Base Details

"If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath, I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base, And speed glum heroes up the line to death. You'd see me with my puffy petulant face, Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel, Reading the Role of Honour. 'Poor chap,' I'd say - 'I used to know his father well; Yes, we've lost heavily in this last scrap.' And when the war is done and youth stone dead, I'd toddle safely home and die - in bed with a knife in my head."

== The title of the poem "Base Details"- Base possibly meaning a military base and Details could be a command assignment, someone or something lowly. "fierce; and bald, and short of breath" this would be a stereotypical World War I officer.

"Glum heroes" refer to the heroes by dying they are unhappy. "Up the line" is the battlefield. "puffy petulant face" is the offices faces from the excessive eating and drinking. "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel" the officeres eat and drink until their hearts delight while the best hotel refers to them living in the lap of luxury. This also could portray them as acting like monsters and this is what Sassoon intended. A very effective pun found in this poem is "scarlet major". Scarlet (red) has several different meanings. The first being the red blood on their hands from knowing that they have killed all these people by sending them to the front line. It could also imply that that their faces are red from being drunk or that they are very childish, which implies they are ignorant and will do anything to get what they want. Also their faces might be red because they are so obese and they are out of breath from doing nothing "Poor Young Chap" this direct speech mimics the Majors as they pretend to care, to get the public on their side,said almost as a matter of routine. "Scrap" The generals and Majors refer to the war as a game, or "scrap". "youth stoned dead" a very blunt metaphor which shows the harshness of the author, he isn't impressed. The last two lines however show how the war isn't really a joke at all, and how young boys are being slaughtered for small bits of land that really make no difference. "Toddle" refers to the drunk Major and a very good use of satire as it is effective in diminishing the normal view of a major, and "Die" is what Siegfried wants the major to do. Siegfried Sassoon shows great disgust towards military majors. He is appalled at the way the majors act while men are dying in the battlefield. The majors are fat, insensitive, greedy, vain and very proud, and display no empathy with the soldiers whatsoever. The use of iambic pentameter and a regular rhyming scheme create a tone of sarcasm. As the topic is serious such an upbeat rhythm would normally,seem inappropriate except that Sassoon skillfully employs the techniques to satirise the complacent attitude of majors who never have to face the horror of war. The majors are lucky they "I’d toddle safely home and die—in bed.". While the normal soldiers die. This is another great piece of writing by Siegfried Sasson ==