“”It is worthy to remark, that not a single general officer was on the field of battle the 19th September until evening when General Learned was ordered out...(1).” With these few words, American Colonel James Wilkinson would provoke a heated controversy that continues to this day. The individual at the center of the controversy was Benedict Arnold; and the controversy centers around his actions during the first battle of Saratoga on September 19, 1777. Did Arnold deserve as his aide Lt. Richard Verick said “all the credit of the action of the 19th....” (2)”
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2003_winter_spring/arnold_saratoga.htm
Romantic images aside, a commander on the front lines cannot be as effective as the commander a distance away who can view the entire battle.
Quite true, if men were machines and battle a chess game.
In actual fact, of course, a top commander personally leading his troops can inspire prodigies. This just can't be done by "leading from the rear," however more efficient that is in theory.
Just finished a collection of Patton's letters home. Possibly his biggest pet peeve (and he had a bunch) was commanders who stayed too far behind the lines. He liked to see officers as close to the front as possible. He occasionally fired those he thought stayed too far back.