History Main / CannonFodder

In most wartime shows that focus on {{Ace Pilot}}s and other {{Military Maverick}}s, there will be a point when these are contrasted to "normal" foot soldiers who [[RedshirtArmy wear red shirts for standard issue uniform]]. They have weak weaponry, little to no armor, their only strength are their numbers, and their only available tactic is ZergRush. And, of course, they [[AnyoneCanDie die]] [[EverybodysDeadDave en]] [[KillEmAll masse]]. It is the latter fact that almost certainly gonna cause [[InterserviceRivalry tension between them and said ace pilots and mavericks]] (who, at the very least, receive PlotArmor, if not better equipment and training), ranging from alienation to open enmity.

* D-Class Personnel at the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation''. These are the people that they shove through doors into deep space in order to see what happens. To alleviate some of the moral issues, D-Class personnel are normally recruited from the ranks of prison inmates convicted of violent crimes, especially those on death row. However, if the Foundation is in need of a lot more D-Class Personnel, they enact Protocol 12 which lets them recruit from other sources: political prisoners, ''refugees''...

** The initial wave of attacks during D-Day consisted of this almost exclusively. Several thousands of soldiers landed via boats at the beach and were simply ordered "run and take the hills". The purpose of this was a fairly literal invocation of Cannon Fodder, in that the soldiers were just there to take the bullets and keep the Nazis busy until they simply ran out of ammo. Estimates go that there were around 1000 Nazis dead, ten times as many as that died on the Allied side with 4,414 confirmed according to ''Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}''.

* Deconstructed in ''Film/WeWereSoldiers''. The Vietnamese General An is AFatherToHisMen in every way, but also keenly aware that the only way he can affectively neutralize the American advantage in artillery and air power is to push them into borderline suicidal close combat.

* According to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the first documented use of the term "cannon fodder" appears in an [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte anti-Napoleonic]] pamphlet by French writer François-René de Chateaubriand, [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars published in 1814]]. In it, Chateaubriand lambasted Napoleon's battle strategy, particularly his treatment of new recruits: "the contempt for the lives of men and for France herself has come to the point of calling the conscripts [[NewMeat 'the raw material']] and [[TropeNamer 'the cannon fodder']]."

* In ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'', [[PsychopathicManchild King Hamdo]] does this to his army of [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldiers]].
* During the joint infantry-air operation in ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'', the AcePilot Floe grows close to a simple rifleman, only to painfully discover the enormous gap between them.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' has the mass-produced Grappal Army as cannon fodder; the one-of-a-kind Ganmen and the Gurren Lagann, meanwhile, are the ones who do most of the ass-kicking. Gimmy and Darry, however, are {{Mauve Shirt}}s and often receive PlotArmor.
** And Kamina frequently shouted things such as "Outta the way, cannon fodder!!!" before destroying about a dozen beastmen gunmen with his drills.

--> '''Jiraiya''': Judging from your seemingly low standards and mannerisms, you must be the bottom-most of the Fodder nins, right?

* The Pawn-ranked Chess Pieces from ''Anime/{{MAR}}'', unlike the higher ranks, wear identical outfits and masks, and are given very generic Arms to use. Only one in the entire series even gets ''named'', and things go [[FaceMonsterTurn very bad for her]].

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* In ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfTotalDramaIsland'', Chris uses this term for the contestants whom he had expected to be eliminated early in the game. Subverted when Chris notes with mixed feelings that the "cannon fodder" is turning out to be more capable than he expected, for which he blames the profilers for not doing their jobs.

* The Taliban soldiers that come after the Navy Seals in ''Lone Survivor'' (2014)

* ''Franchise/StarWars''

--->'''Richard III:''' You're not putting him anywhere near me, are you?
--->'''Richard, Duke of York:''' No, Uncle. He will somewhere with the rabble.
--->'''Richard III:''' Oh. Arrow fodder?
--->'''Richard, Duke of York:''' Precisely.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' is that rare example where the players themselves are the [[strike: cannon]] laser fodder.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': This is the role that mortals play, because their world just [[CrapsackWorld sucks that much]]. It's even codified in the rules: "extras" -- usually defined as anyone without an [[PowerLevels Essence rating]] -- have only three [[HitPoints health levels]] where everyone else has at least seven.
%%* TabletopGame/{{Chess}}: Pawns.
* ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'': The Clans, [[ProudWarriorRace nations of caste-based warriors]], treat their "old" (over 30) soldiers as cannon fodder. They are transferred into "Solahma" units, which are mostly assigned in garrison duty, and are also sent out as shock troopers in outdated and decrepit [[HumongousMecha battlemechs]], combat vehicles, or armed with nothing more than an assault rifle and a flak jacket, and are expected to die in battle.
* ''TabletopGame/TheGatesOfHell'' (a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fan expansion): Hell does seem to know the value of preserving troops, at least more than the demons do. However, the lemures (the lowest and nearly mindless rank of Devils) are not troops for them. They are defined as ''ammo''.

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront'', the player that had the most deaths earns the title 'Bantha Fodder'.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': The Covenant military use the Grunts primarily as cannon fodder, giving them such glorious jobs as running across active minefields to clear the way for more elite troops. Their fighting skills are generally laughable at best, as their tactics are usually nothing more complex than taking potshots at the enemy and hoping it dies. They also tend to run away when their squad leader is killed. However, Grunts can also be surprisingly dangerous in large numbers; when the entire Grunt race rebelled against the Covenant, it took an Arbiter ordering a massive orbital bombardment of their homeworld to end their revolt. Additionally, some Grunts carry heavy weapons capable of instantly tearing the player apart, and the sticky grenades that all ranks love to throw make them a potential threat even when the player is in a heavy vehicle. They've also taken some levels in badass as the series progressed; from ''VideoGame/Halo3'' onward, Grunts can drive light vehicles and will sometimes attempt to suicide-bomb their foes instead of running away if things go south for them, and ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''[='s=] Firefight mode gives us Grunts with recharging energy shields and Grunts piloting super powerful MiniMecha.
* Perhaps the most relevant example is ''VideoGame/MenOfWar: Condemned Heroes''. The player goes into tough battles, in a series where you usually get a sufficient amount of men and vehicles, with nothing more than a squad or two - and usually with little ammo. The necessity of capturing enemy equipment is paramount to succeed. The game's producers, 1C, also added the original Orders No. 227, the famous 'Not one step backwards!' from Stalin, as well as a modern analysis of the use of penal battalions, pointing out that while they were brutally treated and suffered beyond heavy casualties, in the eyes of the contemporary Red Army, they were repaying their debt to the Motherland, either in heroism or blood.

* In the StrategyRPG UsefulNotes/{{IOS Game|s}} ''Ravenmark'', some battles sees you command Militiamen, in addition to your core Imperial Legion troops. Basically farmers and local constables with little to no training and basic equipment, pressed into service when an unexpected full-scale invasion stretched the imperial armies beyond capacity. Their most notable ability is that any enemy unit that kills a squad of them is slowed down to 1 move and low initiative in the next round. In other words, they're most useful when their piled-up corpses are impeding the progress of your foes. Of course, whether you use them as such, or try to keep them in reserve until things get truly desperate, is [[VideogameCaringPotential up]] to [[VideogameCrueltyPotential you]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', it is a tactic happily employed by the aliens and sometimes the player too, to a certain degree.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}'' series, it is the default ''modus operandi'' of the alien force. The reason: the aliens are effectively countless, they can be easily bred and they have little to no survival instinct. This is also the default use of the players' rookies, since odds are good they'll just die attempting to fight anyway - ''Enemy Unknown'' can kill your troops the turn after they make contact with them, the original ''XCOM'' can kill them the moment they walk off of the Skyranger.
** ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' subverts this: the less-equipped aliens are still cannon fodder, but they're strategically-placed cannon fodder. [[spoiler:The Etherial Faction, which rules over the other alien factions like a theocracy, is trying to find new forms of life, test and experiment on them, and determine their place in the hierarchy with the ultimate goal of finding a race that can surpass them - everyone in the hierarchy, Ethereals included, are considered failures by the Ethereals.]] You fight waves of Greys and Thin Men with ease in the beginning stages of the game [[spoiler:because the Ethereals are testing to see if your race can survive their weakest, most inept soldiers. If so, great; have some more technology and harder enemies to fight. If not, get ready to beg and grovel before your current foes as their new thralls.]]

* {{Discussed}} in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3: Citadel'' between two CAT-6 mercs who've been ordered to slow Shepard down. One of them questions the ExactWords of the order, wondering if they're allowed to kill Shepard. The other suggests that they aren't ''expected'' to. Shepard is fully aware of this.
-->'''Shepard:''' You don't have a ''squad'', you have ''minions''. And you're running out.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Scamps, [[TheGoomba the weakest known form]] of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]], serve this role in the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] [[DestroyerDeity Mehrunes Dagon]]'s LegionsOfHell. Due to their relative weakness and [[FunSize small stature]], their only viable tactic is the ZergRush. Often, Scamps can be found in non-combat roles, such as messengers and [[ServantRace servants to perform mundane tasks]]. Mortals are known to use Scamps in these latter roles as well.
** It is mentioned in the series' backstory that both the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Altmer (High Elves)]] and the [[SnakePeople Tsaesci]] of [[{{Wutai}} Akavir]] use trained [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Goblins]] in this role. As the Altmer are a MageSpecies with MagicKnight soldiers and the Tsaesci are (according to historical accounts) {{Glass Cannon}}s who [[DualWielding dual wield]] [[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]] with a [[ShieldsAreUseless cultural aversion to shields]], neither of which is ideal for protracted melee engagements, both have need of expendable light infantry to pin down enemy infantry.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Dungeons}} Dungeons III]]'', the Undead can turn dead or imprisoned heroes in Zombies or Skeletal Archers respectively. These creatures travel in packs and are pitifully weak but do not count towards your population limit. In short, [[InvokedTrope they are suited for]] taking on heroes in melee and distract them from your stronger, more precious creatures.
* In ''VideoGame/NapoleonTotalWar'', when a region capital comes under siege by an army, the defending army may obtain, for the duration of the siege, several units of poorly equipped citizens named "Armed Citizenry" to defend the city. They are almost utterly useless, and may even be a hazard to the defending army in a regular line as they rout very quickly. Indeed, their only valuable use is as a meat shield to protect the regular army in ultimate [[WeHaveReserves we have reserves]] fashion, and even in that they may fail miserably.
* ''Ogame'' has among ships the light fighter and among planetary defenses the rocket launcher and the small laser. While in early game both are the best (and only) available stuff, it does not take much time before they become just protection for much more expensive and better ships or defenses and in late game there're battles with ''millions'' of fighters and/or planets with hundreds of thousands of rocket launchers/small lasers, if not more.
* A staple in every ''[[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Warriors]]'' game. The common foot soldier poses virtually no threat against you and other [[NominalImportance named threats]] and are only there to occupy territory and pad out the number of kills for your OneManArmy. Even if you stand completely still, they'll hesitate to even attempt to strike you.

* D-Class Personnel at the Wiki/SCPFoundation. These are the people that they shove through doors into deep space in order to see what happens. To alleviate some of the moral issues, D-Class personnel are normally recruited from the ranks of prison inmates convicted of violent crimes, especially those on death row. However, if the Foundation is in need of a lot more D-Class Personnel, they enact Protocol 12 which lets them recruit from other sources: political prisoners, ''refugees''...

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': All the soldiers from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom except [[EliteMooks the Dai Li]].
* The Monarch from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' regards his henchmen as basically disposable pawns and often sends platoons of them to be butchered by Brock Samson while he directs them from the safety of his flying cocoon headquarters.

* Both averted and subverted in WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars. The clones are often viewed as this even admitting it themselves, but to the Jedi (with the exception of Pong Krell) they are invaluable friends and kept alive as much as possible, not that it helps the Jedi in the end.

* In VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}, it is a tactic happily employed by the aliens and sometimes the player too, to a certain degree.
* In the VideoGame/{{XCOM}} series, it is the default ''modus operandi'' of the alien force. The reason: the aliens are effectively countless, they can be easily bred and they have little to no survival instinct. This is also the default use of the players' rookies, since odds are good they'll just die attempting to fight anyway - ''Enemy Unknown'' can kill your troops the turn after they make contact with them, the original ''XCOM'' can kill them the moment they walk off of the Skyranger.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Dungeons}} Dungeons III]]'', the Undead can turn dead or imprisoned heroes in Zombies or Skeletal Archers respectively. These creatures travel in packs, are pitifully weak but do not count towards your population limit. In short, [[InvokedTrope they are suited for]] taking on heroes in melee and distract them from your stronger, more precious creatures.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', everyone that is not above the rank of Captain won't last for long on the field.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': This is the role that mortals play, because their world just [[CrapsackWorld sucks that much]]. It's even codified in the rules: "extras" -- usually defined as anyone without an [[PowerLevels Essence rating]] -- have only three [[HitPoints health levels]] where everyone else has at least seven. A FanNickname for mortals in Exalted combat is "Ablative People Shields".

** It is mentioned in the series' backstory that both the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Altmer (High Elves)]] and the [[SnakePeople Tsaesci]] of [[{{Wutai}} Akavir]] use trained [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Goblins]] in this role. As the Altmer are a WitchSpecies with MagicKnight soldiers and the Tsaesci are (according to historical accounts) {{Glass Cannon}}s who [[DualWielding dual wield]] [[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]] with a [[ShieldsAreUseless cultural aversion to shields]], neither of which is ideal for protracted melee engagements, both have need of expendable light infantry to pin down enemy infantry.

** The standard B1 battle droids in the prequel trilogy and associated works are a combination of this and ButtMonkey. As robots go they're hilariously incompetent (almost acting sentient but in bad ways like forgetting orders or bickering with each other) and never present any real threat to the Jedi they fight, just minor annoyances before they're maimed and hacked to bits. That said, they were cheap and easy to produce in vast numbers, which allowed the CIS to keep up with the vastly superior Republic clone troopers. Much more effective battle droids did exist, such as the Super Battle Droid and Droideka, but these were always a minority of their forces.

* The lowest-ranked battle droids in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy and associated works are a combination of this and ButtMonkey. As robots go they're hilariously incompetent (almost acting sentient but in bad ways like forgetting orders or bickering with each other) and never present any real threat to the Jedi they fight, just minor annoyances before they're maimed and hacked to bits.

** Note that in most of the well-received articles on the site, D-Class aren't sacrificed unless it's expected something will be gained by their deaths. Examples include [[EatenAlive placating a carnivore than can tunnel through metal]], [[DieLaughing testing the duration of a personality-replacement effect]], [[HumanResources testing the growth of a strange plant or fungus]], or [[TheBait attracting a sadistic dimension-hopper back into his cell]].

* TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons: The dretch typically serve this function in demon armies. Being the lowest ranked of demon kind, and being rather weak and unintelligent, especially as individuals, they aren't useful for much else.
* Anything fielded by Orcs or Goblins in ''any'' tabletop game, including tanks and HumongousMecha. Dem humies (stunties, skinnies) just rilly cawn't kil us ladz all, can dey?
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'':
** Bretonnia's army is built around its noble knights, which fight exclusively as cavalry. Any infantry units are made up of levied peasants, the best-trained and -equipped of which can be described as "adequate" soldiers.
** [[RatMen Skaven]] units are this, given [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder their culture]]. [[BattleThralls Skaven Slaves]] even have a special rule allowing you to fire into melees where only they and the enemy are, making them literal cannon fodder.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' lets you choose which target your gun crews are shooting at, so it's hard to ''force'' your opponent to focus on your most expendable troops, but there's two ways you can evoke this trope. The first is the "tarpit" approach, where you lock up your enemy's most dangerous melee units in a long assault against cheap, worthless troops - that single SpaceMarine Terminator costs as much as ten Guardsmen, and will probably beat them in combat, but it's going to take a few rounds for him to do so, in which he's not earning his points cost back by killing something more valuable. Second is the "ablative wounds" [[note]]Or "bubble wrap", if you're of a less technical mindset[[/note]] approach, where you add additional soldiers to a squad to discard as casualties after taking fire. The more regular soldiers there are, the more likely the troopers carrying the plasma gun or missile launcher are to survive to use their more potent weapons. As for the individual armies and their designated Cannon Fodder units:
** The Imperial Guard is this for the Imperium in general, but can field {{Conscript|ion}} Platoons that are even ''more'' expendable than the average Guardsman. If you take the right special character, he can "recycle" dead platoons with his [[WeHaveReserves "Send in the Next Wave!"]] rule.
*** Marshal Chenkov specializes in this, somehow winning despite tactics like storming fortresses with no artillery support or clearing a minefield by marching his regiment over it. He can't be said to be ArmchairMilitary though, since he's on the [[FrontlineGeneral frontline]] to "[[YouHaveFailedMe encourage]]" his men into facing the enemy.
** The Tau tend to use their Kroot allies and other alien auxiliaries as this, but not to soak up enemy gunfire, rather to meet or counter-charge an enemy assault, since the Tau [[CripplingOverspecialization are miserable in close combat.]] The bullet-catcher role is instead given to their [[AttackDrone Gun Drones]], which are inexpensive (both in lore and on the tabletop), reasonably well armed and, critically, infinitely more expendable than the living soldiers around them.
** Da Orkz have Grots, which have actually had rules allowing Orks to use them as living cover, mine sweepers (by detonating them), or pathfinders (the Orks step on them for better footing). Other uses for Grots include ammunition, emergency rations, or sports equipment. Of course, even Ork Boyz are to some degree expendable - one of the defining traits of the average Ork Warboss is the ability to view everyone but himself as totally expendable if it leads to a good fight, and one of the defining traits of the Ork mentality is that this is a positive trait for a leader to have.
** The Tyranids will employ their basic 'gaunt or Ripper breeds like this, hurling them at the enemy en masse just to force the Hive Mind's opponent to waste ammunition before the main assault. Some Tyranids are even born without digestive tracts because they aren't intended to survive their first battle - living or dead, they'll all be consumed by the Rippers as recycled biomass.
** Chaos Space Marines have Cultists, dirt cheap troops of similar stats and equipment to Imperial Guard Conscripts, meant to be disposable bodies and "hiding spots" for the elite marines and special characters. The Alpha Legion is uniquely the only Chaos legion which actually bothers to train their cultists and rely on them for something other than catching bullets, [[PragmaticVillainy and one of the most successful ones, go figure]]. The Iron Warriors meanwhile were so noted for taking this approach to their attached Army regiments that pre-corruption Horus signed a specific order that Perturabo's troops could only be given control over [[BoxedCrook expendable penal regiments]] and enslaved forces from recently conquered worlds.
** The only armies who really avert this trope are the Space Marines, an EliteArmy, and the Eldar, a DyingRace that would much rather [[TheChessmaster manipulate]] others into dying in their stead.

* This is the role that mortals play in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', because their world just [[CrapsackWorld sucks that much]]. It's even codified in the rules: "extras" -- usually defined as anyone without an [[PowerLevels Essence rating]] -- have only three [[HitPoints health levels]] where everyone else has at least seven. A FanNickname for mortals in Exalted combat is "Ablative People Shields".
* Pawns in TabletopGame/{{Chess}}.
* Most linemen in ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl''. Orcs, for once, avert their usual tendencies, as their players are ''very'' hard to hurt and even their linemen can end up as SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder with a few (randomly awarded) MVP awards.
* ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'''s Clans, [[ProudWarriorRace nations of caste-based warriors]], treat their "old" (over 30) soldiers as cannon fodder. They are transferred into "Solahma" units, which are mostly assigned in garrison duty, and are also sent out as shock troopers in outdated and decrepit [[HumongousMecha battlemechs]], combat vehicles, or armed with nothing more than an assault rifle and a flak jacket, and are expected to die in battle.
* In ''TabletopGame/TheGatesOfHell'' (a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fan expansion), Hell does seem to know the value of preserving troops, at least more than the demons do. However, the lemures (the lowest and nearly mindless rank of Devils) are not troops for them. They are defined as ''ammo''.

* Often used in strategy video games for baseline infantry units, whose basic tactic is ZergRush or just to stand there, fire at the enemy, and keep reinforcements coming.

* When Peasants are a combat unit, they will always be cannon fodder.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series, the Covenant military use the Grunts primarily as cannon fodder, giving them such glorious jobs as running across active minefields to clear the way for more elite troops. Their fighting skills are generally laughable at best, as their tactics are usually nothing more complex than taking potshots at the enemy and hoping it dies. They also tend to run away when their squad leader is killed. However, Grunts can also be surprisingly dangerous in large numbers; when the entire Grunt race rebelled against the Covenant, it took an Arbiter ordering a massive orbital bombardment of their homeworld to end their revolt. Additionally, some Grunts carry heavy weapons capable of instantly tearing the player apart, and the sticky grenades that all ranks love to throw make them a potential threat even when the player is in a heavy vehicle. They've also taken some levels in badass as the series progressed; from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' onward, Grunts can drive light vehicles and will sometimes attempt to suicide-bomb their foes instead of running away if things go south for them, and ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''[='s=] Firefight mode gives us Grunts with recharging energy shields and Grunts piloting super powerful MiniMecha.

* The soldiers of the SPARTAN-III program introduced in ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'' are meant to be this. Their sole purpose is to take the suicide missions that are beyond the skill level of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers but beneath the potential loss of the [=SPARTAN-IIs=]. However, they’re better-equipped, better-trained, and fewer in number (trained in groups of 300) than any other example; their purpose was to replicate the tactical and strategic successes of the SPARTAN-II SuperSoldier program minus the virtual irreplaceability of the actual [=SPARTAN-IIs=], which meant soldiers who were not only expendable but who also went as hard as (super-)humanly possible into missions that could and usually did kill all 300 of them.

* The soldiers of the SPARTAN-III program introduced in ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'' are meant to be this. Their sole purpose is to take the suicide missions that are beyond the skill level of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers but beneath the potential loss of the [=Spartan-IIs=].

* In ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'', [[PsychopathicManchild King Hamdo]] does [[TearJerker this]] to his army of [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldiers]].

* The Taliban soldiers that come after the Navy Seals in Lone Survivor (2014)
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by Creator/CharlieChaplin in the famous soliloquy that closes ''Film/TheGreatDictator''.
-->"Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder."

* The soldiers of the SPARTAN-III program introduced in ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'' are meant to be this. Their sole purpose is to take the suicide missions that are beyond the skill level of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers but beneath the potential loss of the [=Spartan-IIs=].

* One of the most chilling examples is ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', where we are treated to scores of deaths of nameless individuals. The narrator, Paul, only bothers to give a handful of his comrades names, and AnyoneCanDie. Paul shows less and less concern about dying soldiers as time goes on, showing ever growing indifference to the deaths of countless men. The novel may be the TropeCodifier for this trope, at least as far as modern armies go.
* ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945'' (non fiction) by Max Hastings. Hastings discusses how individual soldiers vary widely in competence, and quotes an American officer who said that he would rather fight with 40 men than 200, as long as he could pick the 40. Hastings goes on to say that the 40 wouldn't last very long without the "cannon fodder" to distract enemy attention and soak up the bullets.
* In ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight'', the goblin armies typically appear sort of like the stereotype of the Red Army in World War II, that often surrendered in huge droves and could only ever win through [[OutscareTheEnemy terrorizing]] their own troops and drowning the enemy with [[WeHaveReserves sheer numbers]]. This in contrast to the well-equipped and well-disciplined legions of [[TheRepublic Amorr]], who hold firm against their mass tactics. At one point, it's suggested that this is at least in part a self-reinforcing stereotype: since the goblin soldiers know that their commanders treat them as expendable, it makes good sense that their morale is low.

** It is mentioned in the series' backstory that both the [[OurElvesAreBetter Altmer (High Elves)]] and the [[SnakePeople Tsaesci]] of [[{{Wutai}} Akavir]] use trained [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Goblins]] in this role. As the Altmer are a WitchSpecies with MagicKnight soldiers and the Tsaesci are (according to historical accounts) {{Glass Cannon}}s who [[DualWielding dual wield]] [[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]] with a [[ShieldsAreUseless cultural aversion to shields]], neither of which is ideal for protracted melee engagements, both have need of expendable light infantry to pin down enemy infantry.

*** Marshal Chenkov specializes in this, somehow winning despite tactics like storming fortresses with no artillery support or clearing a minefield by marching his regiment over it. He can't be said to be an ArmchairGeneral though, since he's on the frontline to "encourage" his men into facing the enemy.

[[folder:Anime]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

* In VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront, the player that had the most deaths earns the title 'Bantha Fodder'.

* Perhaps the most relevant example is Men of War: Condemned Heroes. The player goes into tough battles, in a series where you usually get a sufficient amount of men and vehicles, with nothing more than a squad or two - and usually with little ammo. The necessity of capturing enemy equipment is paramount to succeed. The game's producers, 1C, also added the original Orders No. 227, the famous 'Not one step backwards!' from Stalin, as well as a modern analysis of the use of penal battalions, pointing out that while they were brutally treated and suffered beyond heavy casualties, in the eyes of the contemporary Red Army, they were repaying their debt to the Motherland, either in heroism or blood.

* In ''[[VideoGame/Napoleon: Total War]]'', when a region capital comes under siege by an army, the defending army may obtain, for the duration of the siege, several units of poorly equipped citizens named "Armed Citizenry" to defend the city. They are almost utterly useless, and may even be a hazard to the defending army in a regular line as they rout very quickly. Indeed, their only valuable use is as a meat shield to protect the regular army in ultimate [[WeHaveReserves we have reserves]] fashion, and even in that they may fail miserably.

* ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'''s Clans, [[ProudWarriorRace nations of caste-based warriors]], treat their "old" (over 35) soldiers as cannon fodder. They are transferred into "Solahma" units, which are mostly assigned in garrison duty, and are also sent out as shock troopers in outdated and decrepit [[HumongousMecha battlemechs]], combat vehicles, or armed with nothing more than an assault rifle and a flak jacket, and are expected to die in battle.