Hi in a war battle, does a General officer supposed to lead the soldiers in the front?

Tito 360

New member
Hi I seen lots of combat war movies of the Civil War,WW1,WW2,Korea War & Nam. I did have seen many General officers some lead the front & some Generals officers they stay in the HQ base. I did saw "Patton" movie he lead in the front againt the Germans in Africa but, is it up to the Generals if they decide to be in the front or stay in HQ headquarters??? Thanks!
To Don Juan,

LMAO! I think there pussys. If Alexander the Great,King Leonidas,General Lee or Patton could lead the front, why not?
 
Did Patton actually lead from the front? I find it hard to believe, that men of such high ranks and importance would be exposed to the possibility of going shot at. I heard some general called MacArthur was supposedly a front line general, then i hear from this history major friend of min this so called front line was like kilometers away from the actual battles. Imagine this, say you had a competent for the least general, and he dies. Chain of the command goes out the window, where that general goes his staff goes. Its really a chaotic scenario. Not to mention the effect on morale.
 
Well, it works like this. Generals are like a man driving a horse carriage. They sit in the back while the horses lead the way. Generals command the battle while the enlistees listen to them and then put the plan in action. So no generals do not technically "lead the way to the front". Generals are military officers. Officers are like managers. They command everything. Enlisted personnel are like the employees. They put the plan in action. That's why I am going to Enlist in the Navy.
 
The HBO miniseries Band of Brothers part 4 the breaking point does a good job of explaining why a commander is not to lead their troops into battle. As the battalion Commander officer winters sends his old company into battle where the new company commander freezes and starts getting the men killed Winters tries to race out to their rescue when the regiment commander reminds him that he has responsibilities to the other companies as well. His knowledge is to important to be wasted on that of a single company.

So with that being said you will never see a general lead their troops in battle you may see them go to the front line to observe. This only being after the area is semi secure. The reason for this is the amount of others depending on them for their knowledge. As most battalion commanders are lieutenant colonels and have at least 15 years of military experience.
The rank of general is
 
Generals tend to stay in the rear of battle lines for several reasons. They are usually too old to fight, and too important to be put on the front lines. Glory mongers like Patton are few and far between.
 
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