...All Quiet on the Western Front Analysis of historical accuracy in the 1978 television production The 1979 film, All Quiet on the Western Front, is based on the 1929 novel by World War I German veteran, Erich Maria Remarque. The narrative portrays the nature of WWI from the perspective of a young German boy from his enlistment and deployment to the Western Front in 1916. It explores many concepts of the war including trench warfare, total war, and the overall long term mental and physical effects of war. Minus minor flaws where minimal information is given, the film appears to be a historically accurate portrayal of Trench Warfare and Total War. The film accurately portrays major elements of WWI, giving historically accurate insight into life in the trenches, war tactics, and gas warfare. The film accurately depicts the trenches as home to, not only the soldiers, but also to disease spreading rats and lice. Those fighting in WWI faced the devastating trench foot condition which was treatable only by amputation; the film truthfully portrays this issue as the duckboards which were used in an attempt to avoid this are shown on the trenches’ muddy and puddled ground. “No Man’s Land”, the term referring to the gap of land between the trenches of the opposing armies, is distinctly portrayed as lifeless, with smoking artillery induced craters, and the bodies of fallen soldiers left strewn across it. As the war progressed, bodies had to be left as it became too dangerous to collect...
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...Life on the Western Front by early 1915 was influenced because of the physical conditions of the trenches, the prevalence of sickness and disease in the trenches and the psychological effects of trench warfare on soldiers. As shown in Source A, trenches frequently became waterlogged and muddy entailing that it was not uncommon for men to have to stand for days deep in cold water unable to remove wet boots and socks, the condition trench foot developed as a result. The mud on the Western Front also provided the conditions for gas gangrene to be contracted due to the soil being highly cultivated. There were many health problems of just simple disease that took many more men out of combat than direct fire (Source B). This was as it was not only...
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...chemical warfare, troops on the Western Front had to withstand the crude unsanitary conditions. To illustrate, Victor Silvester, a British soldier, wrote in his diary, “ I put my hand down and my fingers closed on a big rat. It has nibbled through my haversack, my tunic and pleated kilt to get at my flesh.” Rats were everywhere. They would spread disease and bit many men. The rats kept reproducing and sustained themselves from the corpses of the dead soldiers. Soldiers began to bury the bodies and as Leonard Thompson describes it, “ We pushed them into the side of the trenches, but bits of them kept getting uncovered and sticking out… The bottom of the trench was springy like a mattress because of all the bodies underneath.”...
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...American and World War I Alina Ibrahim HIS/125 January 25, 2013 Matt Brickley American and World War I World War I began as a domino effect of one thing leading to another. In June 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist while visiting Sarajevo (Schultz, 2012). Austria-Hungary then issued an ultimatum to the Serbians to bring the assassins to justice. This was an ultimatum that the Austro-Hungarians knew the Serbians would not meet prompting Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Compelled by a treaty with Serbia, Russia mobilized its army in defense of Serbia. While Russia was an ally of Serbia, also bound by a treaty Germany was an ally of Austria-Hungary. This obligated Germany to mobilize its army in defense of Austria-Hungary. Britain and France also entered the war bound by treaty as an ally of Russia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Hence, the domino effect of one country leading the other to enter the war. Throughout the first three years of the war America remained a neutral country. They were not bound by any treaties to ally themselves to fight for either side in the war. The war in Europe was at an impasse and both sides realized that in order to win the war they needed to submit the other to starvation (Schultz, 2012). The economies of the countries at war in Europe were quickly in ruins and they looked to the United States for supplies...
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...All quiet on the western front is a historical fiction novel, by Erich Remarque, that describes the life of German soldiers during World War I, and it illustrates themes including effects of war on soldiers. “This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war” (epigraph of the novel). The book is about the story of a German soldier who joins the German army in world war I. The plot consists of daily routines of soldiers in the trenches. This soldier had to lay wire, guard supplies, fight in many battles, and watch...
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...it was the soldiers that fought in it came out most impacted. Peace treaties ended the war, but they did not of which put an end to the trauma and after effects of the wars survivors. Before the war, the government did an excellent job of conveying that political situations were not worth fighting for, then within a year their thoughts changed and most people were on board with the idea of war. As the war began, “most people seemed genuinely convinced that their nation’s cause was just.” (Spielvogel 881) Which was a good thing for the troops; because they would need all the support they could to make it through the tough conditions they were about to ender on the battle field. Most of the fighting took part in what was called trench warfare. Fighters spent basically four years fighting in trenches protected by barbed wire and backed by heavy artillery. “Soldiers in the trenches also lived with the persistent presence of death.” (Spielvogel 886) As soldiers were being killed in these trenches, the others have to keep on fighting amidst all the dead bodies of their fellow soldiers all around them. “No-man’s land” separates the opposing side’s trenches with acres of open fields. This was a place of severe disadvantage for soldiers caught there. Many of which were trying to break through into their enemy’s trenches. Millions of soldiers died trying to accomplish this task. Air planes with mounted machine guns did a ton of damage. Bodies of dead soldier’s lay of who...
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...listed in the Merriam Webster dictionary. Chemical warfare in WW1 was deplorable because it was used extensively on the Western front, the chemical gasses had many effects and properties, the soldiers were scarred mentally by the memory of the gas, and the bodies suffered horrible internal...
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...historic sentiment for the French – Verdun. In his letter to Wilhelm, Falkenhayn argued that the key to winning the war lay not on the Eastern Front, against Russia, but on the Western Front. He also believed that the French simply couldn’t allow these forts to fall as the national humiliation would have been too much. By fighting to the last man, Falkenhayn believed that the French would lose so many men that the battle would change the course of the war. Kaiser acted upon Falkenhayn's recommendations. In doing so he agreed to switch focus from the Eastern Front to the Western Front. This strategy was not without its critics; in particular Paul von Hindenburg argued that the opportunity was lost to capture the bulk of the Russian army. Ultimately the failure of Falkenhayn's recommendations cost him his position. Falkenhayn’s plan had credibility. The forts were very much part of the French moral and they would fight ferociously to keep the Germans out of the area. However, Falkenhayn’s plan also had one major weakness – it assumed that the French would be an easy opponent and that it would be the French who would take massive casualties – and not the Germans. In fact, all the forts around the area had been weakened as the French High Command had moved ammunition out of the forts to other areas on the Western Front. Also the trenches...
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...Imagine being a soldier during World War I. All you hear are bombs going off in the distance, bullets being shot, and the smell of poisonous gas. In the movie “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which takes place in 1914 Germany during World War I, the protagonist, Paul Bäumer just graduated high school with his friends, who have all decided to enlist in the army after their teacher Kantorek persuaded them to join and help their country. They enlisted thinking it would only be three weeks of war, but instead it turned into three years. The boys were told that the war they were going to take place in is a life of great honor and respect. What they didn’t know was that by joining the war, they would encounter death, suffering, and despair. The...
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...World War I and then the mounting crisis that led to World War II. These were decades of considerable dislocation in the West. Revolutionary regimes in several societies provided another source of change. New, authoritarian political systems were another response to crisis, particularly after the Great Depression, in several parts of the world. All of this occurred even as resistance to European imperialism was mounting (Davies 938). In addition, the 1920’s was marked by major patterns. One of the first major patterns, Western Europe recovered from World War I incompletely, particularly in economics and politics. Cultural creativity was important, and several social developments marked real innovation. But political and economic structures and European diplomacy as well, rested on shaky foundations. World War I quickly shattered the confidence many Europeans had maintained around the turn of the twentieth-century. Although the ultimate effects of World War I involved Europe’s world position, the war also brought tremendous dislocation within Europe. Though some of the damage was quickly...
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...The Western Front was the name applied to the fighting zone, where the British, French, Belgian and later American Armies confronted Germany military powers. The Western Front of World War I opened in 1914, with the German army invading first Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France, according to von Schlieffen proposal, which was a breathtaking plan that would defeat both of long-term enemies such as Russia and French. It was considered that Russia would be slow to mobilize it's armies, giving time for Germany to attack France so France would need to be quickly defeated, allowing Germany to pay it's attentions to the Russian forces. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Both sides then dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained essentially unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 a series of major offensives took place along this front. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun nests, barbed wire, and other defenses repeatedly inflicted severe casualties on the attackers. As a result, no significant advances were made during these assaults. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front introduced new military technologies, including poison gas, tanks, and etc, but these military technologies were only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored...
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...Christmas” (under half year). The Germany foresaw the war to last similarly short as they put their stakes on short and no diversionary war according to Schlieffen Plan. The most significant factors in term of prolonging the war were the failure of Schlieffen Plan together with the determined attitude of both camps to win. This resulted in the tactical stalemate of trench warfare, which again contributed to the length of the war. All factors mentioned above were essential in prolonging the war. First of all, Germany gambled on a quick victory with the Schlieffen Plan that did not pay off and resulted in the trench warfare. Schlieffen Plan was a warfare strategy whose main aim was not to create diversionary war on Western front with France and Eastern front with Russia. The key strategy was to outtake the France earlier through the undefended boarder with Belgium before the Russia mobilizes all its units. This strategy anticipated Belgium to be unprepared and pass through in a couple of days to France. But Belgium proved itself determined and unwilling to give up easily, as it took 2 weeks for army of...
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...The soldiers first hand experience of the front in the text “all quiet on the western front” ultimately has a detrimental effect on the soldier's physical and mental ability, essentially establishing a sense of betrayal towards those back at home. In text, many soldiers find themselves second guessing their decision to join the war, after experiencing the reality of the war, more specifically the front, which fundamentally creates a heartfelt sense of betrayal towards those at home for “dislodging” them and “dragging” them into the horrible mess of the war. The common soldiers sense of betrayal in the text “all quiet on the western front” can be clearly exhibited when paul baumer states “While those at home who dragged us out here into this...
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...New technology made war more horrible and more complex than ever before. The United States and other countries felt the effects of the war for years afterwards. The popular image of World War I is soldiers in muddy trenches and dugouts, living miserably until the next attack. The power of defensive weapons made winning the war on the western front all but impossible for either side. The Allies soon armed their airplanes the same way, and war in the air became a deadly business. Able to crush barbed wire and cross trenches, tanks moved forward through machine gun fire and often terrified German soldiers with their unstoppable approach. Perhaps the most significant technological advance during World War I was the improvement of the machine gun, a weapon originally developed by an American, Hiram Maxim. The British naval blockade of Germany, which was made possible by developments in naval technology, brought a total war to civilians. The firing stopped on November 11, 1918, but modern war technology had changed the course of...
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...The causes of the FIRST WORLD WAR 1_ The assassination at Sarajevo. (political murder) On 28th June Franz Ferdinand and his wife visited the Town of Sarajevo. The Archduke was the heir to the throne of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. As the car passed along the street, someone threw a bomb at it. The bomb bounced off the back of the car and exploded, injuring an officer in the car behind. The Archduke and his wife were unhurt. Later that day the Archduke said that he wanted to change his plans and visit the injured officer in hospital. He set off again by car, but the driver was not told the route had change. Some minutes later a man called Gavrilo Princip shot them and died. 2_ The great powers in 1914. If see the map the six most important and powerful countries in Europe were split into two armed groups. The triple Alliance. Central powers. Germany: was made up of many small states that had united and become one country only as recently as 1871. Otto von Bismarck, who was the Chancelor of the newly united Germany, firmly believed that all questions of the day could be solved by military strength by blood and iron. The stong national feeling in Germany and its wealth from industry made the Germans keen to play a leading part in world affairs. Kaiser Wilhelm II was impatient to make Germany the leading country in Europe. Austria-Hungary: the empire of Austria-Hungary was Germany´s oldest ally. German was the language of Government, but each group spoke its own language...
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