Glory Hound: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

An officer out to win glory in war, regardless of the cost. Sometimes the cost to himself, but usually only to his men. (Sometimes just the foot soldiers, when he [[Moral Myopia|regards only officers as important]], sometimes all subordinates, when he subordinates them all [[It's All About Me|to his quest for glory]].)

 

== [[Film]] ==

* The older brother in the South Korean [[Korean War]] film ''Tae Guk Gee'' is this only so he can request for his younger brother to be sent home. {{spoiler|Because he's such a good soldier his superiors keep delaying sending his brother back; when he thinks his beloved brother has died in an attack he does a [[Face Heel Turn]] to North Korea out of despair.}}

* In the film ''Patton'', the eponymous character admitted that he was this trope.

** In ''Honour Guard'', when Gaunt is ordered to not follow his own battle plans, resulting in a disaster, the general who gave the orders sets out to end Gaunt's career.

** In ''Sabbat Martyr'', the {{spoiler|same}} general used another's battle plans, and Gaunt observes that he would doubtlessly claim credit.

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Horus Heresy]] ''Horus Rising'', Eidolon sent his men to the planet surface, wasting them in small groups when overwhelming force was clearly needed, to claim glory. Later, when Tarvitz's actions in blowing up [[When Trees Attack|certain trees]] has beneficial effects on [[Weather Dissonance|unnatural storms]], Eidolon claimed he had had it done, when he had in fact rebuked Tarvitz for doing it.

** In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''False Gods'', Temba, Chaos-tainted, accuses Horus of being no friend, because he left him behind while he went on to win glory.

* In Steve Parker's ''Gunheads'' General deViers starts out as a competent and respected commanding officer but after his previous campaign turns from a major victory into a massive disaster, he becomes obsessed with preserving his legacy. He sends his Army Group to attack an Ork world in the hopes of retrieving a legendary battle tank. If he can accomplish his goal he will be proclaimed a hero of the Empire and will earn a spot in the history books. The fact that his entire Army Group is getting destroyed in the campaign does not seem to matter to him at all.

* Pell, an F-86 pilot in James Salter's novel ''The Hunters'', consistently puts the rest of his squadron in danger by failing to cover them and going after the kill instead.

** Prince Serg in ''Shards of Honor'' and his supporters. {{spoiler|The Emperor intentionally let them go to war against enemies who had weapons they didn't know about to get rid of them.}}

** The Cetagandian attackers in ''The Vor Game''. During the fighting, Miles thinks that they should have realized that all was lost and retreated, but owing to the dishonor, they [[Attack! Attack! Attack!|attack on and on]] in hopes of redeeming themselves with victory.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Arnold Rimmer of ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' longs to be an army general, yet when he gets his chance in Meltdown, while he ends up winning the battle, he ends up killing not just the enemy, but his own soldiers. Since he and Kryten are the only ones who survive, he declares it a victory.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Stock Characters]]

[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]

[[Category:Fame and Reputation Tropes]]

[[Category:Villains]]