In the introduction of All Quiet on the Western Front, readers meet young German soldier Paul Boimer and his comrades, who are in the midst of fighting on the front lines in World War I. Paul and his friends from school enlisted in the war on the advice of their teacher, Kantorek, who insisted that it was a glorious and noble pursuit. The reality is much grimmer, and their day-to-day lives focus mainly on survival and dulling their emotions. In the rising action, Paul and company visit their dying comrade Kimmerich in the infirmary, who has had his leg amputated.
Muller eyes his boots, a valuable commodity which Kimmerich will no longer need. He'll likely die soon. The men discuss their cruel training camp commander, Corporal Himmelsstas, who made their lives miserable by abusing his power. At one point, they recall, they took revenge on Himmelsstrasse by beating him. While constructing new fencing at the front, Paul's company falls under a French attack.
They shield themselves in a cemetery while shells explode the coffins and corpses around them, forcing them to hide under the dead bodies of fellow soldiers. The depictions of the above-ground battles with the French are gruesome. These ordeals force the soldiers to emotionally detach from what they are experiencing in order to stay calm and survive.
After a number of devastating battles, three-quarters of Paul's company are killed, though Paul and his friends survive. The men are relieved from the front lines after suffering catastrophic losses, and soon Paul and his friends encounter some French women on the other side of the canal who invite them over to share food and romantic companionship. Paul is given a 17-day leave to go home, and once there, recognizes how truly alienated he is from his family and civilian life.
He finds that he can't discuss the horrors of the war and that nothing from his old life gives him pleasure anymore. He feels utterly lost and alone, worried he'll be unable to live a normal life once the war ends. After his leave is over, Paul remains in the training camp for a month, where part of his duties include guarding Russian prisoners.
Paul feels compassion for them. When Paul returns to the front lines, his company is again attacked. A French soldier falls on Paul while he's hiding in a shell hole.
In the climax of the novel, Paul kills a man face to face for the first time when he stabs the Frenchman, who slowly dies over the next day, causing Paul to feel remorse for the man's suffering. In the falling action, Paul and his friend, Kropp, are injured while guarding an abandoned village. While hospitalized, Paul is shot. Kropp's leg is amputated. Paul is able to recover and returns to the front lines where the Germans are losing the battle.
Many of Paul's remaining friends are killed, experience mental breakdowns, or are captured as they try to desert. In the novel's resolution, Paul is killed on a quiet day on the Western Front, only a month before the war ends.