In chapter 11 of All Quiet on the Western Front, the soldiers begin to lose track of days and weeks, counting time only by the phasing of seasons and time spent at the front. Paul still takes solace in the brotherhood of the soldiers. One day on the way back from the front lines, the soldiers encounter a cherry tree. Later that evening, they can't find datering, but he returns later with branches of cherry blossoms from the tree. The soldiers laugh at him. Later that night, Paul wakes up because he thinks he hears datering packing his things. Paul warns him not to do anything stupid. Two mornings later, Datering disappears. A week later, the soldiers discover that he was caught by military police as he headed toward Germany. He was never heard from again. Muller dies after being shot in the stomach. Before he dies, he gives Paul his wallet and Kimmerich's boots. Paul notes that if he ends up dying, Chauden will inherit the boots next. Blair and their company commander also died during the same attack. Paul dejectedly notes that all the math Lehrer learned in school was of no use to him here. Paul also notices that while the Germans are falling back, using worn out weapons, and getting sick from what meager food they're getting, the English and American troops are well fed and well armed. Paul and the other Germans are beginning to give up hope that the war will ever end. The summer of 1918 is particularly bloody and brutal. The soldiers begin to understand that they're losing the war. Running out of men and ammunition, their planes are outnumbered 5 to 1. One day during this terrible summer, a shell strikes Cat. Paul tries to bandage his wounds, but Cat is bleeding profusely. With the rest of his friends dead or gone, Paul knows that Cat is the only friend he has left. Paul contemplates shooting himself in the foot so that he can leave the battlefront alongside Cat. Paul carries Cat to the infirmary, and when he finally gets there, he sets Cat down, relieved that his friend will be saved. But an orderly quickly informs Paul that Cat is dead. Paul refuses to believe it and tries to convince the orderly that Cat merely fainted and that he was only hit in the shin. But then he sees blood on Cat's head. While Paul was carrying him, Cat must have been hit in the skull by a stray splinter. The realization sinks in slowly and painfully for Paul. His closest friend is dead. By this point in the novel, the soldiers take simple pleasures where they can get them, despite the risks, because they may die at any time. Paul compares individual soldiers to coins that have been melted together. The things that bond them are a shared experience of violence and catastrophe. Despair overtakes the German soldiers as they recognize that they are losing the war. Yet, they can't even imagine a different life because the war has completely consumed them. They have begun to grasp the hopelessness of their situation.