Erich M. Remarque's All Quite On The Western Front

June, 1914, a year that sparked the birth of the first war to involve an abounding number of countries, 32 to be exact. It is within this war that young adults who, seemingly could barely defend themselves against a wild animal, let alone another man wielding long range firearms. The war inspired veterans that survived its hell to inform the masses of the misery behind trench warfare. One such veteran is Erich M. Remarque, who published his fictional novel All Quite on the Western Front, which described the life of Paul Bäumer, a young German male of the age nineteen who enlisted into the army with his class after being influenced by just about everyone in his community. The story of Paul is a depressing tale, woven by the experiences he faced

The daily life of a front line WW1 soldier is to sit in a man dug trench or an enormous cater formed by artillery shells while everything around them is blown asunder. These holes within the Earth were practically worshipped as they were the only cover between trenches. This new form of long range bombardment burned a new instinctive reaction into the soldiers. The slightest ringing noise would send them hurling toward the ground in an effort to avoid the high velocity shrapnel. The constant fear of a surprise bombardment and the creeping toxic gas weighs heavily on the mind and may cause troops to become disorganized and dislocated. “These cases of front-line madness become dangerous if one is not able to fling the man to the ground and hold him fast.” (Pg. 279) This loss of sanity could lead a man to run sporadically though No Man’s Land and ultimately into a bullet storm. This especially affected the new recruits that were sent directly to the trenches after training. The blunt of Paul’s trauma may have come from his hand to hand encounter with a French soldier, who Paul stabbed repeatedly and watch gurgle in pain overnight. Another vital impact upon a soldier’s sanity is witnessing his comrade’s die. On the front, a soldier develops a connection with his comrades that can be closer than any intimate relationship. These relationships, along with the

Horses have been used to transport troop’s since the before organized armies were common, but there is something particularly nasty about this new artillery based warfare that seems less humane. After witnessing the aftermath of a bombardment on a stable, one of Pauls squad members, Detering, nearly lost his mind trying to end the horses suffering. “It is the vilest business to use horses in the war.”(Pg. 64) The sad fact is they suffered till near death before a soldier was able to end their misery. Not all animals affected by the war were looked upon with such sorrow for there is a never ending battle within the trenches as well. Swarm upon swarms of vile disease soaked scum whose sole purpose, it seemed, is to devour what little food the soldiers have. These aggravating trench rats, whose numbers seemed endless, were a constant problem throughout the war. They used what little spoiled food the squad had left to set up traps in order to thin the rodent’s numbers, and to blow off some steam. Unlike many other countries German soldiers always seemed to need more food. Their rations of turnips and bread could not compare to France and Britain’s canned beef and corn. Many soldiers were left to live off of the land and fend for themselves. Katczinsky taught the boys the importance of this, as he was a vital source of sustenance for the