Junior officers and corporals were especially exposed because they led attacks and small units at the front. Their role required leading by example, while other ranks also had to organize men and support the attack. The distinction between battlefield and staff duties matters when comparing the risks attached to rank. Surviving leaders gained experience of what had failed and what could work under the conditions of 1915 and 1916. John Bull argues that the later battlefield left much less room for an ineffective officer to be carried by capable NCOs than the opening campaigns had allowed.
Chapter · 1:27:30-1:30:45
Junior officers led from the front
High casualty rates among lieutenants and corporals contradict the image of officers safely ordering working-class soldiers forward.