The reaction against the “cannon fodder” concepts of war is strong in both poems. This meant that soldiers were treated as mere pawns on a chessboard. This is clearly seen in the first stanza of “Counterattack”, with the description of the soldiers. “Pale, unshaven and thirsty” and “the place was rotten with dead people”. The soldiers were pale and unclean, and no respect was given to the dead. This is further emphasized in Owen's "Exposure", where the weather is described as "mad gusts tugging at the thread, like trembling agonies of men among its briers" and "the dawn...attacks once again more in rows on shivering gray rows.” The first description is a simile and personification where Owen compares a gust of wind to the dying men trapped in it. He highlights this to show that the concepts of “cannon fodder” are not the way to go, otherwise there will be massive loss of life. The second description uses monochrome color images that symbolize its dull and sad aspects. This highlights the effect of despair for the soldiers fighting as they also have to face the harsh weather. Once again it shows that they are treated as simple