Crossword Genius

Senior officers nearly all perished in rebellion (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

leadership

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'senior officers nearly all perished in rebellion' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'nearly all perished in rebellion' is the wordplay.
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'in rebellion' is an anagram indicator.
'all' with its last letter taken away is 'al'.
'al'+'perished'='alperished'
'alperished' with letters rearranged gives 'LEADERSHIP'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for leadership that I've seen before include "Commander's characteristic" , "Those in charge" , "Best party people" , "Management" , "Had replies (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app