All Quiet on the Western Front
Through the duration of the First World War, soldiers experienced a world of chaos and hell, but not only physically; the psychological toll the war took on a soldier spoke far greater than bullet-wounds and severed limbs. With many new innovations to weaponry, like machine-guns and gas, the men were forced to adapt quickly and remain on their toes. The men underwent intense situations leaving them helpless and with little grasp on common-society other than killing and obeying orders. Following through the eyes of a German soldier named Paul Baumer, we are able to have an imaginative yet true glimpse at the harsh conditions and realities of the front line.
When we first receive background on Paul, we discover that he has been encouraged to enter the war by his own school professor by the name of Kantorek. Paul and three other classmates (Katczinsky, Kropp, and Muller) enlist in the war believing it to be the noble and righteous path. They soon face the harsh reality that its more of a means to an end. The truth unravels their first day on the front when they are bombarded by the enemys mortars. Here we experience the sights, sounds, and feel of true warfare trial. The company flees into a graveyard where Paul examines all around him. The men are forced to combat bombs, bullets, and lung-eroding gases all while maintaining composure and clarity. Paul hides in an dug-up grave and describes the miserable happenings, The shelling is stronger than everything. It wipes out the sensibilities, I merely crawl still farther under the coffin, it shall protect me, through Death himself lies in it.[1] With this quote, Remarque is able to allow the reader to have a grasp on how gritty the warfare was. Soldiers were forced to use anything they could for protection as long as it brought security for both physical and mental stress. The toll of mental stress began to peak during the year of 1916. From the months of July to September the war showed some of its greatest casualties. The battle of the Somme was a bookmark during the war as one of the roughest, labored battles. To put things into quick perspective, America in its current war has lost 4000 men over seven and a half years. The battle of the Somme ended with a nine and a half mile difference of territory and one-million casualties. Thats a little over one hundred-thousand casualties for every mile. This caused many of the soldiers to lose faith and drop moral for both Axis and Allies.
As well as evading enemy fire, the soldiers had to accustom themselves to the offensive of trench warfare. Men were being forced into these confined trenches of mud for cover, and to elude the enemy. There would be times where a man could not show himself, but hide and allow for the opportune moment to open-fire. The men would have to pay attention to where every form of movement was occurring without the advantage of sight. Everything needed tending to; from the aim of the bullets to the sprinting of the charging attackers, to the pounding and estimation of mortar launches. The war required a complete mental map of all surroundings. On occasion, the men were forced into some form of hand-to-hand combat. This was the absolute least favored combat of all. It no longer allowed for the comfort of anonymity, but complete participation with both men being forced to acknowledge one another. It was on a much more personal level. There was no escaping the situation; he dies or you die. Paul experiences this first hand when an enemy French falls atop him. Paul does not even question, and simply begins to stab. I do not think at all, I make no decision. I strike madly at home, and feel only how the body suddenly convulses, then becomes limp, and collapses.[2] As hard as this is to comprehend, Paul still goes about with his trained military mindset, The man gurgles I want to stop his mouth, stuff it with earth, stab him again, he must be quiet, he is betraying me.[3] How much can one man endure? These men involved in this war are no longer humans; they are machines. They are taught to feel nothing but victory, victory in this case being the continuation of their own life.. After the occurrence, Paul goes into shell-shock and soon shows his human emotion. He is perturbed at his own actions and crawls into a corner of the trench allowing for active thoughts to unmask themselves. His mind races with thoughts of panic, sorrow, anger, and remorse. What does a man do with himself when his actions lay gasping three feet from him?
Along with the evasion of physical harm, came the visual and psychological form, Shellshock. The endearments that the men witnessed were enough to drive the most composed fellow into an absolute dazed disbelief of the realities being witnessed. Take for example the results of this first bombardment, We see a dark group, bearers with stretchers, and larger black clumps moving about. Those are the wounded horses. Some gallop away in the distance, fall down, and then run on farther. The belly of one is ripped open, the guts trail out. He becomes tangled in them and falls, then he stands up again.[4] A man should not ever have to witness such a horrifying sight, yet these men were subjected to it at all times. After awhile, Remarque gives us a sense that the men slowly grasp more and more of these incidents and begin to become accustomed to them. Over time the men begin to acknowledge their day-to-day chances of survival. While Paul is enduring the struggles of the front, he gives us his input on life and death, It is just as much a matter of chance that I am still alive as that I might have been hit. In a bomb-proof dug-out I may be smashed to atoms and in the open may survive ten hours bombardment unscathed. No soldier outlives a thousand chances. But every solider believes in chance and trusts his luck.[5] This war was such an indecipherable period, that soldiers were not only banking on skill and quick-thinking, but as well as luck.
When Paul is on leave for seventeen days, he faces yet another course reality, home is no longer home. While visiting with his family, he attempts to fit with the rest of society and stroll about the streets. He is soon approached by various people/signs of his contrast in his past life. When he is approached by a squad captain, he is quickly straightened out by his approach. The captain forces Paul to acknowledge him in a military fashion. Paul scornfully complies, but quickly realizes he has a different image in society, no matter where it is. Paul bumps into Kantorek and sits down with him and a couple other gentlemen. Paul receives public input from this different society and how their views cannot relate to his own seasoned experiences. The men believe it to be much simpler and hold the opinion that the war could be over if the army did the correct strategies. They do not know the first-hand experience like Paul does. One of the men at the table believes he has a system worked out, Now, shove ahead a bit out there with your everlasting trench warfare smash through the johnnies and then there will be peace.[6] Paul doesnt believe it to be so easy, I reply that in our opinion a break-through may not be possible. The enemy may have too many reserves. Besides, the war may be rather different from what people think. He dismisses the idea loftily and informs me I know nothing about it.[7] How is a soldier to respond to such a retort? The soldier is on the front lines and has gone through the actualities of this bloodbath. Paul realizes that the public is in the unknowing and is oblivious to his world.
With the trials that a man goes through in such a war, how does he function in a society of peace and reticence? For many, they were unable. There was no longer relation to society after such experiences. Soldiers still had their trained mindset with their trained priorities, obey and carry-out. Paul and his classmates never knew what theyd be getting into when they joined; they were just doing what they believed at the time was best for their country.
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[1] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 67.
[2] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 216.
[3] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 216.
[4] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 63.
[5] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 101.
[6] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 167.
[7] Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1958), 167.
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