That’s, statistically, true of the British Army, but there were fewer of them, naturally.
But, while they were up front, there were a lot of soldiers up front also, and they too were falling in their droves.
I think that the real perspective on platoon commanders leading from the front, in trench warfare, was in the instance of patrolling, as they led most of the recce and fighting patrols.
For anyone who might be interested in this topic I would recommend:
Journey’s End, the the seventh and most famous play by R. C. Sherriff.
(I recently saw Aces High on some movie channel or other, and, in my opinion, is so obviously it so inspired by Journeys End
http://www.lovefilm.com/product/21978-Aces-High.html )
and
Regeneration by Pat Barker
In the novel, there is a whole list of characters who have really existed.
* Several characters like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfried Owen and Robert Graves were both poets and soldiers during the war. * The two psychiatrists also existed : Rivers had very modern Freudian views and Yealland did apply his own methods as it is described in the novel. * Pacifists like Lady Morrel and Bertrand Russel are real people. Important to note that pacifism was strictly forbidden at the time.
Thus, this novel is a mixture of real people and characters : Burns, for instance, is a total invention.
The Film
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120001/
The novel
http://www.skyminds.net/english-literature/introduction-to-regeneration-by-pat-barker/
As coincidence as it, the beach scene on the link, is that of Pigeon Point, Tobago, a much loved watering hole of mine - Don’t ask me why it’s there. 
