diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/history-retry-button.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/history-retry-button.test.ts
index 7867ee71..7ed3495d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/__tests__/history-retry-button.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/history-retry-button.test.ts
@@ -272,6 +272,49 @@ describe('History inline Retry button (issue #47)', () => {
     expect(hint?.getAttribute('title')).not.toContain('Operator action required');
   });
 
+  test('ops_hint row keeps its lineage links next to the hint (issue #1040)', async () => {
+    // A legacy row retried before the re-drive gate (#967) now carries the
+    // permanent hint; it must still link to its successor, and Retry stays hidden.
+    (getCurrentUser as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(ADMIN_USER);
+    (api.getHistory as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      summary: {},
+      purchases: [
+        makeRow({
+          purchase_id: 'r-legacy',
+          created_by_user_id: ADMIN_USER.id,
+          ops_hint: 'Azure savings plans have no provider-side duplicate guard',
+          redrive_unsafe: true,
+          retry_execution_id: 'succ-5678-aaaa',
+          retry_attempt_n: 2,
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    await loadHistory();
+    const row = document.querySelector('#history-list tr[data-execution-id="r-legacy"]')!;
+    expect(row.querySelector('.history-ops-hint')?.textContent).toContain('Azure savings plans');
+    const link = row.querySelector<HTMLAnchorElement>('a.history-retry-link');
+    expect(link?.textContent).toContain('Retried as #succ-567');
+    expect(link?.getAttribute('href')).toBe('#history?execution=succ-5678-aaaa');
+    expect(row.querySelector('.history-retry-of')?.textContent).toContain('Retry #2');
+    expect(row.querySelectorAll('.history-retry-btn')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test('ops_hint row without lineage renders the hint alone', async () => {
+    (getCurrentUser as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(ADMIN_USER);
+    (api.getHistory as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      summary: {},
+      purchases: [
+        makeRow({ purchase_id: 'r-1', created_by_user_id: ADMIN_USER.id, ops_hint: 'Set FROM_EMAIL tfvar then retry' }),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    await loadHistory();
+    const row = document.querySelector('#history-list tr[data-execution-id="r-1"]')!;
+    expect(row.querySelector('.history-ops-hint')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(row.querySelectorAll('.history-retry-link')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
   test('threshold-reached row renders override button + sends force=true on accept', async () => {
     (getCurrentUser as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(ADMIN_USER);
     (confirmDialog as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue(true);
diff --git a/frontend/src/history.ts b/frontend/src/history.ts
index 10f1ebd7..abbb0aee 100644
--- a/frontend/src/history.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/history.ts
@@ -946,11 +946,37 @@ function renderPendingActionButtons(p: HistoryPurchase): string {
 // Decision tree (status-driven, mutually exclusive):
 //   * pending|notified + any action → "Review in approval queue" link (issue
 //                                     #183; Approve / Cancel live in the queue)
-//   * failed + ops_hint set         → ⚠ ops-hint badge (issue #47, Q3 — no retry)
+//   * failed + ops_hint set         → ⚠ ops-hint badge (issue #47, Q3 — no retry),
+//                                     plus any lineage link (issue #1040)
 //   * failed + threshold reached    → "Retried 5× — confirm to override" Retry button (Q2)
 //   * failed + canRetry             → standard ↻ Retry button
 //   * any row with retry lineage    → inline ↻ Retried as / ↻ Retry of link
 //   * else                          → plan_name or "-"
+// renderLineageLinks returns the inline retry-chain cross-links for a row: a
+// row that was retried (retry_execution_id set) or is itself a retry
+// (retry_attempt_n > 0) links to the other end of the chain so the user can
+// navigate without scrolling. Both can be true simultaneously on a
+// middle-of-chain row (failed_v2 was retried into v3 AND is itself a retry
+// of v1).
+function renderLineageLinks(p: HistoryPurchase): string[] {
+  const lineage: string[] = [];
+  if (p.retry_execution_id) {
+    lineage.push(`<a href="#history?execution=${encodeURIComponent(p.retry_execution_id)}" class="history-retry-link" title="Jump to the retry execution">↻ Retried as #${escapeHtml(shortExecID(p.retry_execution_id))}</a>`);
+  }
+  if ((p.retry_attempt_n ?? 0) > 0) {
+    // We don't carry a back-pointer field — a future enhancement
+    // could surface the predecessor's exec ID via the API. For now
+    // we render a static badge (no link target) so users at least
+    // see "this is a retry" provenance.
+    // Coerce to a number: the history response is cast, not validated
+    // (api.getHistory), so the TS number type is not a runtime guarantee
+    // and this value sits inside a title="..." attribute.
+    const attemptN = Number(p.retry_attempt_n) || 0;
+    lineage.push(`<span class="history-retry-link history-retry-of" title="This row is retry #${attemptN} in its chain">↻ Retry #${attemptN}</span>`);
+  }
+  return lineage;
+}
+
 function renderActionCell(p: HistoryPurchase): string {
   // Pending → the Approval queue card is the one place to approve or cancel
   // (issue #183). Where the session has a pending action (or a 4-eyes reason
@@ -970,7 +996,10 @@ function renderActionCell(p: HistoryPurchase): string {
       const title = p.redrive_unsafe
         ? 'Permanent: this execution can never be retried; check the account, then start a new purchase if needed'
         : 'Operator action required — Retry will not help until this is fixed';
-      return `<span class="history-ops-hint" title="${title}">⚠ ${escapeHtml(p.ops_hint)}</span>`;
+      // Keep the lineage links next to the hint (issue #1040): a legacy row
+      // retried before the re-drive gate (#967) now carries the permanent
+      // hint, and the operator still needs the link to its successor.
+      return [`<span class="history-ops-hint" title="${title}">⚠ ${escapeHtml(p.ops_hint)}</span>`, ...renderLineageLinks(p)].join(' ');
     }
     if (canRetryFailedRow(p) && p.purchase_id) {
       const overThreshold = retryThresholdReached(p);
@@ -980,26 +1009,7 @@ function renderActionCell(p: HistoryPurchase): string {
     }
   }
 
-  // Lineage links: a row that was retried (retry_execution_id set) or
-  // is itself a retry (retry_attempt_n > 0) gets an inline cross-link
-  // to the other end of the chain so the user can navigate without
-  // scrolling. Both can be true simultaneously on a middle-of-chain
-  // row (failed_v2 was retried into v3 AND is itself a retry of v1).
-  const lineage: string[] = [];
-  if (p.retry_execution_id) {
-    lineage.push(`<a href="#history?execution=${encodeURIComponent(p.retry_execution_id)}" class="history-retry-link" title="Jump to the retry execution">↻ Retried as #${escapeHtml(shortExecID(p.retry_execution_id))}</a>`);
-  }
-  if ((p.retry_attempt_n ?? 0) > 0) {
-    // We don't carry a back-pointer field — a future enhancement
-    // could surface the predecessor's exec ID via the API. For now
-    // we render a static badge (no link target) so users at least
-    // see "this is a retry" provenance.
-    // Coerce to a number: the history response is cast, not validated
-    // (api.getHistory), so the TS number type is not a runtime guarantee
-    // and this value sits inside a title="..." attribute.
-    const attemptN = Number(p.retry_attempt_n) || 0;
-    lineage.push(`<span class="history-retry-link history-retry-of" title="This row is retry #${attemptN} in its chain">↻ Retry #${attemptN}</span>`);
-  }
+  const lineage = renderLineageLinks(p);
   // Build the trailing action buttons so they compose with lineage links
   // — a retry-descendant can also have an active listing that needs a
   // Cancel button, or be an Azure row still inside its revoke window.