Chapter 6: All Quiet on the Western Front

This chapter is filled with a lot of death, and hopelessness. Stanislaus Katczinsky, or Kat, is in a sense in charge of the other boys in his unit. They are currently on the move, and pass by an old school house that is surrounded by many coffins. This which would once appear to be a troubling sight now doesn't appear to be bothersome as they are surrounded by death everyday. The English are approaching and all the men including Kat are feeling disheartened by the war. With the fear of death upon all the soldiers they remove the saw blades from their bayonets, in an attempt to survive. They do this because the English will kill people with this weapon. As a result their weapons are less effective, but gives them a slightly better chance of surviving longer. The men are in the dugouts, while bombings are going on. With continuous bombings it is not easy for food and other supplies to be brought back to the men; however, Kat is usually able to find anything he needs whether its clothing, or food. This time when Kat goes out to find supplies for the men he isn't able to come up with anything to bring back to the dugouts. In the dugouts the men find themselves not only fighting other men, but also fighting off rats, and struggling to ration food among themselves. Kat generally has an act to predict the outcomes of the battles, and is in rather low spirits at this time. Paul recognizes this and takes it to be a bad sign for the battle. New recruits are brought to the dugout and Kat and Paul have to beat them, when they attempt to leave. One of the recruits escapes and is killed instantly by the French and English. Following bombing raids, and attacks, days pass and eventually the 150 men that were there are now only 32 remaining.