All Quiet on the Western Front - Chapter 11

Disorientation and Passage of Time

• Soldiers lose track of days and weeks
• Time is marked by seasons and time spent at the front
• Brotherhood among soldiers is a source of solace for Paul

Cherry Tree Encounter

• Soldiers find a cherry tree on their way back from the front lines
• Datering returns later with branches of cherry blossoms
• Soldiers laugh at Datering
• Paul wakes up at night, hears Datering packing
• Paul warns Datering not to do anything stupid

Disappearance of Datering

• Two mornings later, Datering disappears
• A week later, found by military police heading toward Germany
• Never heard from again

Tragedy in the Ranks

• Muller shot in the stomach, dies
  • Gives Paul his wallet and Kimmerich's boots before dying
  • If Paul dies, Chauden will inherit the boots
• Blair and company commander die in the same attack
• Paul notes school's math is useless here

Contrast in Conditions

• Germans: retreating, worn-out weapons, sick from meager food
• English & Americans: well-fed, well-armed
• German soldiers losing hope for the war's end

Summer of 1918: Bloody and Brutal

• Soldiers realize they are losing the war
• Running out of men and ammunition, their planes outnumbered 5 to 1

Cat's Death

• Cat hit by a shell
• Paul tries to bandage Cat but he bleeds profusely
• Paul considers shooting himself to leave battlefront with Cat
• Paul carries Cat to infirmary
  • Ordered informed Paul that Cat is dead (hit in skull by a stray splinter)
  • Paul slowly and painfully realizes his closest friend is dead

Reflections and Despair

• Soldiers take simple pleasures despite risks
• Paul compares soldiers to melted coins, bonded by shared violence and catastrophe
• Despair overtakes soldiers as they see they're losing
• Cannot imagine life beyond war, consumed by hopelessness