According to the text in All Quiet on the Western Front, how does war empower petty, power-hungry men?

Also important is Remarque's position that if the generals and other higher-ups who are responsible for sending boys off to die were themselves forced to actually fight in the trenches, the war would be over very quickly. War gives power, ultimate power to decide the fate of others, to men who have no problem sending boys off against insurmountable odds to die terrible deaths.