on Imperial shipping. However, the Sith Lord cared little for day-to-day administrative matters that came with his new position and instead opted to let the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military organize things from behind the scenes, as long as they did not undermine his own strategy and plans.^[1]

Historian Beaumont Kin noted in The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire that he was unsure if Vader's position as supreme commander of the Imperial fleet was the same as that of the overall supreme commander of the Imperial military.^[1] In truth, the position was created to be the same;^[3] after Grand General Cassio Tagge had become Supreme Commander of the Empire^[1] but lost the approval of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine, Palpatine placed all of Tagge's authority in Vader's hands.^[3]

History[]

Background[]

During the Imperial Era, the Sith Lord Darth Vader did not need a formal military title^[4] as he was directly empowered by the Galactic Emperor, his Sith Master Darth Sidious. As Sidious, in his public guise as Emperor Sheev Palpatine, made clear to the Imperial Officer Corps, any order from Vader was to be treated as if the Emperor himself had given it,^[5] thereby making Vader the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Military. With such power,^[4] Vader's title amongst the Imperial Armed Forces was simply "lord."^[6] He was also known as the Emperor's Fist.^[7]

Vader's fortunes would change with the Battle of Yavin^[8] of 0 BBY, however.^[9] Blamed for the destruction of the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station by his master,^[8] Vader was forced under the command of the newly-promoted Grand General Cassio Tagge,^[10] who further acted as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military.^[1] In that time, Vader also crossed paths with Doctor Cylo, who had groomed cyborg warriors he promised could replace the failed Vader. In the end, however,^[11] Vader would best all of Cylo's agents^[3] and learned that his master had grown distrustful of Cylo; needing the doctor to overstep and betray the Empire in order to be purged from the hierarchy without issue, Vader's frustration of Cylo's efforts drove the doctor into treason with the Shu-Torun War^[11] and his attempted hijacking of the Super Star Destroyer Executor.^[3]

Establishment[]

With Cylo's defeat, Vader had proven himself as worthy to his master and successfully undermined confidence in Tagge,^[1] who had already failed to notice the doctor's treason and stop his hijacking effort. Furthermore, hoping to save her own life by impressing the Emperor, Vader's agent Chelli Lona Aphra revealed to Palpatine that his apprentice was working undercover to build his own secret forces. However, that only further impressed Palpatine as, by acting out of anger and pride, Vader had been following Sith doctrine. Vader responded to Aphra's treason by throwing her out of an airlock,^[3] a method of execution she had always feared.^[12] In secret, however, she was able to survive.^[3]

In the wake of Tagge's failures and impressed by Vader, Palpatine stripped Tagge of his ranks of Grand General^[3] and Supreme Commander.^[1] Instead, Palpatine invested all of Tagge's control in Vader's hands,^[3] naming Vader the supreme commander of the Imperial fleet.^[1] All the same, Vader still considered his rank to be "lord."^[13] Nonetheless, with his power over Tagge^[3] and the greater military confirmed, Vader's first action in his new role^[1] was to Force-choke Tagge to death for his failures.^[3] Beyond control over the Imperial Military at large, Vader assumed control over the Executor^[1] at the direct request of the Emperor,^[3] transforming the vessel into the Sith Lord's flagship.^[14]

War effort[]

Now in charge of the war effort against the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the Emperor's Fist headed Death Squadron's search for the hidden Rebel base. Lord Vader's new position also allowed him to recall surviving ships and officers of the 7th Fleet, which had been effectively "exiled" to the Outer Rim by Grand General Tagge due to their past association with the controversial Grand Admiral Thrawn.^[1] The Dark Lord of the Sith also tasked Commodore Rae Sloane and her fleet with hunting down the survivors of Alderaan's destruction.^[15]

Vader's tenure as supreme commander of the Imperial fleet would be marked by several victories, including the devastating assaults against the Alliance forces at Mako-Ta Space Docks and Hoth, but these victories were far from complete, either due to the blunders of his underlings, such as Admiral Kendal Ozzel, or to the obsession the Emperor's Fist had with Rebel Commander Luke Skywalker, who Vader had discovered was in fact his own son. Vader nonetheless continued to serve in this position up until his demise during the Battle of Endor.^[1]

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Appearances[]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire (First identified as supreme commander of the Imperial fleet)

Notes and references[]