Military Authority
In "Base Details," military authority is satirized when the speaker imagines himself as one of the "scarlet Majors" in charge of sending young men to the front lines to fight in World War One. Though the majors have the most power, they are presented distastefully in the poem. That the imagined major is "short of breath" contrasts with the claim that he's "fierce" because it implies that he's physically incapable (Line 1). Imagining himself as a major, the speaker has a "puffy petulant" face, giving the impression of an overindulged child. This childishness appears later when the major "[toddles] safely home" (Line 10). Overall, Majors are described as gluttonous and corrupt individuals who guzzle food and gulp drink as they callously send young men to their deaths.
The Inevitability of Death
Despite the clear hierarchy of majors commanding soldiers, the poet emphasizes the inevitability of death for all. Both the majors and the soldiers meet death, albeit in very different ways. The majors give the orders that determine the fate of the soldiers. Regardless of the majors' God-like power in deciding which soldiers are more likely to die as a result of being placed in combat, the majors themselves cannot avoid death. Their luxurious lifestyles, safe from the danger of fighting on the front lines, do not save them from death in the end.
The Absurdity of War
The satirization of military authority taking place in the poem fits into Sassoon's broader anti-war focus, and characterizes an acerbic tone that appears in other poems in the collection. The comments that the speaker (imagining himself as a major) makes about the deaths of the young soldiers particularly showcase the poet's disdain for war and those who profit from it. This section reads, "'Poor young chap...Yes, we've lost heavily in this last scrap'" (Lines 6 and 8). This is presented as a throw-away comment, or something said in passing. While reading the Roll of Honour means that the major must be reading the dead soldiers' names, the names are not specified in the poem. This, along with the metaphor "youth stone dead," implies that the soldiers' individual lives have been obliterated (Line 9). Overall, Sassoon makes his anti-war stance clear in the poem.
