With the introduction of a variety of new weapons and technology, everyone involved thought World War I would be over quickly, and life in Europe could continue as usual. However, the 20th century technology combined with 19th century war tactics had the opposite effect. World War I is ranked as one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Even with all the new technology, most of World War I was fought in trenches, resulting in huge casualties along the Western Front. Remarque describes the impact of mechanized warfare, "Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades--words, words, words, but they hold the horror of the world” (132). Machine guns had been successfully used in previous wars, which had the firepower of a hundred other guns and often needed several men to operate. But perhaps the most horrendous new …show more content…
The seconds when the men put on their gas masks mean life and death, “I remember the awful sights in the hospital: the gas patients who in day-long suffocation cough up their burnt lungs in clots” (68). The Germans were the first to use poisonous gas, but by the end of the war both sides had used it. Although new technology was available in WWI, the failure to use it in a strategic way led to a generation of soldiers who were both physically and mentally disturbed. The overriding themes of All Quiet on the Western Front are the horrors of war and the effect on the soldier. As a result of being in constant physical danger, living in filthy ditches full of rats and mud, and often going without food or sleep, these men are all victims of shellshock, or PTSD, “The terror of the front sinks deep down when we turn our backs upon it” (140). Paul’s battle