Not getting promoted would be a very good idea. Not getting promoted to a high risk arm would be even better.

For the British, 1 officer casualty would be sustained for the following proportion of men for different arms

• Tank Corps - 5.5

• Cavalry - 9.4

• Artillery - 12.3

• Engineers - 16.4

• Infantry - 23.9

Getting yourself a commission in the tanks or in a cavalry unit was therefore not particularly healthy.

Learning Italian would be a fairly good idea. The overall battle casualty rate for the western front was 55% compared to

• 23% for the Dardenelles

• 15% for Mesopotamia,

• 8.5% for east Africa,

• and only 4.76% for Italy.

Getting yourself transferred to the Isonzo would therefore be good for your long term prospects.

Source: Statistics of the military effort of the British Empire during the Great War, 1914-1920