During the First World War, approximately six million soldiers of the Entente Powers died while fighting in Europe. The novel, "Generals Die in Bed," shows that these soldiers were subjects to abusive commands from their officers and generals. While the officers influenced the soldiers lives and judgment much of the time, there were some rare occasions when the soldiers did have power. The soldier's amount of power depended on the circumstances, as the men acted different with different people. We have thought of these soldiers as big, powerful, armed men in charge of their lives, but they infact did not have much power at all.
Captain Clark has the most power over the soldiers in this novel. Clark is described by the narrator as "an Imperial, an Englishman, and who glories in his authority"." Throughout the story, Clark is very hot headed as he barks orders, relishing his authority, just as the narrator talks about here. Clark is even hard on the new recruits. While taking the new recruit by the neck, Clark says, "You yellow-livered little bastard." This is an example of Clark using his authority over the people which he is in charge of. Another example of Clark being rough on the soldiers is at the beginning of the book, when the men first get to the trenches as he says, "Here, Sergeant, stick a bayonet up his behind. That'll make him move." When Clark says this, he is talking about a man whose feet were suffering, who is barely able to walk. By saying this ridiculous remark, Clark shows that he is cold hearted and shows no sympathy towards the soldiers. Later, Clark sentences Brown, who is a soldier in the narrator's unit, to silent insolence. The only thing Brown had done was he "stood erect and glared." In this instance, Clark abused his powers, by sentencing Brown because of a personal conflict. Clearly, as captain, Clark used his rank over the soldiers as an opportunity to abuse the soldiers with impunity.
