Shoulder Board (slide) with 2 cloth stars (pips) for a Canadian or British Infantry Summer uniform. These epaulettes are worn on the shoulder straps of uniforms to indicate rank, left Lieutenant was a rank predating the 20th Century in the Canadian Army held by commissioned officers. The word itself comes from the French language; lieu meaning "place" (as in the noun, meaning a position) and tenant referring to the act of filling a position - thus the word "lieutenant" literally means someone holding a position (as in the absence of a superior). In Canadian English the word was pronounced as if to say "lef-tenant" whereas in American usage the word sounds like "lootenant" (though this unique pronunciation only phased itself in during the latter half of the 1800's). The spelling is the same in both countries, and this pronunciation was also a reflection of British heritage in the Canadian military. As the British Army modernized over the centuries, a Lieutenant was an officer assigned to take the place of a Captain, who was an officer who actually raised a company of soldiers for the Colonel of a regiment. The Lieutenant was expected to provide tactical direction to the soldiers in place of the Captain. During the early part of the 20th Century, a Lieutenant in an infantry battalion was normally tasked as a platoon commander, though the formalized structure of infantry companies was not firm until after 1916 and the Battle of the Somme. In 1939, a brief flirtation with the rank of Warrant Officer Class III and the appointment of Platoon Sergeant Major was deemed a failure, and the idea that platoons should be commanded by officers was reinforced. Subaltern was another designation for a soldier ranked Lieutenant or 2nd Lieutenant.