Historical Criticism of Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Front
The 1929 bestselling novel of Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front has been one of the most realistic accounts ever written of the horrors of WWI. It tells of the physical, mental and emotional struggles that haunted the young German soldiers at that time. Based on the actual experiences of the author as a WWI veteran himself, All Quiet on the Western Front tells us of everything that took place on the Western Front that non-soldiers were not able to see and experience for themselves and the dead were not able to retell. The Waterfront, which is used by Remarque as the main setting of most of the chapters of the novel, refers to the name given by the Germans to a series of deep trenches that ran a total length of 700 kilometers from the coast of Belgium through Northern France to the Swiss border and was the site of the next three years of battles between the Allied forces and Germany (The War Times Journal, 2006). It was somewhere along the trenches in Northern France that Remarques main character Paul Baumer, together with his friends, almost literally lived the last years of their lives as vibrant, idealistic German youths tasked to protect the Motherland, i.e., Germany. All Quiet on the Western Front is not only a mere narrative of a German soldiers first-hand experience of WWI but also an account in itself of the various events that actually took place on the Western Front during that time. Although there are several parallel occurrences between the events of the novel and the actual battles of WWI that took place on the Western Front, there are a few discrepancies as well, both in the chronology of events and in some details.
The Setting The First World War
World War I, or the Great War, was one of the greatest wars in modern history claiming almost over 8.5 million lives (WWI Casualty, n.d.). It was caused by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne at that time, by a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society (Causes of WWI, 2009). This led to the mindless mechanical series of events that culminated in the first war that involved the world. In Europe, violence escalated into events that led to a full-scale war. The Allied Forces of France, Belgium, Britain, Commonwealth countries and the United States made a stand to defend Belgium and France against the advancing Imperial German Army. It was the Germans however who first constructed these trenches which were to be called die Westfront, or Western Front. It was somewhere along this battlefront that Remarque set his novel.
Historical Parallelisms
All Quiet on the Western Front lends several striking parallelisms to the actual events during the First World War. The chronology makes sense. However, there are no statements that explicitly mention the name of the battles or formal events taking place at that time. There could be two explanations for this first, the novel is narrated according to the perspective of a 19-year-old German soldier who couldnt care less about the names of the battles he fought in and who most likely never concerned himself about anything but his survival and his thoughts about the war or second, perhaps soldiers fighting the war were not even accustomed to asking each other where the next battle will be as all battles are the same and what matters is that one comes out of it alive.
Only Chapters One, Four, Six, Eight, Nine, Eleven and Twelve tell of the times when Paul Baumer and his fellow German soldiers stay in the trenches of the Western Front where they fight alongside the enemy. The rest of the chapters are focused either on the thoughts of Paul himself, on his misadventures with the opposite sex, with his friends and his poignant encounter with his family during his leave. Only the mentioned chapters therefore have significant bearings to the historical backdrop of that time.
Chapter One of All Quiet on the Western Front seems to have started with the aftermath of the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle during WWI, which heavily devastated German infantry with 337,000 casualties. The Battle of Verdun was fought between the armies of Germany and France on the Western Front from February 21 to December 18, 1916 (The Battle of Verdun, 2009). Remarques novel seems to have begun during the latter part, if not at the conclusion, of this battle. Paul Baumer narrates in the first chapter that he and the other members of the German Second Company are taking a rest after two weeks at the frontlines. There was a heavy attack on the last day and the company of originally 150 men was reduced to a mere 80. This could have been a result of the German defeat at Verdun. It could also have been the Battle of the Somme which commenced in July of the same year where the Germans, British and French all suffered heavy losses in terms of the casualties, even reaching 500,000 on the side of the Germans (The Battle of the Somme, 2009).
Chapter Four opens with the Second Company laying barbed wire at the front, which clearly is the Western Front. There are sounds of gunfire and shells filling the air amidst them. There is also the mention of English batteries that began firing one hour earlier than usual. Gas masks are also mentioned. After a flurry of bombs lands around Paul and his comrades, Kat shakes him to tell him that he should put on his gas mask and so he did. Sometime after the shelling has stopped, Paul comes out of the hole and removes his mask to breathe fresh air. Now, if it is true that Chapter One began with the end of the Battle of Verdun in December 1916, then these attacks in Chapter Four clearly refer to the Battle of Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres, which started in June 1917. It was during this time that the British launched several massive attacks with heavy artillery and aircraft. This resulted in devastating and irreplaceable casualties on the German side. It was also during this time that the Germans used mustard gas. Although the British started using gas warfare since 1915 they kept mounting gas attacks on the Germans in 1917 because of a marked increase in the production of gas from the Allied countries. The entry of the United States into the war further allowed the Allies to increase the use of both mustard and phosgene gases in battles even up to the point where it exceeded the supply of the Germans (The Third Battle, 2009). It is clear in the novel that the heavy bombardment that Paul Baumers company has heard is from the British and that he is putting on a gas mask because of the gas attacks that have followed after it.
Chapter Six continues this account of the bombing of the British. Paul and the rest of the Second Company return to the front but they pass by numerous fresh coffins presumably for those killed in the recent bombings. They have heard that the British have strengthened their artillery thus they are all disheartened not only at the news but also at the thought of their own shells falling in their trenches. There is also a shortage of food and ammunition. These events clearly corresponded to the latter part of the Battle of Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres, where the British pounded on the Germans heavily from June to November of 1917. The attacks were further reinforced in October 1917 by the arrival of the ANZAC divisions, or the New Zealand and Australian forces, and the arrival of the Canadian Corps from October 26 to November of the same year. German losses were estimated at 400,000 (Payne, 2008).
However, as you keep reading Chapter Six of All Quiet on the Western Front, the tide turned in the Germans favor as the shelling lessened. During this time, it is mentioned that the French has suffered heavy losses from the machine guns and grenades of the Germans. It is also mentioned that the Germans repel the attack and reach the enemy lines. It is at this point where the soldiers including Paul grab all of the provisions they can carry. However it is a victory at such a great loss, with only 32 of the original 150 men of the Second Company left after the battle. This battle which turned out to be another victory for the Germans clearly corresponds to the Battle of the Lys which took place in April 1918. During the last part of German offensive at Lys specifically in the Second Battle of Mount Kemmel on April 25 to 26, after their success in attacking the defending British forces, the Germans turned to face the French and the latter were decimated. The French stronghold at the Scherpenberg was consequently captured by the enemy (Battle of the Lys, 2007).
Chapter Eight begins with Pauls return from his leave where he went to visit his family and his ailing mother. When he reports to the training camp, he notices a prison for the captured Russian soldiers. Paul also notices that in order to survive, the prisoners have to pick through the garbage for food. When he sees their faces, he has then recognized the fact that he is no different from these people. This event corresponds to the fact that since the beginning of the war, Germany had held around 2.5 million prisoners which included Russians. These were mostly gained during the period from the surrender of the Russians to the time just before the Armistice and the end of the war in 1918. This scenario of Russian soldiers may correspond with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed on March 3, 1918 and marks the exit of Russia from WWI. This also meant the ceding to Germany of some lands that Russia was claiming as well as the consequent surrender of Russian troops (Trueman, 2000).
Chapter Nine is about Paul returning to the Western Front to meet up with his friends Kat, Muller, Tjaden, and Kropp. It is also in this chapter that Paul volunteers to go secretly into the enemy territory to gather information about its strength. He goes across No Mans Land or the area of ground between the trenches and between the opposing armies (No Mans Land, 2007). The problem is that he gets lost on his way back to camp and the bombardment resumed. Paul then decided to act as if he were dead. A French soldier then jumps into where he is but Paul is able to stab him. Although the time that the events in Chapter Nine happened was unclear, this part of the novel may correspond with the middle days of Operation Michael, which was the first German offensive in the spring of 1918. This began from March 21, 1918. The purpose of Operation Michael was for the Germans to crush the allies before soldiers and provisions arrive from the United States. The Germans, under the command of General Erich Ludendorff, thought that it was only in this way that they could have a realistic chance of victory (Baker, 1996). Chapter Six of All Quiet on the Western Front shows us the victory of the Germans on the battlefield but Chapter Nine seems to show us the events after this success. There was no mention of success of either side, which means that battles just went on as scheduled.
Chapter Eleven shows the German army weakening amidst the raging war. There is an interval of several weeks of fighting which Paul and his comrades themselves have ceased to count. It is in this part of the novel that they realize the real horrors of war and the way it has reduced them to mere animals. This is also the part of the novel where the Germans are badly stricken with dysentery and where their food supply has dwindled. Plus, their weapons which have become worn and useless have become powerless against the newer weapons of the Allied forces. It is the summer of 1918. Paul and his friends hear rumors that war is about to end but still they keep on fighting. This event clearly corresponds to the events of the summer of 1918 the final phase of the German Spring offensives on July 15. The particular battle that started this was the Second Battle of Marne which was supposed to be an attack of the Germans against the Allies. This however was met with a huge and devastating counterattack from the Allied Forces under Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander. A large part of the Western Front was captured by the Allies on July 18. The Germans ordered a retreat on July 20 but the Allies continued their push until August 6 resulting in an overwhelming victory for the Allied Forces. This was called the Battle of Soissons, which was the answer of the Allied Forces to the Germans initiating the Second Battle of Marne (Second Battle, 1998). The Battle of Amiens followed on August 8 when the Allies decided to further attack the retreating Germans and this battle was considered the beginning of the Hundred Days Offensive, which was the final decisive battle of the Allies to crush and decimate the enemy (The Hundred Days, 2007). However, the most significant part of the summer of 1918 was the retreat of the German forces back to the Hindenburg Line. Ludendorff has called it the Black Day of the German army (Ryan, 2008).
Chapter Twelve is the final chapter in All Quiet on the Western Front and is also the narrative on how the last straw has broken the German armys back. Paul finds himself the only living member of the original Second Company. The United States have finally joined the Allies and Germanys defeat is inevitable. Paul has inhaled poison gas in the latest offensives and he is given two weeks to recover. It is however during this time that Paul feels that his own life has ended. Based on actual events in history, the autumn of 1918 marked the middle days of the Hundred Days Offensive of the Allied Forces. By this time, the attack against the Germans was full scale with air bombardment as well as poison gas, corresponding to Pauls experiences in Chapter Twelve. The Battle of Saint-Mihiel from September 12 to 15, 1918 was the greatest air and land assault of WWI conducted by the US Air Force and the US Army against the Germans. This was mainly attributed to the military genius that was General John Pershing of the US Army who commanded his troops from the front lines (Battle of Saint-Mihiel, 2007).
All Quiet on the Western Front ends with Pauls death in October of 1918 when he is shot by the enemy in the head through the helmet. It is said that during that day, it was extraordinarily quiet on the Western Front, which alludes to the title of the novel itself. This seems to be the day that Paul has been waiting all along the day when there will be nothing else but peace and quiet. In history, October 12, 1918 was the beginning of the advancement of the British troops to the Western Front taking German prisoners by the hundreds. This went on until November 11 of the same year (Timeline, 2009). On a more positive note, Paul Baumers death has saved him from the horrors of prison and from the suffering that awaited thousands of German prisoners after the war.
A Few Discrepancies
Perhaps the only discrepancy in All Quiet on the Western Front with regard to the sequence of historical events in the actual war was the unclear series of battles in Chapters Six, Eight and Nine.
It is clear that the first part of Chapter Six is about the Battle of Passchendaele from June to November of 1917. The discrepancy however starts with the latter part of the chapter when the Germans including Paul Baumer are able to storm the French territory, decimate the army and steal their provisions. As previously stated, this event corresponds to the actual Battle of the Lys, more specifically during the Second Battle of Mount Kemmel, where exactly the same thing happened. However, this was not supposed to happen until April 25, 1918, which is very confusing because Chapter Eight seems to have happened somewhere around March of 1918 when the Russians surrendered. Another thing is that Chapter Nine seems to mirror the events of Operation Michael which took place from March to April of 1918.
Chapter Eleven clearly and explicitly states that it happened during the summer of 1918, thus the events in it started with June or July of 1918 the Second Battle of Marne, the Battle of Amiens and the Black Day of the German Army. There is perfect correlation between the actual historical events and Paul Baumers account of the war. This was the time when German supplies dwindled and the troops suffered.
Given that the first part of Chapter Six ends in November of 1917 and Chapter Eleven begins with July of 1918, it simply means that the latter part of Chapter Six up to Chapter Nine all events happened between December of 1917 and June of 1918. Now, since the latter part of Chapter Six corresponds to the end of April 1918, Chapters Eight and Nine are supposed to tell of events from May to June of 1918 only. Yet these two chapters relate events from March to April of 1918.
The brilliance of Remarque in creating war fiction and at the same time placing the events of his novel vis--vis the actual occurrences of the war is very much impressive. The main historical purpose of All Quiet on the Western Front, which is to tell the actual events as well as the physical and psychological horrors of WWI in the eyes of a direct participant of it, has been achieved by Remarque.The discrepancies in the chronology of events are very few and almost insignificant as they only concern a matter of months. These discrepancies are overshadowed by the overall synchronicity of events and most of all, the literary genius of Remarque.
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