History Main / TheMenFirst

** However in "Orbit", Avon is faced with a ColdEquation and decides to sacrifice Villa to save himself. Crossing his own MoralEventHorizon is a sign of Avon's increasing SanitySlippage in the final season.

--> -- '''[[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships Field Marshal Sir William Slim]]'''

A [[AFatherToHisMen commanding officer]] insists that his men are the top priority. This is a rich source of conflict, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption as every commanding officer cares for a different group of men]]. The largest body generally takes overall priority, though a TheMenFirst [[MoralMyopia approach by]] [[WeAreStrugglingTogether the smaller constituent units]] can lead to greater losses overall as per '[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons the Tragedy of the Commons]]'.

* [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Imperial Grand Admiral Pellaeon]] makes good use of this trope, in contrast to the [[WeHaveReserves usual Imperial doctrine]]. A combination of looking out for the welfare of his troops, [[KnowWhenToFoldEm knowing when retreat is called for]], and a lack of grandstanding or vanity projects helps him live long enough to, essentially, become top dog by default.

* [[Literature/{{Dune}} Leto Atreides]], in his EstablishingCharacterMoment, orders a Harvester and its load of Spice be abandoned, in order to save the crew.

** Also, Tau. Ethereal Aun'shi and commander Shadowsun and Farsight are very high profile military oficcers that will engage in close quarter fights (in case of Shadowsun, CQ firefights), deemed by Tau doctrine as recklessly dangerous, to keep the enemy away from fragile troops.

* On [[spoiler: Panchea]], [[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution David Sarif]], upon seeing his loyal robotic killing machine come to save him, [[AFatherToHisMen insists that the wounded be rescued first.]]

* In ''GalacticMaximum'', [[http://maximumcomic.com/?strip_id=3 Sarge is bringing one of his men with him.]]

* According to one tale from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, a line of sailors were waiting in the "geedunk"[[note]]ice cream[[/note]] line (American fighting men were famous for their sweet tooth). Two Ensigns shoved their way to the front. Then they heard a [[FatherNeptune salty voice]] shouting "get back where you belong!" (with a number of sailorly words no doubt). The two ensigns turned to see the impertinent bluejacket who dared insult their exalted status. And it turned out to be [[FourStarBadass Admiral Halsey]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome waiting patiently in line with everyone else]].

* Sun Tzu, in ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' considered this trope...less than ideal. While a general certainly shouldn't [[WeHaveReserves expend his men needlessly]], being ''too'' nice with them wasn't considered a good idea either because focusing too intently on the plight of the men tends to lead to battles being lost. Cultivating the image, persona, and reputation without actually BecomingTheMask, on the other hand, is encouraged; having soldiers that are willing to die for you has its benefits.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': This is essentially why Bran surrenders Winterfell to Theon and Theon's Ironborn men. He is hoping for peaceful resolution where no one got hurt. Unfortunately, that is not what happens.

** [=McClellan=]'s lack of strategy also led to one of Lincoln's best quotes ever: "My dear [=McClellan=], if you are not using the Army, I should like to borrow it for a while"

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japanese]] [[PropagandaMachine propaganda]] tried to cover up atrocities against prisoners of war by claiming that it was the fault of American officers who had no compassion for their own men and refused to surrender until their men were already dying of hunger and disease. This is stunningly ironic when one considers the way they treated their own men.

* According to one tale from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, a line of sailors were waiting in the "geedunk" line (American fighting men were famous for their sweet tooth). Two Ensigns shoved their way to the front. Then they heard a [[FatherNeptune salty voice]] shouting "get back where you belong!" (with a number of sailorly words no doubt). The two ensigns turned to see the impertinent bluejacket who dared insult their exalted status. And it turned out to be [[FourStarBadass Admiral Halsey]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome waiting patiently in line with everyone else]].

--> -- '''[[BritsWithBattleships Field Marshal Sir William Slim]]'''

* Hilariously parodied in ''OnePiece'' with Captain T-Bone.

* Many version of Optimus from ''{{Transformers}}'' share this philosophy.
* Referenced in ''{{Hellsing}}'' during the second attack on the manor. After the outer defenses are breached, one of Pip's men says that in the movies, this is the traditional time for the captain to make a HeroicSacrifice so that his men can escape. Pip replies that there's no point: none of them are going to make it through the night alive no matter what they do. [[spoiler:Since only three of his men (Two in the OVA) survive, Pip not being among them, he was probably right.]]

** As the evacuation proceeded, it came under heavy fire. A Coast Guardsmen put his boat in between the men evacuating and the enemy. The captain was killed in action, but received the Medal of Honor.

** The Warden may opt to do this at one point in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. When the party [[spoiler:goes to rescue Queen Anora from Arl Howe's estate, they are confronted by TheDragon, Ser Cauthrien, and a very large contingent of soldiers.]] All of the options boil down to either fighting or surrendering. The battle is very arduous, especially on higher difficulty settings, and so the player may have the Warden surrender peacefully rather than risk their friends. TheDragon is actually impressed by the tactic, and lets everyone else in the party go free (although if Alistair is present, he insists on staying with the Warden).

** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Admiral Zaal'Korris vas Qwib-Qwib insists that you rescue his stranded crew and leave him to the geth after he crashes on [[spoiler:Rannoch]]. Incidentally, rescuing the crew is the 'wrong' choice; you need Korris alive to avoid a GenocideDilemma in a later mission. If you decide to abandon his men and rescue him instead, he is at first extremely angry, but later agrees that it was probably the right decision in the long run after he sees the situation back home.

* A [[Franchise/MassEffect Paragon Shepard]] can be like this - especially at the end of ''Mass Effect 2'' where [[spoiler:you go after your captured crew and, if the right choices are made, you can save them all and have your whole squad survive the mission. Though its possible for a renegade Shepard to do so, its not exactly in character to do so.]]

* The Warden may opt to do this at one point in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. When the party [[spoiler:goes to rescue Queen Anora from Arl Howe's estate, they are confronted by TheDragon, Ser Cauthrien, and a very large contingent of soldiers.]] All of the options boil down to either fighting or surrendering. The battle is very arduous, especially on higher difficulty settings, and so the player may have the Warden surrender peacefully rather than risk their friends. TheDragon is actually impressed by the tactic, and lets everyone else in the party go free (although if Alistair is present, he insists on staying with the Warden).

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[ImperialJapan Japanese]] [[PropagandaMachine propaganda]] tried to cover up atrocities against prisoners of war by claiming that it was the fault of American officers who had no compassion for their own men and refused to surrender until their men were already dying of hunger and disease. This is stunningly ironic when one considers the way they treated their own men.

* Classic ''{{Traveller}}'' Double Adventure ''Horde''. When General Varnikov is cut off behind enemy lines, he refuses to be evacuated until his troops and the refugees they're protecting are saved.

* In William King's ''Warhammer 40000'' novel ''SpaceWolf'', when Ragnar is put in charge of the group that must BringNewsBack, he carries an injured one out. He gives him over to the priests for his injuries to be cared for, and one priest inspects Ragnar's own injuries. Ragnar tells him to care for the other SpaceMarine, and the priest assures him that the man is being cared for and orders Ragnar to accept treatment.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[ImperialJapan Japanese]] [[PropogandaMachine propaganda]] tried to cover up atrocities against prisoners of war by claiming that it was the fault of American officers who had no compassion for their own men and refused to surrender until their men were already dying of hunger and disease. This is stunningly ironic when one considers the way they treated their own men.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Japanese propaganda tried to cover up atrocities against prisoners of war by claiming that it was the fault of American officers who had had no compassion on their own men, but refused to surrender until their men were dying of hunger and disease.