Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) in an effort to achieve a strategic goal. An example is the trench warfare in World War I. The term may also be used (somewhat pejoratively) to differentiate infantry from other forces (such as artillery, air force or the navy), or to distinguish expendable low-grade or inexperienced soldiers from supposedly more valuable veterans.
The term derives from fodder, food for livestock. Soldiers are the metaphorical food for enemy cannon fire.
Read more about Cannon Fodder: Origins of The Term, Human Wave Attacks
Famous quotes containing the word cannon:
“Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again!
The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)